Southeast Asian leaders will appoint an envoy to mediate talks between "all parties” in Myanmar, one of the most concrete moves yet aimed at ending months of violence since a Feb. 1 coup that has seen the military regime kill hundreds of pro-democracy protesters.
Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing agreed to the dialogue process at a special summit on Saturday of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which has come under increasing pressure to take action to end the bloodshed. The leaders reached consensus on an "immediate cessation of violence,” according to a statement released after the meeting.
"There is an echo of distress among ASEAN member states to learn, on a daily basis, what is unfolding in Myanmar,” Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said at the meeting in Jakarta. "Many around the world want an explanation, and we are finding it increasingly tough to explain. The international community expects ASEAN to act and address what is happening in our very own backyard.”