ASEAN downgrades Myanmar presence in summit in major rebuke

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KUALA LUMPUR – Southeast Asian overseas ministers person agreed to downgrade Myanmar's information successful an upcoming acme successful their sharpest rebuke yet of its leaders pursuing a Feb. 1 subject takeover.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations volition invitation a non-political typical alternatively of Myanmar's subject leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the grouping's seat Brunei said Saturday.

The 10-member bloc has been nether aggravated planetary unit to bash much to unit subordinate authorities Myanmar to halt the unit that has near much than 1,100 civilians dormant and escaped scores of governmental figures, including ousted civilian person Aung San Suu Kyi.

ASEAN overseas ministers held an exigency gathering precocious Friday aft Myanmar refused to cooperate with the bloc's situation envoy, Brunei Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof. He was appointed successful August to mediate successful the situation but abruptly canceled a travel to Myanmar this week aft helium was told helium would not beryllium capable to conscionable with Suu Kyi and others arsenic helium wanted.

Myanmar contended Erywan could not conscionable with radical facing ineligible proceedings specified arsenic Suu Kyi and deposed President Win Myint oregon with entities that person been declared illegal, Brunei said successful a statement.

Suu Kyi and different apical civilian leaders were detained successful the service takeover. She faces assorted charges that her supporters and autarkic analysts accidental are an effort to legitimize the subject action.

The connection from Brunei said the ASEAN ministers were acrophobic astir the interaction of the Myanmar situation connected determination information and astir the “unity, credibility and centrality of ASEAN arsenic a rules-based organization."

The bloc's envoy indispensable person entree to each acrophobic parties, it said.

Members of the governmental opposition's National Unity Government, which views itself arsenic a shadiness government, person asked to be the Oct. 26-28 summit, it said.

There was nary statement among the ASEAN overseas ministers astir having a governmental typical from Myanmar astatine the summit, truthful the ministers decided to alternatively invitation a non-political typical to springiness Myanmar “space to reconstruct its interior affairs and instrumentality to normalcy," it added.

“This was a hard but indispensable determination to uphold ASEAN’s credibility fixed the unsatisfactory and highly constricted progress" to resoluteness the crisis, Singapore's overseas ministry said successful a statement.

Officials did not accidental who would beryllium invited instead.

In handling Myanmar, ASEAN has been hamstrung by its bedrock argumentation of noninterference successful the home affairs of subordinate nations and its statement decision-making. Some subordinate countries specified arsenic Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines consciousness enactment is justified due to the fact that large unrest successful Myanmar could trigger determination instability.

Myanmar is wide seen arsenic doing precise small to grant its commitments, though it claims to person helped facilitate humanitarian assistance.

Letting Min Aung Hlaing be the summit, which volition instrumentality spot by video, mightiness beryllium seen arsenic designation of the subject takeover, which halted 1 of Asia’s astir phenomenal antiauthoritarian transitions aft decades of subject rule.

Among satellite leaders owed to enactment is President Joe Biden, who has condemned the takeover and authorized sanctions against Myanmar’s generals, their household members and associates.

The U.S., Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, the European Union and United Kingdom connected Friday issued a associated connection of enactment for the ASEAN envoy. They urged Myanmar to enactment constructively with Erywan and fto him conscionable with parties concerned.

“The subject has truthful acold been unwilling to productively prosecute with ASEAN to respond to the situation successful Burma," U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters successful Washington. “We proceed to enactment those ASEAN efforts to property the authorities and we proceed to enactment a sojourn by the ASEAN peculiar envoy."

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Associated Press writers Jim Gomez successful Manila, Philippines and Matthew Lee successful Washington contributed to this report.

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