ASEAN's Myanmar peace plan not hard to implement, Malaysia foreign minister says

KUALA LUMPUR: ASEAN's four-year-old plan for peace in war-torn Myanmar is not difficult to implement and the ruling junta should adhere to it and allow humanitarian aid to be distributed, Malaysia's foreign minister said on Friday.

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ASEAN cannot stop Myanmar's upcoming election but wants it to be fair and open to all parties.
Myanmar's junta has largely ignored ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus aimed at ending the civil war.
ASEAN leaders stress the need for inclusive talks and humanitarian aid access ahead of the summit.

Mohamad Hasan also said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc could not stop a general election in Myanmar set for December but its foreign ministers want the contest to be fair and inclusive.

ASEAN agreed on a "Five-Point Consensus" peace plan with Myanmar's top general a few months after protests against a 2021 coup morphed into a broader rebellion against military rule, but the junta has been accused of ignoring it.

"The Five-Point Consensus is not too difficult (to implement). It would be good to have a dialogue, to allow aid to reach people and go back to dialogue with all parties," Mohamad told reporters after a meeting with his ASEAN counterparts in Kuala Lumpur ahead of a leaders summit this weekend.

The peace plan has largely been a failure, with the military government unwilling to engage in dialogue with opponents it views as "terrorists".

It denies Western allegations it has committed atrocities against the civilian population and insists it is committed to peace.

The junta is holding an election over several phases from December while the civil war rages, but opposition parties have been decimated, and what remains of them have either been barred from taking part or are not willing to do so.

The election, which has been widely dismissed as a sham designed to extend military rule through proxies, will not be held nationwide due to the ongoing fighting.

"We cannot stop it but we want the elections to be fair, transparent, and inclusive," Mohamad said.

"All the people must participate. We don't want elections where only some of the people of Myanmar can participate but the rest can't. We will discuss that and bring it to the heads of states' summit the day after tomorrow."