Key Asean members skip Thai-hosted Myanmar talks amid criticism
- Thailand, whose prime minister first took power in a military coup, invited Myanmar’s junta-appointed Foreign Minister Than Shwe to the talks
- Myanmar’s generals have been barred from Asean meetings for failing to honour talk agreement with opponents linked to ousted Aung San Suu Kyi
Thailand’s caretaker government hosted the foreign minister of Myanmar’s ruling junta at informal regional peace talks on Sunday, as key Southeast Asian counterparts stayed away from the meeting that has drawn sharp criticism.
Only Cambodia has so far officially confirmed it intended to attend the talks.
Myanmar’s generals have been barred for nearly two years from senior-level meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) for failing to honour an agreement to start talks with opponents linked to the ousted civilian government that had been led by now-jailed Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
But Thailand, whose prime minister himself first took power in a military coup, invited Myanmar’s junta-appointed Foreign Minister Than Shwe to the talks along with other foreign ministers in the 10-member Asean bloc, two sources with knowledge of the meeting said.
Myanmar’s junta spokesman could not be reached for comment on Sunday.
Thailand’s foreign ministry was tight-lipped about exactly who was attending the two-day gathering in the resort town of Pattaya, for which outgoing Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai sent invitation letters just four days before its start.
