Meeting Between Asean Leaders and Civil Society Canceled

12 May 2014

A planned meeting between the heads of government of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the Asean Civil Society Conference/Asean Peoples’ Forum in Naypyidaw this weekend was canceled after the governments of Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore insisted that civil society representatives of their respective countries be replaced. “The main reason we reluctantly withdraw from this interface is that three Asean member states are poised to substitute 3 delegates of civil society with their own nominees,” the Asean Peoples’ Forum said in a press release. “We … regret that Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore have failed to uphold their commitment to a people-centered Asean.”