The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has appointed a former secretary-general of Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry as the bloc’s new special envoy on Myanmar.
Othman Hashim is tasked with making progress on a peace plan that the organization has adopted for the strife-torn country.
ASEAN appointed Othman during the bloc’s meeting of foreign ministers and senior officials on Langkawi Island in Malaysia, Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said in a press conference Sunday.
Malaysia is currently the bloc’s rotating chair.
ASEAN foreign ministers stressed the urgency of restoring peace in Myanmar and urged the military junta to prioritize dialogue and hold off on conducting general elections amid the country’s ongoing turmoil, according to AFP.
The junta last year said it would hold a general election but has yet to set a time frame.
The new envoy’s mission will focus on urging Myanmar to implement a Five-Point Consensus agreed by ASEAN in April 2021, two months after the junta seized power, which urges an immediate end to violence.
The regime has failed to honor any part of the consensus, and ASEAN has been criticized for not pushing it hard enough. High-level junta officials are currently banned from the bloc’s meetings.
Three other ASEAN envoys have been appointed since 2021, but only one—Prak Sokhonn of Cambodia—has visited Myanmar and met junta boss Min Aung Hlaing, though without making meaningful progress.
