The United States called on Myanmar’s junta to immediately end violence and release those who have been unjustly detained on Friday at the annual US-ASEAN dialogue in Washington.
The US and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations held the 36th annual ASEAN-US Dialogue to discuss expanding cooperation. Officials from ASEAN member states joined their American counterparts at the forum. Chargé d’affaires Thet Win, from the Myanmar embassy in Washington, attended the meeting.
During the forum, US Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink called on Myanmar’s junta to immediately end all violence, release those unjustly detained and allow unhindered humanitarian access to all those in need, according to the US State Department.
Washington will coordinate closely with ASEAN to support Myanmar’s path to inclusive democracy in line with the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus, Kritenbrink said.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the Feb. 1, 2021 coup, which ousted a democratically elected government. A nationwide anti-regime armed resistance has left the regime struggling to control the country.
It has responded to resistance with arbitrary arrests, airstrikes, shelling and arson attacks on civilians. As of Monday, 5148 people, including pro-democracy activists and civilians, have been killed and 20,499 people have been detained by the junta, according to the monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
Following the coup, ASEAN developed a five-point peace plan known as the Five-Point Consensus for Myanmar. It includes the immediate cessation of violence in the country.
The US has denounced the coup and has supported the bloc’s peace plan since the beginning. ASEAN’s plan, however, has been widely criticized for being ineffective. The junta not only failed to honor it but escalated violence.
Over 2.3 million people in Myanmar have been displaced since the coup.
The junta’s foreign ministry said that Chargé d’affaires Thet Win used the meeting to update ASEAN about its cooperation in implementing the Five-point Consensus plan, including providing humanitarian assistance.
