January 28, 2022
PHNOM PENH – Prime Minister Hun Sen urged Myanmar leader General Min Aung Hlaing to respect and implement the ASEAN five-point consensus (5PC) made in April last year as the way forward to solving the prolonged crisis in the predominantly Buddhist country.
Hun Sen made the call during a meeting with General Min Aung Hlaing, chairman of the ruling State Administration Council (SAC), via video conference on January 26.
Kao Kim Huorn, minister delegate attached to the prime minister, said after the meeting that both Hun Sen and Min Aung Hlaing had exchanged views and information on Myanmar issues and that the premier had made four requests to the general.
“First, [Hun Sen] appealed to Min Aung Hlaing to implement the five-point consensus that ASEAN leaders had agreed upon in April 2021.
“Secondly, he requested that Min Aung Hlaing facilitate the first visit of the ASEAN special envoy on Myanmar to his country in the near future,” he said, adding that Hun Sen expressed concerns about what happened after his visit to Myanmar on January 7-8.
The third request was stated in a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. “All parties in Myanmar, including the State Administration Council, should exercise utmost restraint, cease violence and endeavour to achieve a ceasefire in order to engender a process of dialogue for a peaceful solution.”
Kim Huorn said the fourth request was a renewal of his earlier calls for Min Aung Hlaing to work with the other ASEAN member states and other parties internationally and within Myanmar to provide humanitarian aid to its people.
Kin Phea, director of the Royal Academy of Cambodia’s International Relations Institute, said all four requests should be granted on an emergency basis as they reflect the 5PC that ASEAN leaders, the international community and the Myanmar people all endorse.
“All of these points require honesty from the military leaders and from all factions in Myanmar. Violence cannot be stopped only from one side unilaterally. It requires common will from both the opposition and the military to find a way to end the violence there.
“If violence cannot be stopped and a ceasefire cannot be enforced, then the other points cannot proceed. No ceasefire means no large-scale humanitarian assistance, no meeting with ASEAN’s special envoy on Myanmar and almost certainly no new elections there,” he said.
According to the foreign ministry, Min Aung Hlaing reassured Hun Sen that Myanmar is committed to working with Cambodia as the ASEAN chair to ensure a successful year.
Hun Sen and Min Aung Hlaing both agreed to continue engaging in candid discussions on matters of mutual interest, it said.