THE leader of the military junta that now controls Myanmar, Chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, is scheduled to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit taking place in Jakarta on Saturday, April 24. The Myanmar military overthrew the government of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1 after alleging widespread fraud in national elections held in November, which Suu Kyi’s party won in a landslide. That is a respectable point of view, but it should not be absolute, particularly in the case of the current state of affairs in Myanmar. Put bluntly, the illegitimate and violent regime in Myanmar is using Asean to find validity. What consequences that message should carry is still open to debate but that the message should be given is beyond question.

Source: Manila Times April 21, 2021 16:18 UTC