PUTRAJAYA - Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir will not be able to attend an informal discussion on Myanmar scheduled to be held in Thailand on Monday.
The Malaysian Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) in a statement cited prior commitment the reason being Zambry’s inability to attend the discussion proposed by Thailand.
"The Ministry further recalls the decision of the recent 42nd Asean Summit in Labuan Bajo which reiterated that the Five-Point Consensus remained Asean’s valid reference and mandate in addressing the Myanmar issue,” it added.
In this regard, the statement said Malaysia remains supportive of the efforts being undertaken by the Asean Chair particularly the Office of the Special Envoy.
"It is important that Asean demonstrates its unity in support of the Asean Chair and Asean processes which are in line with the mandate and decisions made by the Asean Leaders,” it added.
Myanmar-focused news website The Irrawaddy had reported earlier that Thailand’s Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai in a letter had proposed to host an informal ministerial meeting with Myanmar on June 18-19.
The meeting is part of "the unequivocal statement by a member nation of Asean” during the leaders summit in Indonesia in May that it was time for the bloc to fully "re-engage Myanmar at the leaders’ level, the letter said.
Since the military coup, more than 3,600 civilians have been killed, over 19,000 arrested, and more than 1.8 million were internally displaced or have fled the country, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). - BERNAMA