Ex-UN head Ban Ki-moon calls for end to Myanmar violence
World
A statement released on Tuesday by the group quoted Ban as saying his meetings were “exploratory.”
BANGKOK (AP) — Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for an immediate end to violence in Myanmar after a surprise meeting with the military leaders of the violence-plagued Southeast Asian nation.
Ban met on Monday in the Myanmar capital Naypyitaw with the leader of the military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, and other top officials. His mission was made on behalf of a group of elder statesmen that engages in peacemaking and human rights initiatives around the world.
Ban is deputy chair of the group which calls itself The Elders.
A statement released on Tuesday by the group quoted Ban as saying his meetings were “exploratory.”
It said: “Ban, who flew to Bangkok from Naypyitaw on Monday night, stressed in his talks the need to implement a peace plan by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the United Nations to stop the violence between the military and the pro-democracy resistance forces following the army’s 2021 ouster of the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.”
Ban is a former South Korean foreign minister. The Elders was founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007, and comprises mostly retired world leaders.
The group has not yet released any details about the visit.
The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar carried a report of Ban’s meeting with Min Aung Hlaing, describing the discussions as cordial. The two men were pictured sitting in gilded chairs with three small golden tables between them. A separate report said Ban left Myanmar by air on Monday evening.
Separately, Ban met former President Thein Sein, who led a quasi-civilian government, but he did not see elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been jailed since the generals seized power in February 2021.
When he was the UN chief, Ban met then-President Thein Sein and Aung San Suu Kyi.
Little detail has been released about the talks, but they appeared certain to have dealt with Myanmar’s ongoing political crisis.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the coup, which took place the day Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party was to begin a second term in office following a landslide election victory.
The army’s power grab led to mass protests, which have since evolved into widespread armed resistance.
Outside efforts to mediate peace, currently led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with which the military agreed a five-point plan to end the violence in April 2021, have been unsuccessful.
The military describes most of those opposed to its rule as “terrorists” and has detained thousands of opponents.
It has promised new elections, probably this year, but the NLD and other parties have already been banned after it failed to re-register under a new election law drawn up by the generals. Critics say the poll is unlikely to be free or fair.
In Yangon over the weekend, an anti-coup group shot dead a senior election official.
