 Yangon protests press ASEAN ahead of summit with junta leader Yangon (AFP) April 23, 2021 - Protesters marched through downtown Yangon Friday to demand that regional leaders "stand with Myanmar people", ahead of a weekend ASEAN summit to be attended by junta leader Min Aung Hlaing. The country has been in turmoil since February 1, when the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a lightning coup. Using violence and lethal force to quell a nationwide uprising, security forces have killed at least 739 people in near-daily crackdowns, according to a local monitoring group. Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing is set to take part Saturday in a summit of regional leaders -- as part of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- to address Myanmar's mounting crisis. The meeting of ASEAN leaders and foreign ministers has drawn widespread criticism from activists, human rights groups and protesters for including the military regime. In commercial hub Yangon -- where the anti-coup movement had laid low in recent weeks due to fear of crackdowns -- protesters returned to the streets Friday, flashing three-finger salutes of resistance. "Mother Suu and leaders -- release them immediately!" they shouted as they marched quickly past the Sule Pagoda in downtown Yangon. "What do we want? Democracy!" The protesters came from different Yangon townships, some carrying signs that read "ASEAN please stand with Myanmar people" and "ASEAN do you need more blood... to make the right decision?" Also angered by the bloc's invitation to Min Aung Hlaing was the so-called National Unity Government (NUG) -- a group of ousted Myanmar lawmakers attempting to run a shadow administration. On Thursday, they called on Interpol to arrest the senior general -- the same day Myanmar state media announced the lawmakers in hiding were wanted for high treason. - 'Biggest test' - Despite the omnipresent threat of violence, nationwide demonstrations for a return to democracy persisted Friday. Scores of people young and old marched through the southern city of Dawei, holding signs that said, "Please, help (us) to arrest Min Aung Hlaing" as they chanted support for the shadow government. In central Sagaing region -- the site of brutal crackdowns by security forces -- local media showed students protesting the bloodshed by dressing in their uniforms covered in red dye and reading crimson ink-splattered textbooks. Amnesty International's Emerlynne Gil called ASEAN's handling of Myanmar the "biggest test in its history". "The Indonesian authorities and other ASEAN member states cannot ignore the fact Min Aung Hlaing is suspected of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole," she said. The junta has justified the putsch by alleging electoral fraud in November's elections -- which Suu Kyi's party had won in a landslide. The United States, European Union and Britain have already imposed sanctions on top military brass and some army-linked businesses. Before the coup, Min Aung Hlaing was already facing international sanctions over his army's role in the Rohingya crisis. About 750,000 of the Muslim minority group fled Myanmar in 2017 following a brutal military crackdown.
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A weekend summit on the Myanmar coup crisis will be a test for ASEAN's credibility and unity, a senior Thai official said Thursday, amid an escalating death toll and violence across its western border.
Security forces in Myanmar have killed at least 739 people since a February 1 military coup ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, according to a local monitoring group.
The Myanmar military has stepped up the use of lethal force as it seeks to quell mass protests against the junta, with an estimated 250,000 people now displaced, according to UN envoy Tom Andrews.
Leaders and foreign ministers from the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are set to hold talks on the mounting Myanmar crisis in Jakarta on Saturday.
Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing will travel to Indonesia for the summit, in his first overseas trip since the putsch, Nikkei Asia reported.
His involvement has angered activists, human rights groups and a shadow government of ousted Myanmar lawmakers, who on Thursday called on Interpol to arrest him.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha discussed the summit in a phone call on Thursday morning.
During the conversation, Prayut acknowledged that the situation in Myanmar is a challenging issue for peace and stability in the region, according to a press statement.
But Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanee Sangrat confirmed Prayut will send Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai in his place because he must stay home to deal with the coronavirus situation gripping Thailand.
- Hunger and desperation -
ASEAN countries are aware of international expectations to deliver concrete outcomes from the talks, Tanee said.
"It is now up to ASEAN family members including Myanmar to safeguard ASEAN's unity and credibility," Tanee told an online press conference on Thursday.
There have been some calls for Myanmar to be expelled from the bloc, which generally has a hands-off approach when it comes to the internal affairs of its members.
China, which is not a member of ASEAN but is a key ally of Myanmar's military, said the meeting should promote "political reconciliation" in the country.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China hoped the summit would aid a "soft landing" to end the crisis, in remarks reported by state news agency Xinhua.
United Nations special envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, is expected to leave Bangkok for Jakarta for meetings on the sidelines of the gathering.
International condemnation of the coup and violence continues to build but the junta has so far largely weathered the backlash.
The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) warned Thursday that "hunger and desperation" were rising sharply across Myanmar, due to pre-existing poverty, Covid-19 and the political chaos.
"More and more poor people have lost their jobs and are unable to afford food," said WFP Myanmar country director Stephen Anderson. "A concerted response is required now to alleviate immediate suffering, and to prevent an alarming deterioration in food security."
The WFP said its new food assistance operation would target up to two million vulnerable people, but it estimates that up to 3.4 million more will be hungry within six months.
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