KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -Malaysia’s foreign minister will visit Myanmar on Thursday for talks with the ruling junta on its upcoming election and will push for progress on a stalled peace process, Malaysia’s government said.
Mohamad Hasan will make a one-day visit to the capital Naypyitaw in Malaysia’s capacity as chair of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN and will meet junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, the prime minister and the foreign minister, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Myanmar’s military leaders have been barred from meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations since 2022 for failing to honour commitments in an ASEAN five-point peace plan the top general agreed to after leading a coup a year earlier.
Myanmar, locked in a civil war between the military and rebel forces, will have a first voting round in a general election starting December 28, a ballot widely seen by the junta’s critics as a sham to allow the generals to stay in power via proxies.
Only a few parties are contesting the election on a national level and opposition groups have either been barred from running or have refused to take part.
Mohamad said in July that ASEAN did not regard the election as a priority, calling on Myanmar to adhere to its peace commitments instead.
The foreign ministry said Mohamad will call on the junta to implement the peace plan, “specifically on cessation of hostilities, allowing unhindered humanitarian access and holding inclusive dialogue with Myanmar stakeholders”.
Myanmar has been roiled by violence since a 2021 coup that unseated an elected civilian government with its ruling generals facing fierce resistance from armed groups.
In a separate Facebook post on Thursday, Mohamad said recent ceasefire violations were undermining the peace plan efforts, without specifying details.
On Wednesday, at least 20 people were killed in an attack by the junta during a gathering in the central region of Sagaing, according to eyewitnesses, rights groups and others.
(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Martin Petty)
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