BANGKOK ¨C Few had high hopes that a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which counts Myanmar among its members, would produce any serious initiative to end the bloodshed after Myanmar¡¯s coup, with the junta leader himself in attendance.
Yet the summit¡¯s concluding ¡°consensus statement¡± ¡ª accepted by all member states including Myanmar ¡ª did stretch the bounds of ASEAN¡¯s longstanding principle of noninterference in members¡¯ internal affairs.
It called for an end to violence and a dialogue among all parties ¡ª interpreted by some as an attempt to broker talks between the junta and Myanmar¡¯s parallel National Unity Government (NUG) ¡ª as well as the naming of an ASEAN envoy and a humanitarian aid mission.
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