(Recasts, adds details throughout)
May 7 (Reuters) - Myanmar's ruling military, which is facing
nationwide protests against the coup that removed the elected
government three months ago, said on Friday it would not agree
to a visit by a Southeast Asian envoy until it could establish
stability.
Leaders of countries in the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) reached consensus on five points at a summit on
the Myanmar crisis last month, which was attended by the
architect of the Feb. 1 coup, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
These included an end to violence, dialogue between the
military and its opponents, allowing humanitarian help, and
permitting a visit by a special ASEAN envoy.
"Right now, we are prioritising the security and stability
of the country," Major Kaung Htet San, a spokesman for the
military council, told a televised briefing.
"Only after we achieve a certain level of security and
stability, we will cooperate regarding that envoy."
The junta would consider suggestions made at the summit if
they were helpful to its visions for the country, he added.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the coup, which unleashed
anger amongst a public unwilling to tolerate a return to
military rule after five decades of economic mismanagement and
underdevelopment.
Protests and marches have taken place on most days, the
latest a big pro-democracy demonstration on Friday in the
commercial capital Yangon, and smaller protests in at least 10
other places around the country.
At least 769 people have been killed and nearly 3,700
detained in the military's crackdown on opponents, according to
an advocacy group monitoring the crisis.
The junta says it is battling terrorists. On Friday,
spokesman Kaung Htet San said more arrests of instigators of
violence had been made than were publicly announced.
The April 24 ASEAN meeting in Jakarta was hailed as a
success by those who attended, but analysts and activists remain
skeptical that Myanmar's generals will implement the five-point
plan, which had no timeframe nor any mention of releasing
political prisoners, including ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Kaung Htet San said ASEAN leaders had provided positive
suggestions to Min Aung Hlaing, but whether or not they would be
followed depended on the situation in Myanmar, and if their
ideas were "helpful to our further visions".
CONFLICTS REIGNITED
The prospect of stability anytime soon in Myanmar appears
bleak, with a reigniting of conflict between the military and
ethnic minority insurgents in the borderlands and minor bombings
and explosions now taking place regularly in its main cities.
The junta says it is fighting rogue elements of ethnic
armies and all parties remain committed to a nationwide
ceasefire. It has blamed the spate of urban bombings on
supporters of Suu Kyi's ousted government.
A recently formed National Unity Government, a coalition of
anti-military groups, says the junta orchestrated the bombings
as a pretext to crush its opponents.
Two local media outlets on Friday reported that fighters
from the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) attacked and killed 30
Myanmar troops as they tried to travel on a river, citing local
people and a KIA source.
Kaung Htet San said violence and armed conflicts would be
dealt with by the military "in a suitable way".
The junta has for months limited access to the internet in
an effort to disrupt the anti-coup movement and this week banned
satellite television receivers of outside broadcasts.
Kaung Htet San said the military respected the public's
right to access information, but overseas-based social networks
were being used to share material that was "very alarming for
national security".
He also said security would be intensified to protect
strategic gas pipelines, following an attack on security
personnel at one location nearly Mandalay this week.
Myanmar has twin oil and gas pipelines that stretch across
the country to China, a country many in Myanmar believe enabled
generals to amass vast personal wealth from natural resources,
at a time of crippling sanctions and international isolation.
China has said it takes no sides in the conflict and wants a
stable Myanmar.