(Adds Thai PM's comments)
April 20 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian countries will discuss
the crisis in Myanmar at a summit in Jakarta on Saturday, the
ASEAN bloc's secretariat said on Tuesday, but Thailand's prime
minister said several will be represented only by their foreign
ministers.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said he would not be
attending and that Thailand would be represented by Deputy Prime
Minister Don Pramudwinai, who is also foreign minister.
"Some other countries will also send their foreign
ministers," Prayuth, a former army chief who led a coup in
Thailand in 2014, told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting.
A Thai government official said on Saturday that Myanmar
junta chief Min Aung Hlaing would go to Jakarta, although the
Myanmar government has not commented. However, this is seen as
unlikely - in previous stints of military rule, Myanmar has
usually been represented at regional meetings by a prime
minister or foreign minister.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
has been trying to find a way to guide fellow member Myanmar out
of the bloody turmoil that it descended into after the military
overthrew an elected government, led by Nobel laureate Aung San
Suu Kyi, on Feb. 1.
But there have been divergent views among ASEAN members over
how to respond to the army's use of lethal force against
civilians and the group's policies of consensus and
non-interference in each others' affairs have limited its
ability to act.
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore have
sought to ramp up pressure on the junta. Thailand, Myanmar's
neighbour, has said it is "gravely concerned" about escalating
bloodshed, but close military ties and fears of a flood of
refugees mean it is unlikely to go further. Brunei, the current chair of the bloc, said after a meeting
of the group's foreign ministers in March that ASEAN expressed
concern about the situation in Myanmar and called on "all
parties to refrain from instigating further violence".
LITTLE WILLINGNESS
Romeo Jr. Abad Arca, assistant director of the community
relations division of the ASEAN Secretariat, said Saturday's
summit would take place at its Jakarta headquarters under strict
health and security protocols due to the pandemic, confirming an
earlier advisory.
According to the Assistance Association for Political
Prisoners (AAPP) activist group, 738 people have been killed by
Myanmar security forces since the coup.
Myanmar's military has shown little willingness to engage
with its neighbours and no sign of wanting to talk to members of
the government it ousted, accusing some of them of treason,
which is punishable by death.
Pro-democracy politicians including ousted members of
parliament from Suu Kyi's party announced the formation of a
National Unity Government (NUG) on Friday.
It includes Suu Kyi, who has been in detention since the
coup, as well as leaders of the pro-democracy protests and
ethnic minorities.
The NUG says it is the legitimate authority and has called
for international recognition and an invitation to the ASEAN
meeting in place of the junta leader.
Former U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon urged his successor to engage
directly with Myanmar's military to prevent rising violence and
said Southeast Asian countries should not dismiss the turmoil as
an internal issue for Myanmar.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' special envoy on
Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, has communicated with the
military since the coup, but the junta has not allowed her to
visit. In its firmest response yet, the European Union said on
Monday nine members of the junta's State Administration Council,
formed the day after the coup, had been targeted with travel
bans and asset freezes. Information Minister U Chit Naing was
sanctioned also.
The decision follows similar measures by the United States.
Min Aung Hlaing and Myint Swe, who has been acting president
since the coup, were blacklisted by the EU last month.