ASEAN submits list of nominees for special envoy to Myanmar military regime

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) presented a list of nominations for the post of Myanmar's special envoy in the organisation to Tatmadaw (Myanmar military).

ASEAN's Secretariat said the Chairman of its Foreign Ministers' meeting Erywan bin Pehin Yusof and the bloc's Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi visited Myanmar and met the country's senior officials late last week, including the military chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, reported NHK World.

The Secretariat said they discussed the appointment and role of the ASEAN chair's special envoy to Myanmar, and presented the list of nominees proposed by the bloc's member countries for the position.

The secretariat did not disclose the names of the nominees.

The envoy will be tasked with mediating dialogue between the country's military and its pro-democracy entities, reported NHK World.

Participants in the ASEAN Leaders' Meeting in April agreed to the "Five-Point Consensus" for a peaceful solution to the situation in Myanmar. It calls for the envoy's dispatch and the immediate cessation of violence.

The appointment of an ASEAN envoy was one of five points agreed at the regional summit in Jakarta in April, which Min Aung Hlaing attended over the objection of opponents who said the invitation legitimized his power grab.

But Myanmar's military, which launched a coup in February, appears hesitant to agree to a swift implementation of the consensus.

The military leader recently indicated that he would consider the possibility of a visit by the envoy after the domestic situation has stabilized, reported NHK World.

Security forces in Myanmar have brutally suppressed widespread popular protests against the military takeover, firing live ammunition into crowds and carrying out waves of the arrest.

Brunei is taking the lead in negotiating with the Myanmar junta because it currently holds ASEAN's rotating chairmanship. ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.