Malaysia’s foreign minister says Southeast Asian nations must decide what’s next for Myanmar amid the failure of the five-point peace plan.
Reuters reports that Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said on Monday that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must seriously review if the five-point consensus is still relevant, or if it should be replaced with something new.
“By the time we meet in November, we must ask that hard question and must have the answer during that time,” he said.
Myanmar has been in crisis since the army deposed elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in February last year, imprisoning her and other leaders and unleashing a brutal crackdown on protesters and dissent.
ASEAN has been leading peace efforts, coming up with its five-point plan in April 2021.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Abdullah expressed hope that the 15-member United Nations Security Council will not fail the people of Myanmar.
The United Nations Security Council is reviewing a British-drafted resolution circulated on Friday, which calls for a halt to all bloodshed in Myanmar, an immediate cessation of arms transfers to Myanmar, and the possibility of U.N. sanctions.
