AP, JAKARTA
Southeast Asian leaders demanded an immediate end to killings and the release of political detainees in Myanmar in an emergency summit Saturday with its top general and coup leader who, according to Malaysia's prime minister, did not reject them outright.
The leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations also told Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing during the two-hour talks in Jakarta that a dialogue between contending parties in Myanmar should immediately start, with the help of ASEAN envoys.
"The situation in Myanmar is unacceptable and should not continue. Violence must be stopped, democracy, stability and peace in Myanmar must be returned immediately," Indonesian President Joko Widodo said during the meeting. "The interests of the people of Myanmar must always be the priority."
Daily shootings by police and soldiers since the Feb. 1 coup have killed more than 700 mostly peaceful protesters and bystanders, according to several independent tallies.
The messages conveyed to Min Aung Hlaing were unusually blunt and could be seen as a breach of the conservative 10-nation bloc's bedrock principle forbidding member states from interfering in each other's affairs. But Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said that policy should not lead to inaction if a domestic situation "jeopardizes the peace, security, and stability of ASEAN and the wider region" and there is international clamor for resolute action.
"There is a tremendous expectation on the part of the international community on how ASEAN is addressing the Myanmar issue. The pressure is increasing," Muhyiddin said. The current ASEAN chair, Brunei Prime Minister Hassanal Bolkiah, and the bloc's secretary general should be allowed access to Myanmar to meet contending parties, encourage dialogue and come up with "an honest and unbiased observation," he said.
Such a political dialogue "can only take place with the prompt and unconditional release of political detainees," the Malaysian premier said.
A formal statement issued by ASEAN through Brunei after the summit outlined the demands made by the six heads of state and three foreign ministers in more subtle terms. It asked for the "immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar" and urged all parties to "exercise utmost restraint," but omitted the demand voiced by Widodo and other leaders for the immediate release of political detainees. It said ASEAN would provide humanitarian aid to Myanmar.
In a news conference late Saturday, Muhyidin said that Min Aung Hlaing told ASEAN leaders that he will find a way to solve the problem and agreed that violence must stop.
"Our proposals would be accepted, the general in his response did not reject (them)," Muhyidin said, "This is very encouraging progress."
When asked about Min Aung Hlaing's response to the demand to cease the violence, Muhyidin said that ASEAN leaders tried not to accuse his side too much because "we don't care who's causing it, we just stressed that the violence must stop."
"For him, it's the other side that's causing the problems," said Muhyidin. "If that's the case, we hope that he will find a way to stop it even before the ASEAN representatives go to Myanmar."
Muhyidin also denied allegations that ASEAN has not done enough to address the crisis.
"We are concerned about what's happening and we've taken steps and made decisions," he said. "The best thing is that there is a representative from Myanmar who says they are ready to accept our representative there." It was the first time Min Aung Hlaing traveled out of Myanmar since the coup, which was followed by the arrests of Aung San Suu Kyi and many other political leaders.
