Asean names top Brunei diplomat as Myanmar envoy

SINGAPORE: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Wednesday appointed an envoy to Myanmar after a months-long delay in diplomatic efforts to resolve the coup-hit country’s political crisis.

Asean’s foreign ministers said in a joint statement, delayed by internal wrangling, that they welcomed the appointment of Brunei Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof as the bloc’s special envoy.

Member state Myanmar has been in political chaos since the military junta ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in February, accusing it of fraud during 2020 elections. More than 900 people have since been killed in the junta’s brutal crackdown on dissent, according to a local monitoring group.

Asean's which operates on a premise of consensus and non-interference, has been under global pressure to help resolve the crisis. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing attended an Asean meeting in April that led to a "consensus statement" that called for an immediate end to violence and a regional special envoy.