China calls for understanding between parties in Myanmar to achieve peace

Bangkok, Jul 4 (EFE).- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for an understanding between warring parties in Myanmar to achieve peace and stability after the military coup in February 2021.

Wang said this in a Monday A Chinese Foreign Ministry statement Monday said Wang had spoken Sunday during a meeting in the Myanmar city of Bagan with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) envoy Prak Sokhon.

This is the Chinese minister’s first trip to Myanmar since the coup.

The Chinese minister said he expressed his support for the reconciliation in Myanmar and the five points of consensus agreed in April 2021 between the ASEAN leaders and Myanmar military junta leader Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.

The points of consensus include the end of the violence, dialogue between the warring parties after the coup, the appointment of a special envoy, humanitarian assistance from ASEAN and the envoy’s visit to Myanmar.

Wang, who arrived Saturday in Myanmar, is scheduled to travel Monday to Thailand and will also participate in the G20 Foreign Affairs meeting Thursday and Friday.

The military coup plunged Myanmar into a deep political, social and economic crisis, opening a spiral of violence with new civilian militias that have exacerbated the guerrilla war that the country has been experiencing for decades.

The army justifies the coup on alleged massive fraud during the November 2020 general elections, whose result was annulled and in which the party of the deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi won a landslide victory, with the endorsement of international observers.

At least 2,050 people have died as a result of the violent repression carried out by police and soldiers, who have shot to kill peaceful and unarmed protesters, according to data compiled by the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners. EFE

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