Asean’s Myanmar envoy in talks with junta, seeks access to Aung San Suu Kyi

The Asean bloc has been trying to end violence in Myanmar and open a dialogue between the military rulers and their opponents

Brunei diplomat Erywan Yusof says he is trying to gain ‘a clear picture of what I’m supposed to do, what they are going to allow me to do when I visit’

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Erywan Yusof speaks during an interview in Bandar Seri Begawan on September 4, 2021. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:41pm, 4 Sep 2021Updated: 9:45pm, 4 Sep 2021

A Brunei diplomat appointed by Southeast Asia’s regional bloc as its special envoy to Myanmar on Saturday said he was still negotiating with the military on the terms of a visit to the country and that he had sought access to ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has been trying to end violence in Myanmar and open a dialogue between the military rulers and their opponents following the overthrow of Suu Kyi in February.

Asean tasked Erywan Yusof, Brunei’s second foreign affairs minister, last month with leading these efforts.

“There is an urgent need to go now to Myanmar. But I think before all that, I need to have assurances,” Erywan said. “I need to be able to have a clear picture of what I’m supposed to do, what they are going to allow me to do when I visit.”

Erywan wants to visit before late October when Asean leaders are to meet, but said no date has been finalised.

“They haven’t put a condition yet but they haven’t been clear about it,” he said.

People walk past makeshift structures constructed along the Myanmar-China border after residents from Muse township fled their villages due to fighting between the military and ethnic armed groups. Photo: AFP

Requests seeking access to Suu Kyi have been made to the State Administrative Council, chaired by junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, Erywan said. But access to the deposed leader was not a requirement under a five-point consensus reached by Asean in April, he added.