(Reuters) - Myanmar's military leadership on

Wednesday lashed out at the ASEAN grouping

of Southeast Asian countries for excluding its

generals from regional gatherings, accusing it

of caving to

"external pressure"

Members of the Association of Southeast Asian

Nations have heaped condemnation on

Myanmar's junta, which they say has failed to

make concrete progress on a peace plan

agreed with the 10-nation bloc last year,

including engaging with opponents and a

cessation of hostilities.

Myanmar's military seized power from an

elected government in a coup last year, and

has since then crushed dissent with lethal

force. Most recently, the junta has been

criticised for executing political activists and

imprisoning Aung San Suu Kyi, the symbol of

Myanmar's opposition and democracy

movement.

ASEAN has barred Myanmar's generals from

attending regional meetings, and some

members said last month it would be forced to

rethink the way forward unless the junta

demonstrates progress on the peace plan.

The junta has declined offers to send non-

political representatives instead to ASEAN

meetings.

"If a seat representing a country is vacant, then

it should not be labelled an ASEAN summit,

junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun said at a

routine news conference on Wednesday,

adding that Myanmar was working on

implementing the peace plan.

"What they want is for us to meet and talk with

the terrorists," he said, using the junta's label

for pro-democracy movements that have taken

up arms against the military.

He said ASEAN was violating its own policy of

non-interference in a country's sovereign

affairs while facing

"external pressure", but did

not elaborate.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cambodia,

which is currently chairing ASEAN, did not

immediately respond to Reuters' request for

comment.

Several western countries including the United

States and Britain have imposed sanctions on

Myanmar's junta over the coup.