(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.