THE PHNOM PENH POST/ANN) – Cambodia has called on Myanmar’s ruling State Administration Council (SAC) to release former civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from imprisonment in solitary confinement.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn who is also presently serving as the Asean chair’s special envoy on Myanmar – made the call after Suu Kyi was reportedly transferred last week from house arrest in Naypyidaw to what observers described as much harsher conditions in the solitary confinement wing of the capital’s prison.
Sokhonn urged all parties to the conflict in the crisis-hit country and especially the SAC to begin negotiating towards a peaceful resolution and a national reconciliation without any further delay.
He emphasised that the talks must be inclusive and involve all factions currently involved in the conflict, according to the ministry’s June 27 press release.
Sokhonn and his Asean colleagues have expressed “deep concerns” over this latest move and urged the SAC to facilitate her return to the home where she was originally detained. “I have no doubt that these same concerns resonate far beyond Asean, considering that Aung San Suu Kyi is highly regarded internationally and considered by many in Myanmar as having played a critical role in your country’s return to normalcy after its long period of isolation.
“It is imperative that she be involved in talks that lead to national reconciliation through peaceful political solutions,” Sokhonn wrote in a recent letter to SAC-appointed Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin.
