BANGKOK (Reuters) -The Southeast Asian regional bloc will find it difficult to re-engage with Myanmar even after its upcoming election, the Thai foreign minister said on Tuesday, calling for the release of the country’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Myanmar is scheduled to hold a multi-phase general election starting on December 28 amid a raging civil war, an exercise that critics have derided as a sham to extend the control of the ruling military that took power in a 2021 coup.
Many pro-democracy parties have either been banned or are refusing to take part in the polls, which junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has acknowledged will not be held nationwide.
“I think under the present circumstances and the fact that the elections will be held when they haven’t had the needed inclusive dialogue yet, it will be difficult for us to re-engage with Myanmar,” Sihasak Phuangketkeow said at an event at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand.
“I hope that we can maintain unity in this position.”
Foreign ministers of the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations last month pushed the junta for a fair and inclusive election, asking it to adhere to the bloc’s four-year-old peace plan.
Myanmar has been in political turmoil since the 2021 coup, when the military ousted a civilian government led by Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, sparking a nationwide armed resistance.
Suu Kyi has been in detention since, and the 80-year-old political icon is suffering from worsening heart problems and needs urgent medical attention, according to her son.
“I think it’s time that they receive good consideration for releasing her,” Sihasak said, referring to the junta and Suu Kyi. “She’s been in custody for too long, and at her age, we don’t know the condition of her health.”
(Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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