ASEAN foreign ministers meet dominated by Myanmar's absence

Southeast Asian foreign ministers have held their annual retreat without their counterpart from military-ruled Myanmar, who was blackballed from participating but allowed to attend online as an observer

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Southeast Asian foreign ministers held their annual retreat Thursday without their counterpart from military-ruled Myanmar, who was blackballed from participating but allowed to attend online as an observer.

The enforced absence of Myanmar’s foreign minister put a spotlight on the normally low-key event, held this year in Phnom Penh with Cambodia as chair of the 10-member Association of the Southeast Asian Nations. The regional bloc has been trying to exert its influence to help restore peace in Myanmar, but faces defiance from its ruling generals who took power in February last year.

The decision not to invite Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin reflected a disagreement within ASEAN over Myanmar’s lack of cooperation in implementing last year's five-step agreement. It includes military leaders’ promise to allow a special ASEAN envoy to meet ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others to foster a dialogue aimed at easing the crisis.

The military has cracked down on widespread protests following its takeover. After security forces unleashed lethal force against peaceful demonstrators, opponents of military rule took up arms, and U.N. experts have described the country as being in a state of civil war.