Min Aung Hlaing blames opposition for violence after ASEAN snub
Al Jazeera
The Southeast Asian grouping decided to exclude coup leader from summit because of the lack of progress in a peace plan agreed in April.
Myanmar army chief Min Aung Hlaing, snubbed by ASEAN leaders over this month’s regional summit, has said that while the military wanted to restore order and bring peace to a country plunged into turmoil by its February 1 coup, it was its opponents that were causing violence.
Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing made the comments in an address on state television on Monday, after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) announced over the weekend that it would invite a “non-political” representative from Myanmar in an unprecedented snub that drew anger in the capital, Naypyidaw.
The leaders of ASEAN’s 10 members are due to meet from October 26-28.