Cambodian PM back home, his visit sparks protests in Myanmar

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen returned to Phnom Penh on Saturday after concluding his two day visit to Myanmar. He met with the Chairman of the State Administration Council  (SAC) of Myanmar, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. He discussed a number of bilateral and regional issues of common interest and concerns, said the Foreign Minister of Cambodia Prak Sokhonn. Cambodia is current chair of the 10-member ASEAN, which adopted a five-point "consensus" peace plan in April. Hun Sen is the first head of government  to visit Myanmar after the February 1 coup in which the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi was ousted by the military. The visit aimed to revive peace efforts in line with the  5 point consensus reached among ASEAN countries in April last year. Cambodia is the current Chair of the ASEAN grouping.

Briefing the media in Phnom Penh, Foreign Minister Sokhonn said that the outcome of the talks with Myanmar leaders was very positive. It is a progressive step towards the five-point consensus reached by the ASEAN leaders last year, said the Foreign Minister.  The joint statement issued at the end of the visit pledged support to the ASEAN special envoy in fulfilling the mandate to implement the five-point consensus in accordance with the ASEAN charter. It also  welcomed the participation of  the Special envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar to join the ceasefire talks with the Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAO).
Responding to the criticism of the visit of PM Hun Sen to Myanmar as an act to legitimise military rule, Prak Sokhonn said that it is an unnecessary language as other countries have kept their diplomatic ties with the Naypyidaw regime. Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn said that it is for the UN Security Council to decide whether to send peacekeeping troops to Myanmar in case the crisis turns into a full blown civil war. He denied that Hun Sen had asked for a meeting with the jailed leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

In Myanmar, opponents of military rule have said Hun Sen, who seized power in Phnom Penh in a 1997 coup, is backing the junta by making the trip. In Depayin, about 300 km north of the capital, Naypyidaw, protesters burned a poster of the Cambodian prime minister and chanted "Hun Sen don't come to Myanmar. We don't want dictator Hun Sen". There were also reports of protests in the second city of Mandalay and the Tanintharyi and Monywa regions.