STORY: :: ASEAN urges Myanmar's military leaders to prioritize peace over an election amid an escalating civil war
:: January 19, 2025
:: Langkawi, Malaysia
:: Mohamad Hasan, Malaysian Foreign Minister
"One thing that we know is that they want to have an election, but we told them that an election is not a priority at the moment. The priority now is to ceasefire, and everybody has to stand down. See that is important, and access to all segments of the humanitarian aid in Myanmar..."
"It is very simple: stop the hostilities, access of military aid and dialogue with ASEAN partners. It's very simple."
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) called on the warring sides in member nation Myanmar to stop the fighting and told the junta's representative to allow unhindered humanitarian access, Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told a press conference after a ministerial retreat on the island of Langkawi.
Malaysia takes over chairing the 10-state group this year.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since early 2021 when its military overthrew the elected civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, triggering pro-democracy protests that morphed into a widening armed rebellion that has taken over swathes of the country.
Despite being battered on multiple fronts, its economy in tatters and dozens of political parties banned, the junta plans this year to hold an election, which critics have widely derided as a sham to keep the generals in power through proxies.