Thailand Holds Out Hope for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Meeting

BANGKOK—Thailand hopes Myanmar will allow the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)’s special envoy to meet detained former State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi during an upcoming visit, as Bangkok pushes for renewed dialogue on the country’s crisis.

Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said on Wednesday that Thailand welcomed recent engagement between ASEAN and Myanmar, including informal talks between ASEAN foreign ministers and Myanmar’s foreign minister.

Sihasak said the discussions marked the first time ASEAN had engaged directly with Myanmar in person since 2021 and aimed to encourage Naypyitaw to provide updates on developments inside the country.

ASEAN has acknowledged limited progress under the bloc’s five-point consensus for peace in Myanmar, and agreed on indicators to measure improvements, said the minister. These include the further release of political prisoners and positive developments regarding Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

The military junta announced earlier this year that the 81-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner had been moved from prison to house arrest in Naypyitaw. However, her family, diplomats and legal team have expressed skepticism, as authorities have denied all requests for independent verification or visits, and she has not been seen or heard from since late 2022.

Maria Theresa Lazaro, the ASEAN special envoy to Myanmar and foreign minister of the Philippines, was in Thailand last week for informal talks with representatives of ethnic armed groups from Myanmar as well as a government representative.

Lazaro plans a humanitarian visit to Myanmar to see the situation on the ground in the period before the ASEAN summit in November.

“We also hope that Naypyitaw would allow the [ASEAN] envoy to get access to Aung San Suu Kyi,” Sihasak said.

Asked about Myanmar Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe’s response to the request, Sihasak said the proposal had not been rejected, and he believed it would be discussed with Myanmar’s leadership.

“It’s all about sincerity,” he said, adding that Thailand was sincere in proposing talks and hoped the engagement would lead to progress.

In a related development, Sihasak confirmed reports that Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing will make an official visit to Thailand next month.

The general who led the 2021 coup that deposed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is now the country’s civilian president following elections that featured no meaningful opposition.

Thailand has been leading an effort to begin normalizing relations, both bilaterally and through ASEAN.

“It’s best to bring Myanmar back into the fold,” Sihasak told a news conference in Bangkok on Wednesday.

“We believe that after five years we need to talk, we need to listen, and they need to explain,” he added.

This article first appeared in the Bangkok Post.