WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th May, 2022) During a bilateral meeting in Washington earlier in the day, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman urged Foreign Minister of Cambodia Prak Sokhonn to seek the swift implementation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar, State Department spokesperson Ned price said in a statement.
"Deputy Secretary Wendy Sherman met today in Washington with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn to discuss United States support for Cambodia's year as ASEAN Chair," the statement said on Wednesday. "She urged Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhonn, in his role as ASEAN Special Envoy on Burma, to seek swift and full implementation of the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus, including an immediate cessation of violence and dialogue with all parties concerned."
Sherman expressed US concerns about fundamental freedoms in Cambodia, including the prosecution of Kem Sokha and restrictions on civil society leaders in advance of the June 2022 commune elections and 2023 national elections, according to the statement.
On February 1, the Myanmar military assumed power after it accused the then-ruling National League for Democracy party of rigging the November 2020 general election. The military coup triggered a civil protests, resulting in the death of several hundred people.
In April 2021, the ASEAN held an emergency summit on Myanmar in Jakarta, reaching a Five-Point Consensus on immediate cessation of violence, dialogue establishment and humanitarian assistance. The consensus proved to be unsuccessful as the Myanmar military continued to crack down on civilian protests. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners Burma, the Myanmar military has killed more than 1,300 people and arrested more than 10,000 people.
The ASEAN member states include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.
