Brunei’s second foreign affairs minister and ASEAN’s special envoy to Myanmar Erywan Yusof speaks during an interview with Reuters in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei September 4, 2021. REUTERS FILE PHOTO
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BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN — Myanmar’s military rulers have agreed to an Asean call for a ceasefire until the end of the year to ensure distribution of humanitarian aid, Japan’s Kyodo news agency said, citing the envoy of the southeast Asian bloc to the crisis-torn nation.
Following a coup in February, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has been trying to end violence in Myanmar, where hundreds have been killed, and open a dialogue between the military rulers and their opponents.
The envoy, Erywan Yusof, proposed the ceasefire in a video conference with Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, and the military had accepted it, he told the agency.
“This is not a political ceasefire. This is a ceasefire to ensure safety, (and) security of the humanitarian workers” in their effort to distribute aid safely, Erywan said, according to Sunday’s report.
“They didn’t have any disagreement with what I said, with regards to the ceasefire,” it quoted the envoy as saying.
Erywan had also passed his proposal indirectly to parties opposed to rule by the military, it added.
