Myanmar junta chief says committed to restoring peace, democracy

 Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar’s armed forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing delivers his speech at the IX Moscow conference on international security in Moscow, Russia June 23, 2021. REUTERS FILE PHOTO

Myanmar’s junta leader on Monday defended his military government’s actions in a regional peace plan and said it was seeking to restore order, but that its opponents were committing violence, which Asean should take notice of.

In a televised address, coup leader Min Aung Hlaing reiterated the junta’s five-step process toward restoring democracy, and said some of the things demanded by a special envoy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) were non-negotiable.

It was Min Aung Hlaing’s first remarks since Asean agreed to sideline him from an upcoming leaders’ summit over lack of progress in a peace roadmap.

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