PHNOM PENH: UN chief Antonio Guterres on Saturday urged the Myanmar junta to \u201cimmediately\u201d restart democracy, saying it was the only way to stop the \u201cunending nightmare\u201d engulfing the country.
\nMyanmar has spiraled into bloody conflict since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi\u2019s civilian government in February last year, with thousands killed.
\nThe escalating crisis dominated a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional bloc, which has led so far fruitless diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed.
\n\u201cThe situation in Myanmar is an unending nightmare for the people and a threat to peace and security across the region,\u201d Guterres told reporters.
\n\u201cI urge the authorities of Myanmar to listen to their people, release political prisoners and get the democratic transition back on track immediately. That is the only way to stability and peace.\u201d
\nAfter meeting ASEAN leaders, Guterres said it was vital that a peace plan agreed with the junta \u2014 but so far not enforced \u2014 came into effect.
\n\u201cIndiscriminate attacks on civilians are horrendous and heartbreaking,\u201d he said.
\nA \u201cfive-point consensus\u201d aimed at ending the chaos in Myanmar, agreed with the junta in April last year, has so far been ignored by the generals.
\nIncreasingly frustrated ASEAN leaders on Friday tasked their foreign ministers with coming up with a concrete plan to implement the consensus.
\nThey also gave their blessing to an ASEAN special envoy meeting opposition groups in Myanmar \u2014 a move that drew a furious response from the junta, which regards the dissident outfits as \u201cterrorists.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PHNOM PENH: UN chief Antonio Guterres on Saturday urged the Myanmar junta to \u201cimmediately\u201d restart democracy, saying it was the only way to stop the \u201cunending nightmare\u201d engulfing the country. Myanmar has spiraled into bloody conflict since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi\u2019s civilian government in February last year, with thousands killed. The escalating […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294825,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[11395,11396,11394,3217],"class_list":{"0":"post-294822","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-democratic-transition","9":"tag-myanmar","10":"tag-track-immediately","11":"tag-un-chief"},"yoast_head":"\n