Myanmar junta leader set to join Asean summit

YANGON: Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing will join a special Asean summit next week, the Thai foreign ministry said on Saturday, his first official trip since masterminding a coup which deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The February 1 putsch triggered a massive uprising, bringing hundreds of thousands of protesters to the streets to demand a return to democracy, while civil servants have boycotted work in a bid to shutter the junta’s administration.

The military has deployed lethal force to quell the anti-coup movement, killing more than 720 people and detaining some 3,100 activists, journalists and dissidents, according to a local monitoring group.

The international community has largely condemned the generals for use of force against unarmed civilians -- imposing targeted sanctions against top military brass, their families and army-linked businesses.

But regional leaders have sought to open communications with the regime, and on Saturday Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that a summit of Southeast Asian leaders in Jakarta on Myanmar’s situation will include the senior general.