KONTAN.CO.ID - 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 which hundreds have been killed in Myanmar, 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. Read Also: Oil drops below $70 as U.S. urges OPEC+ to pump more "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. A military spokesman did not answer calls from Reuters to seek comment. The junta could not be trusted to honour the deal, however, Myanmar pro-democracy activist Thinzar ShunLei Yi told Reuters, adding, "Ceasefires buy more time for the military to reload bullets." Maw Htun Aung, a deputy minister in the National Unity Government formed of opponents of military rule, said ASEAN needed to tell the junta to stop "killing and terrorising" its own people. Read Also: China's Covid outbreak hitting services sector, travel, hospitality In an interview with Reuters on Saturday, Erywan said he was still negotiating with the military over the terms of a visit he hoped to make before late October, and had sought access to ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.