A man is embraced by women outside Insein prison in Yangon, Myanmar on Sunday — AP YANGON, Apr 18 (AFP): Myanmar's shadow government on Sunday urged Southeast Asian leaders to give it a seat at the table during crisis talks next week, and not to recognise the military regime that seized power in a February coup.
Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing is expected to join a special ASEAN summit on Myanmar on Saturday in Jakarta-his first official overseas trip since the putsch that ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The army has moved to quell mass protests against its rule, killing at least 730 people according to a local monitoring group.
Min Aung Hlaing's invitation to the meeting of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations has drawn scorn from activists who have urged foreign leaders not to formally recognise the junta.
Moe Zaw Oo, deputy minister of foreign affairs for the parallel "national unity government"-formed Friday by ousted lawmakers mostly from Suu Kyi's party, as well as ethnic-minority politicians-said ASEAN had not reached out to them.
An Arab News adds: Myanmar's junta released on Saturday more than 23,000 prisoners to mark the traditional new year holiday, including at least three political detainees, and the military leader behind the February coup confirmed he would attend a regional summit later this month.
It wasn't immediately clear if those released included pro-democracy activists who were detained for protesting the coup. State broadcaster MRTV said that junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing had pardoned 23,047 prisoners, including 137 foreigners who will be deported from Myanmar. He also reduced sentences for others.
As security forces continued the deadly crackdown, unconfirmed but credible accounts with photos on social media said that three people were killed Saturday in the central city of Mogok, in Myanmar's gem mining region.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which monitors casualties and arrests, government forces have killed at least 728 protesters since the takeover.
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