NAYPYITAW, 2 March, 2021 (TON): In an effort to tackle the injurious violence and cope with the political unrest in Myanmar, On Tuesday the foreign ministers of Southeast Asian countries prepared for a special meeting with Myanmar’s ruling military.

ASEAN groups Myanmar, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Brunei, and Vietnam, will encourage dialogue between Suu Kyi and the junta.

The streets of the country went quiet largely ahead of what protesters said would be another big demonstration.

On Monday, Police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse hundreds of protesters in the big city Yangon and other side streets.

Junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing however, said protest leaders and “instigators” would be punished and threatened action against civil servants who were refusing to work.

He has pledged to hold new elections and hand power to the winner but has given no clear time frame.

In a television interview late on Monday, he said ASEAN would encourage dialogue between Suu Kyi and the junta.

“There is the political leadership and there is the military leadership, on the other hand. They need to talk, and we need to help bring them together,” Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said.

Sa Sa, the committee’s anointed envoy to the United Nations, said ASEAN should have no dealings with “this illegitimate military-led regime”.

Philippine Foreign Minister, Teodoro Locsin, indicated on Twitter that ASEAN would be firm with Myanmar and said its policy of non-interference in a member’s internal affairs “is not a blanket approval or tacit consent for wrong to be done there”.

The United States warned Myanmar’s military rulers on Monday that it would take more action if security forces kill unarmed people and attack journalists and activists, which State Department spokesman Ned Price called “abhorrent violence”.

Currently, the Nobel Peace laureate has not been seen in public since her government was toppled and she was detained along with other party leaders, however, she appeared before the court on Monday via video link.