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Change in Kyi's Status Major Success for ASEAN Policy in Myanmar: Expert

On Tuesday, Myanmar's court granted Aung San Suu Kyi clemency on five charges, reducing her jail term from 33 to 27 years.
Sputnik
In what appears to be a revival of diplomatic efforts, Myanmar’s court reduced the court term of 78-year-old prominent political figure Kyi. Not only that, but last week she was also shifted from prison to house arrest in the capital Naypyitaw.
Kyi was detained by the military in February 2021 following a coup that ousted her.
Welcoming the move by the military, a Thai political scientist told Sputnik that Kyi’s change in status is a success for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) policy in Myanmar.

“Changes in recent weeks in the situation of Aung San Suu Kyi became the first significant success of the diplomacy of the countries of the ASEAN, and, above all, Thailand, on the long path of resolving the internal conflict in Myanmar", Thai political scientist, politician and media observer Nitiphumthanat Ming-Ruchiralai told Sputnik.

Notably, Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai met Kyi on 9 July in the capital. This was the first time since February 2021 that Kyi met any foreign leader following the military coup. Earlier, the same request had been made by ASEAN and United Nations envoys, which were subsequently turned down by the military.
Thailand's foreign minister's visit came just a few days before ASEAN foreign ministers met in Jakarta, where Myanmar remained a hot topic of discussion.
Ming-Ruchiralai stressed that if the latest development is seen through non-Western spectacles, one can understand the logic behind the military action.

“If we proceed from reality, and not from the wishes of the Myanmar opposition and the West, and understand the logic of the actions of the Myanmar military, then we see something completely different. After more than two years of the absence of any progress in fulfilling the requirements of the Five-Point ASEAN Consensus on the settlement of the conflict in Myanmar, a real breakthrough has occurred in this matter, because one of the main requirements of the consensus is the creation of conditions for peaceful negotiations of all parties to the conflict. From Aung San Suu Kyi, with her absolute authority in the ranks of the opposition, in this matter a lot depends", he stated.

World News
Aung San Suu Kyi Gets Partial Pardon in Myanmar - State Media
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