Myanmar skips ASEAN summit after its military ruler shut out

By EILEEN NG and JIM GOMEZ
Associated Press

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Southeast Asian leaders have begun their annual summit without Myanmar, amid a diplomatic standoff over the military-ruled nation’s exclusion from the group’s meetings. Myanmar skipped the summit in protest after the regional bloc — the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, known as ASEAN — shut out its top general from its meetings. The group’s refusal to allow Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing to represent Myanmar at the summit was its harshest rebuke yet of the country’s military rulers since the generals ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February. The military takeover in Myanmar triggered widespread protests and led to a violent crackdown by authorities. Almost 1,200 civilians are estimated to have been killed by security forces.