WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Gregory W. Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and U.S. Representatives Ami Bera (D-C.A.) and Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, and Nonproliferation today released the following joint statement in response to reports that ASEAN may invite senior members of the Burmese military regime to participate in official meetings.

“We are troubled by reports that Cambodia is considering including the Burmese military junta in the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting. ASEAN must not bestow credibility to a military that illegitimately overthrew an elected government and wantonly tortures and murders its own people.

“We remain supportive of the decision made by the previous ASEAN Chair not to invite a political representative from Burma. The Burmese military has refused to adhere to ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus. Its continued violence has killed over 1,400 people in less than a year and worsened a humanitarian crisis with severe repercussions for the region. We hope that, as Chair, Cambodia abides by the previous ASEAN decision that Burma is not entitled to political representation within ASEAN until the Five-Point Consensus is implemented.”