Min Aung Hlaing blames opposition for violence after ASEAN snub

Myanmar's coup leader Min Aung Hlaing has rejected demands made by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to comply with its plan for a political transition. His comments, the first since Myanmar was excluded from this month's upcoming ASEAN meeting, also laid the blame for violence in the country on forces opposed to military rule. Brunei, which hosts this year's ASEAN meetings, pointed to a lack of progress on a peace plan that Myanmar had agreed to during an emergency summit in Jakarta in April. More than 1,100 people have been killed, and activists have said security forces are still conducting raids and arresting people across the country. Min Aung Hlaing, in his speech on Monday, also agreed to release more than 5,600 people arrested for their roles in anti-coup protests. But the rights group, Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, has criticised the amnesty as a form of distraction for foreign governments.

Al Jazeera's Florence Looi reports.

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