Ex-UN head calls for end to violence in Myanmar

BANGKOK—Former UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon has called for an immediate end to violence in Myanmar after a surprise meeting with the military leaders of the violence-plagued Southeast Asian nation.

Ban met Monday in the Myanmar capital Naypyitaw with the leader of the military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, and other top officials. His mission was made on behalf of a group of elder statesmen that engages in peacemaking and human rights initiatives around the world.

Ban is deputy chair of the group, which calls itself The Elders.

A statement released Tuesday by the group quoted Ban as saying his meetings were “exploratory.”

It said Ban, who flew to Bangkok from Naypyitaw Monday night, stressed in his talks the need to implement a peace plan by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the United Nations to stop the violence between the military and the pro-democracy resistance forces following the army’s 2021 ouster of the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

Guatemala president in Taiwan expresses ‘rock-solid friendship’

By Johnson Lai The Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan—The president of Guatemala appealed to other governments to respect Taiwan’s sovereignty during an official visit Tuesday at a time when China’s ruling Communist Party is stepping up efforts to isolate the selfruled island democracy Beijing claims as its own territory.

President Alejandro Giammattei’s government is one of a dwindling number that have official relations with Taipei instead of Beijing. Legislators from the United States and Europe have visited to show support in the face of Beijing’s attempts to intimidate the island, but their governments have official relations with China, not Taiwan.

Taiwan and China split in 1949 after a civil war. Taiwan never has been part of the People’s Republic of China, but the Communist Party says it is obliged to unite with the mainland, by force if necessary.

“I would like to appeal to the international community and the free world that we should strive to respect Taiwan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Giammattei said in a speech to Taiwan’s legislature. He expressed “rock-solid friendship” with Taiwan.

Giammattei said his visit was a “demonstration of our firm support for your country and our commitment to defending your sovereignty and territorial integrity, and our firm opposition to foreign aggression.”

President Xi Jinping’s government has flown fighter jets and bombers near Taiwan in increasing numbers and fired missiles into the sea in an attempt to intimidate the island.

The number of governments that deal with Taiwan as a na - tional government is shrinking as Beijing and Taipei compete for recognition from small, mostly poor countries in Africa, Latin America and the South Pacific with infusions of aid and investment.

The United States and all European governments except tiny Vatican City have no official relations with Taiwan, a center for high-tech industry and one of the biggest global traders, but maintain extensive commercial and informal ties.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ingwen visited Guatemala and Belize this month on a tour aimed at shoring up relations with the handful of governments that recognize Taiwan. In Guatemala, Tsai visited a rural hospital built with a donation from Taiwan.

Earlier, Honduras announced it was switching recognition to Beijing following the announcement that a Chinese company would build a $300 million hydroelectric dam project in central Honduras.

Editor: Angel R. Calso