ASEAN leaders hold summit with Myanmar’s general shut out

By EILEEN NG and JIM GOMEZ
Associated Press

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Southeast Asian leaders are meeting this week for their annual summit with world leaders but without Myanmar’s top general. He has been shut out for refusing to take steps to end the deadly violence sparked by his forces’ seizure of power in February. Myanmar defiantly protested the exclusion of its military ruler, saying it goes against the bedrock principles of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that no member should interfere in another’s domestic affairs. ASEAN has been under intense pressure to take steps to help end the quagmire that has left an estimated 1,100 civilians dead since the army took power and locked up ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others, igniting widespread peaceful protests as well as armed resistance.