ASEAN Myanmar Summit Press Conference starting soon! Follow our live tweets here You can watch live on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aseanmp  #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar

Speaking first: Naw Susanna Hla Hla Soe, Minister of Women, Children & Youth @NUGMyanmar "The series of horrible events happening in Myanmar has put the country at a turning point. Loss of lives, damages, people’s livelihoods, and the economy are beyond description."

"Under the coup, the police tried to find me. Hundreds of soldiers entered my place of stay and I had to run. When I saw children and elderly people running for their lives, it is really heartbreaking," says Naw Susanna.

"The world should speak out. ASEAN should speak out."

"ASEAN leaders think this is normal and simple. But we don't accept this. The people of Myanmar will prove that this is wrong. Enough is enough living under military dictatorship for more than 70 years."

Naw Susanna is talking about unity in Myanmar. "We and the people of Myanmar are capable of building a strong nation and establishing stability in the country. Even ethnic armed groups have never been united before."

"Please recognize and hear the cry of Myanmar people longing for democracy, equality, unity, prosperity, and collaboration. Support and recognize the National Unity Government of Myanmar," says Naw Susanna Hla Hla Soe @NUGMyanmar

"This ASEAN summit should have been held 2 months ago. ASEAN’s slowness to act gave the illegal military junta the wrong message: that they could kill civilians with impunity and cease power by violating their own drafted constitution without much objection by ASEAN" @DebbieStot

"Why is ASEAN recognizing an illegal military junta?ASEAN needs to invite the NUG to the summit & invite the UN Security Council to attend as an observer, to open an ASEAN-UN partnership to directly deal with the military junta to halt violence and create a peaceful resolution."

"It looks like this Saturday is going to be an embarrassing moment for ASEAN. The number of heads of governments not attending seems to be increasing... ASEAN has to tell Min Aung Hlaing point-blank that he has to stop the war against the people of Myanmar," says @mpklang

"All political prisoners must be released and there must be non-violence in Myanmar. The idea of an ASEAN special envoy has to be carefully thought through because it will give time to the military. ASEAN should not be seen as giving legitimacy to the military," @mpklang

"Humanitarian assistance should be coordinated together with the UN," says @mpklang

Naw Susanna Hla Hla Soe agrees. "There should be a clear policy for humanitarian aid to be reached to the refugees and IDPs."

"The army also promised to have elections, but this should not be on the table at all. We should not trust this because the elections would be rigged," says @mpklang

"We have a strategic direction. Our plan is to develop the constitution that the people need and want. We need to fulfill their longing for democracy for a new Myanmar. We have to bring perpetrators to justice," says Naw Susanna @NUGMyanmar

"A failure would mean that the army will continue to lead Myanmar and the future of the country," says @mpklang Previously, the army took ASEAN for a ride for two years without any kind of accountability. ASEAN needs to address the situation in Myanmar with the NUG.

"There are security implications for the ASEAN region as a whole, such as refugee movements, arms and drug trades. ASEAN needs to go back to its own charter, which commits ASEAN to the rule of law, democracy, and human rights," says @mpklang

"ASEAN has shown guts in the past," @DebbieStot referring to Cyclone Nargis, when the Myanmar military initially blocked movement of media, local people providing aid & refused international assistance. Now ASEAN needs to open the way for partnership & humanitarian assistance.

"This junta is ruining economic opportunities," says @DebbieStot @Altsean "The army arrested economists, the banks can no longer function. The military turned industrial zones into war zones. They imposed martial law and killed hundreds of workers who were on strike."

"The military in the peace process is finished. The NUG will continue peacebuilding," says Naw Susanna @NUGMyanmar "We are now discussing and working together. The negotiation partners are NUG and EAO, not the Myanmar Tatmadaw."

"The relevance of ASEAN will be seen on Saturday," says @mpklang "The NUG has been elected by the people, so what is the controversy? The army is subverting the democratic process. That's the controversy."

"The EU has come up with very important steps and they've reached out to the NUG. @ASEAN can learn from that," says @mpklang

There might also be a call to suspend Myanmar from ASEAN. "We need to think seriously about ASEAN recognizing democratic membership," says @DebbieStot

"ASEAN's relevance will be displayed on Saturday. This is about protecting the future of democracy in the region. If our leaders cannot stand with the people of Myanmar, it will be a very sad day," says @mpklang

Thank you for attending the press conference. If you missed it, you can watch the Facebook Live recording here: http://www.facebook.com/aseanmp