Myanmar envoy urges UN action against military coup

UNITED NATIONS: Myanmar’s permanent representative to the United Nations on Friday urged the international community to take the “strongest possible action” to end the junta’s rule in the country.

“We need... the strongest possible action from the international community to immediately end the military coup, to stop oppressing the innocent people, to return the state power to the people, and to restore the democracy,” Kyaw Moe Tun told the UN General Assembly.

During a special meeting on Myanmar, the envoy called on all member states to issue public statements strongly condemning the coup. He appealed for countries not to recognize the military regime or cooperate with it and asked them to demand that the junta respects last year’s democratic elections.

Tun also urged nations to “take all stronger possible measures” to stop violent acts committed by security forces against peaceful demonstrators. “We will continue to fight for a government, which is, of the people by the people, for the people,” he said.

Earlier, the UN envoy to Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener said she “strongly condemns” recent steps by the junta including “unacceptable” use of lethal force, and called for the international community to press for a return to democracy.

“There is no justification for the military’s actions, and we must continue to call for the reversal of this impermissible situation, exhausting all collective and bilateral channels to restore Myanmar’s path on democratic reform,” she told the General Assembly via video link.

The diplomat said she been blocked from visiting Myanmar by the military regime. “It seems they want to continue making large-scale arrests. This is cruel and inhumane,” she said.

“If there is any escalation in terms of military brutality -- and sadly as we have seen this before in Myanmar -- against people exercising their basic rights, let us act swiftly and collectively,” Burgener added.Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar’s independence hero, spent nearly 15 years under house arrest under previous juntas. She faces charges of illegally importing six walkie-talkie radios and of violating a natural disaster law by breaching coronavirus protocols.