Philippines pledges to give Myanmar COVID-19 vaccines
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has pledged to donate COVID-19 vaccines to coup-wracked Myanmar, under the condition that these would not be used to go after critics of the junta which deposed the democratically elected civilian government in February.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. revealed this on Tuesday during the House of Representatives’ hearing on his department’s proposed budget for 2022, noting that the Philippines made this vow during a summit among Southeast Asian countries.
“Among foreign donors, we alone spoke up to provide vaccines to Myanmar, which is under the triple scourge of dictatorship, repression and the pandemic. We stipulated that vaccine assistance to Myanmar not be used as a weapon for submission to dictatorial rule,” Locsin said.
He continued, “I said, vaccines will not be used to lure suspected critics of the junta. In short, vaccine followed by incarceration, jail after coming forward to be jabbed.”
It is not clear how many vaccine doses the Philippines will donate. Manila is struggling to get enough shots for its vaccination program, which it heavily relies on to quash its worst coronavirus wave yet.
Myanmar’s military rulers have said in July that the country will get at least eight million vaccine doses from China and Russia.
The Philippines has been consistent in calling for the restoration of civilian government in Myanmar and the release of its civilian leaders, including its deposed state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.
Follow this thread for updates on the situation in Myanmar, where a coup may be happening after de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other officials have reportedly been detained by the military.
Photo: Military officers wearing facemasks who serve as members of Myanmar's parliament leave after a session at the Assembly of the Union (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw) in Naypyidaw on March 10, 2020. AFP/Ye Aung Thu
Myanmar's junta is endangering the life of jailed democracy figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi, her political party says on Thursday, accusing the military of depriving her of medical care and food.
Suu Kyi has been detained since the generals seized power in February 2021, ending a 10-year democratic experiment and plunging the Southeast Asian country into bloody turmoil.
In recent days, local media have reported the Nobel laureate, 78, was suffering dizzy spells, vomiting and unable to eat because of a tooth infection. — AFP
Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi will be pardoned, state media says.
The United States is "deeply concerned" by the decision from Myanmar's ruling junta to extend the country's state of emergency for six months, a State Department spokesman says.
The extension, announced earlier in the day, spelled a delay for elections the military had pledged to hold in August as it battles anti-coup fighters across the country.
"The United States is deeply concerned by the Burma military regime's extension of the state of emergency, which comes as the regime plunges the country deeper into violence and instability," says spokesman Matthew Miller, using an alternate name for the country. — AFP
The United States is "deeply concerned" by the decision from Myanmar's ruling junta to extend the country's state of emergency for six months, a State Department spokesman says.
The extension, announced earlier in the day, spelled a delay for elections the military had pledged to hold in August as it battles anti-coup fighters across the country.
"The United States is deeply concerned by the Burma military regime's extension of the state of emergency, which comes as the regime plunges the country deeper into violence and instability," says spokesman Matthew Miller, using an alternate name for the country. — AFP
Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan says that conditions were not yet right for ASEAN to open high-level talks with Myanmar on the country's political situation.
"We believe it would be premature to re-engage with the junta at a summit level or even at a foreign minister level," Balakrishnan says when asked about a news report that Thailand had proposed talks.
Speaking in a joint press conference in Washington with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Balakrishnan said the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations had recently reaffirmed their stance. — AFP
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