UN envoy urges action to prevent Myanmar 'civil war'
UNITED NATIONS, United States — The UN envoy on Myanmar implored the Security Council to take action Wednesday in the Asian nation's escalating crisis, warning of the risk of civil war and an imminent "bloodbath" as the junta violently represses pro-democracy protests.
More than 520 people have died in daily demonstrations since the military overthrew elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, halting Myanmar's decade-old experiment in democracy.
"I appeal to this Council to consider all available tools to take collective action and do what is right, what the people of Myanmar deserve and prevent a multi-dimensional catastrophe," special envoy Christine Schraner Burgener told the closed-door session, according to remarks obtained by AFP.
She said she remained open for dialogue with the junta but added: "If we wait only for when they are ready to talk, the ground situation will only worsen. A bloodbath is imminent."
Barbara Woodward, the UN envoy from Britain, which requested the meeting, told reporters the Security Council was "united in its condemnation" and was discussing "a range of measures at our disposal."
But China, considered Myanmar's main ally, ruled out sanctions.
"One-sided pressure and calling for sanctions or other coercive measures will only aggravate tension and confrontation and further complicate the situation, which is by no means constructive," China's ambassador, Zhang Jun, told the meeting, according to a statement.
The session came after Suu Kyi's legal team earlier Wednesday said the ousted leader appeared to be in good health despite two months of detention.
Suu Kyi, 75, has not been seen in public since she was deposed but a member of her legal team, Min Min Soe, was summoned to a police station in the capital Naypyidaw for a video meeting with her.
Suu Kyi is facing a raft of criminal charges, and conviction could see her barred from office for life.
Emergency session
The coup and the junta's subsequent actions have triggered international condemnation.
Britain called for the emergency meeting after the military dramatically ramped up its use of lethal force against protesters over the weekend.
In another violent escalation, Myanmar's military Saturday launched the first air strikes in Karen state in 20 years after a rebel group seized a military base — raising fears of a return to armed conflict in the ethnically diverse nation.
"The military's cruelty is too severe and many (armed ethnic fighters) are taking clear stances of opposition, increasing the possibility of civil war at an unprecedented scale," Burgener said.
"Failure to prevent further escalation of atrocities will cost the world so much more in the longer term than investing now in prevention, especially by Myanmar's neighbors and the wider region."
Zhang, the Chinese ambassador, said he wanted Myanmar to "restore peace, stability and constitutional order as early as possible and continue to steadily advance democratic transition."
He also called for the protection of foreign businesses — a key concern for China, which has seen dozens of its factories torched amid furor against Beijing.
Earlier, a group of ousted MPs from Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), who have been working underground against the junta, said they would form "a new civilian government" in the first week of April, without giving further details.
Mounting bloodshed
World powers have repeatedly condemned the violent crackdown on dissent and hit junta figures with sanctions, but so far the pressure has not swayed the generals.
The US State Department has ordered the departure of non-essential diplomatic staff and their families from Myanmar, and Japan — a top donor to the country — has halted new aid payments.
As well as imposing targeted sanctions, the US also has suspended a trade pact with Myanmar.
Linda Thomas Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations, raised the possibility of action if the military does not step down.
If "they continue the attacks that they were making on civilian populations, then we have to look at how we might do more," she told reporters.
The mounting bloodshed has also angered some of Myanmar's 20 or so armed ethnic groups, who control large areas of territory mostly in border regions.
Three of them — the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army and the Arakan Army — on Wednesday looked set to join the protesters' fight.
Brigadier General Tar Bhone Kyaw from the TNLA told AFP that all three would end their ceasefire with the military.
"If they continue to kill the people, we have no reason to extend unilateral ceasefire with them," he said.
Two other outfits — the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) — have already stepped up attacks on military and police in recent days.
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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