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Britain slams ‘bullying’ Myanmar over London embassy standoff
LONDON, April 8, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Britain on Thursday condemned
“bullying” by the Myanmar junta after the country’s ambassador to
London was ousted in an extraordinary diplomatic coup having called
for the release of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Diplomats loyal to the Myanmar military authorities seized control
of the embassy on Wednesday, leaving ambassador Kyaw Zwar Minn locked
out in the street.
The ambassador said the defence attache had taken over the mission
in “a kind of coup”, two months after the military seized power in
Myanmar, and urged the international community to help his country.
“Please assist our country and help our country as without
international assistance we will not be able to get out of this mess,”
he told reporters outside the embassy.
Daily protests demanding a return of democracy have rocked the
country and brought a brutal response from the armed forces, with
almost 600 civilians killed according to a local monitoring group.
Vowing to deprive the military junta of a key moneymaker, the United
States on Thursday slapped sanctions on Myanmar’s state gem company,
Myanmar Gems Enterprise.
The US is committed to “denying the Burmese military sources of
funding, including from key state-owned enterprises throughout Burma,”
said Andrea Gacki, director of the Treasury Department’s Office of
Foreign Assets Control, using Myanmar’s former name.
The department said it would block all assets and ban any
transactions with the company.
The coup has prompted several high-profile diplomatic defections,
including the country’s ambassador to the United Nations.
The junta recalled Kyaw Zwar Minn last month after he issued a
statement urging them to release Suu Kyi and deposed civilian
President Win Myint.
– No choice but to accept –
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British foreign minister Dominic Raab tweeted his support for the
ambassador, who spent the night in his car outside the embassy.
“We condemn the bullying actions of the Myanmar military regime in
London yesterday, and I pay tribute to Kyaw Zwar Minn for his
courage,” Raab wrote.
“The UK continues to call for an end to the coup and the appalling
violence, and a swift restoration of democracy.”
UK sources said the Myanmar authorities had given official notice of
Kyaw Zwar Minn’s termination as ambassador, and in line with
diplomatic policy the government had no choice but to accept it.
The defence attache has installed deputy ambassador Chit Win as
charge d’affaires.
Myanmar’s military spokesman Zaw Min Tun confirmed the country’s
foreign affairs ministry had been in touch with their UK counterparts
in London over the incident.
“We have sent an official appointment letter already for Chit Win as
the chief of mission there. They have accepted,” he told AFP, adding
the ambassador was required to return home.
– Heartthrob actor held –
Myanmar’s security forces have struggled to quell protests and a
civil disobedience movement aimed at overturning the February 1
military coup.
They have used rubber bullets and live rounds to break up rallies
and used night raids to arrest suspected dissidents.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) says at
least 598 civilians have been killed and nearly 2,900 detained.
There were at least six further deaths on Thursday after residents
in Taze in the northwestern Sagaing region tried to block the army
from reaching the town.
“Our people used (homemade) guns and attacked them. But they used
real bullets and shot us,” one witness told AFP.
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“Six people were killed from our town,” the witness said, adding that
five others were wounded.
Local media said 11 people were killed.
As part of its efforts to suppress the movement, the junta has
issued a wanted notice for about 140 celebrities accused of fanning
the protests by lending their support.
On Thursday, the military arrested leading actor, model and
heartthrob Paing Takhon in a dawn raid at his mother’s home in Yangon.
The 24-year-old — a star in both Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand
— has been active in the protest movement both in person at rallies
and through his massive social media following.
In February, he posted pictures of himself in a white tracksuit with
a megaphone, hard hat and a white fluffy dog strapped to his chest at
a protest.
– ‘Destroy the country’ –
International powers have voiced anger and dismay at the junta’s
brutal approach, but the UN Security Council has stopped short of
considering sanctions, with both China and Russia against the move.
The military has defended seizing power, pointing to allegations of
voting fraud in the November election which Suu Kyi’s party won
comfortably, and says it is responding proportionately to the
demonstrations.
Junta chief General Min Aung Hlaing accused the protesters of
wanting to “destroy the country” and said only 248 protesters had been
killed, along with 16 police officers.
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