[ad_1]
New Zealand will end political and military contact with Myanmar after a military coup that deposed its democratically elected government.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, making the announcement after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, said that all “high-level” political contact would be terminated and that New Zealand’s aid program “should not” be delivered along with, or benefit, the army.
A travel ban on Myanmar’s military leaders would be formalized later in the week. Apparently, although sanctions are still on the table, such a measure was not considered effective.
ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
The Myanmar community came out in force to hear speakers such as Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta denounce the actions of the military in the country after she took power last week.
Hundreds of Myanmar protesters and their New Zealand supporters beat pots and pans on the Parliament esplanade Tuesday night, protesting the military coup while their families are on the streets of Myanmar cities.
READ MORE:
* Nanaia Mahuta presents New Zealand’s foreign policy vision: China for trade, the United States for defense, and the Pacific at the center.
* New Zealand calls for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and those detained after the military coup in Myanmar
* ‘Constructive’ call from the US Secretary of State with Minister Nanaia Mahuta praising the Covid-19 response, strengthening friendship
Christalin Thangpawl, chairwoman of the Myanmar Ethnic Council of New Zealand, told the crowd that New Zealand would offer more than a “stark” statement and that she needed to go to the United Nations to make sure the protesters were not shot dead by the military. from Myanmar.
“We are deeply concerned and fearful for our family at home. We will do everything we can to help our family, friends and loved ones in Myanmar. Please help us support us and our families. “
There were cries of support when Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta, who met with the protest along with a number of MPs, said New Zealand did not recognize an army-led government that had launched “another coup.”
ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta with Christalin Thangpawl at a protest against Myanmar’s military coup on the Esplanade of Parliament on Tuesday.
Myanmar’s military, the Tatmadaw, took control of the country last week, just hours before the country’s second democratically elected parliament was convened. The Southeast Asian country had headed toward democratization in recent years, after decades of harsh rule by a military junta.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s leader and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, was among the politicians and democratic activists from the National League for Democracy (NLD) arrested in a series of morning raids. Since then, there have been major peaceful protests in the country, internet blackouts and threats of repression by the military.
Ardern, speaking earlier, said that the government’s response represented “major and fundamental changes” in the relationship between New Zealand and Myanmar, and that it was “worthy” of the strongest action that could be taken.
ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
A protester hits a spoon on a metal plate to protest the military coup in Myanmar. The main demonstrations in the country have involved citizens beating pots and pans en masse.
“All New Zealanders would be devastated to see, after years of working so hard to build a democracy in Myanmar, to see what we have seen in recent days led by the military unfold. Our strong message is that we will do what we can. from here in New Zealand. “
Ardern said New Zealand will maintain its aid program, which consists primarily of agricultural, educational and renewable energy expenditures, as none were currently connected to the military.
“This will mean being very cautious about how we will enter aid programs in Myanmar from now on.”
ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
Tin Zaw Moe, the organizer of an earlier protest in Wellington on Tuesday against Myanmar’s military coup, causes the crowd to shout outside Parliament at noon Tuesday. A second protest followed that night.
New Zealand’s Ambassador Steve Marshall and his staff from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) were driven out of the country when the Covid-19 pandemic took hold of her. Despite severing political ties, an ambassador may return.
“It is not a negligible aid program in Myanmar, $ 42 million from 2018 to 2021. So you just want to make sure the MFAT staff manage it properly,” Ardern said.
ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
Hours after a protest descended on Parliament, New Zealand announced that it would sever political ties with Myanmar.
While it might appear that New Zealand’s position on Myanmar was of little relevance, Ardern said he recalled Suu Kyi speaking favorably of New Zealand’s representatives in the country.
“They were well regarded and highly respected, and I think they played a really constructive role at a critical time for Myanmar in its transition.”
Ardern indicated that the sanctions, which have not been ruled out by Mahuta, would have little effect. He said New Zealand’s trade with Myanmar “was often food-based” and therefore would likely not be caught by sanctions against the company.
ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says New Zealand will end “high-level” political ties with Myanmar.
