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NEW YORK: The United Nations Security Council unanimously called for the reversal of the military coup in Myanmar on Wednesday (March 10), strongly condemning the violence against peaceful protesters and calling for “maximum restraint” on the part of the military.
A presidential statement approved by all 15 council members, including Myanmar’s neighbor and friend China, was formally adopted in a very short virtual meeting in which U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, current council chairwoman, announced that it had been agreed on the statement.
A presidential statement is one step below a resolution, but it becomes part of the official record of the most powerful UN body.
The British-drafted statement calls for the immediate release of government leaders, including State Councilor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, who have been detained since their overthrow in the February 1 military coup.
It supports the country’s democratic transition and “highlights the need to defend democratic institutions and processes, refrain from violence, fully respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, and defend the rule of law.”
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China’s ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun, said in a statement that “it is important that council members speak with one voice,” declaring that the time for de-escalation, diplomacy and dialogue has come.
Thomas-Greenfield also stressed that all council members “spoke with one voice to condemn the ongoing violence against peaceful protesters.”
“We congratulate their courage and determination in the face of the continuous and brutal attacks by the military and security forces,” he said in a statement.
“The United States will continue to work with a broad coalition of international partners to promote accountability for the coup and those responsible for the violence, and will work to restore the democratically elected government.”
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The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in Myanmar, which for five decades had languished under a strict military regime that led to isolation and international sanctions.
As the generals loosened their grip, culminating in Aung San Suu Kyi’s rise to power after the 2015 elections, the international community responded by lifting most sanctions and pouring investments into the country.
Lawmakers from the Aung San Suu Kyi party, which won 82 percent of the vote in the November elections, were about to take their seats in parliament when the coup occurred on February 1. Its leaders alleged electoral fraud, accusations that the electoral commission had rejected.
British Ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward said the UK proposed the statement in light of “the deteriorating situation” in Myanmar “to send a unified message from the Security Council” to build on its 4 April press release. February. He strongly supported the return to democracy and called for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all those arbitrarily detained by the military.
The opposition to the coup is led by youths who lived in freedom for 10 years, and has broad support across the country from civil servants, railway workers who were attacked on Wednesday, Buddhist monks and people of all classes and ages.
The security forces have responded with massive arrests and, at times, lethal force. At least 60 protesters have died since the military takeover, according to the independent Political Prisoners Assistance Association.
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The authorities have also taken steps to shut down independent reporting, both by arresting journalists and shutting down the media, but protests have continued despite repressions and increasingly violent tactics by the security forces.
The presidential statement that all council members signed on Wednesday is weaker than the initial draft distributed by the United Kingdom, which would have condemned the military coup in Myanmar and threatened “possible measures under the UN Charter” – language of the UN for sanctions – “. In case the situation deteriorates further.”
Diplomats said council members China, Russia, India, which is also Myanmar’s neighbor, and Vietnam, which is a member of ASEAN along with Myanmar, opposed provisions in earlier, stronger drafts of the statement.
Nonetheless, it will be the first presidential statement on Myanmar adopted since 2017 and reflects the council’s unity in trying to reverse the coup.
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UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed his hope that the statement will make the military realize that “it is absolutely essential to release all prisoners, it is absolutely essential to respect the election results and allow a situation in the one that we return to a democratic transition “.
Despite all the “imperfections” of Myanmar’s democracy, which was under heavy military control, Guterres told reporters: “I think it is important to get back to where we were before the coup.”
The council statement also addressed the 2017 military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State, which involved mass rapes, killings and village burning that led more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh.
“It highlights that the current situation has the potential to exacerbate existing challenges in Rakhine State and other regions.”
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The statement also expresses concern that “recent events pose particularly serious challenges to the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees and internally displaced persons.”
“It is vital that the rights of minorities are fully protected,” he stressed.
The declaration also calls for “safe and unhindered humanitarian access for all people in need.”
The council encouraged the pursuit of “constructive dialogue and reconciliation in accordance with the will and interests of the people of Myanmar.”
He commends ASEAN’s continued efforts to “cooperate with all relevant parties in Myanmar.”
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The council reiterated its support for UN special envoy Christine Schraner Burgener and encouraged her efforts to maintain communication and “engage intensely with all relevant parties in Myanmar and visit Myanmar as soon as possible.”
Schraner Burgener, who has an office in the capital Naypyidaw, said last week that the military told him the time is not yet right for a visit.
He said he does not have “the solution on a silver platter” but has some ideas, which he did not reveal, that he wants to discuss with the military, Aung San Suu Kyi, ousted MPs and others.
China’s Zhang urged the international community to create “an enabling environment” for the parties to address differences “under the constitutional and legal framework,” and supported the diplomatic and mediation efforts of ASEAN and Schraner Burgener.
