FILE – A man looks over houses destroyed by air raids and shelling at Mungrai Kyet IDP camp in Laiza, Myanmar, on October 10, 2023. When the military moved to overthrow Myanmar's elected government in the early hours of February 1st. , in 2021, appeared to be a walkover that could entrench the military's power indefinitely to overthrow the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Three years later, in a modern-day David vs. Goliath scenario, a poorly armed but popular and politically savvy grassroots resistance movement shook the military's grip, but at great cost. (AP photo, file)
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The nine members of the U.N. Security Council announced Monday before a special envoy reports to the council as part of a regional effort to implement a peace plan that has so far had little effect. It condemned “indiscriminate” airstrikes by Myanmar's military against civilians.
The plan, adopted in April 2021 shortly after the military seized power in a takeover that sparked a civil war, calls for an immediate end to violence in Myanmar, dialogue between all parties involved, and the mediation of a special envoy from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. countries, the provision of humanitarian assistance through ASEAN channels, and the visit of a special envoy to Myanmar to meet with all concerned parties.
Veteran diplomat Alongkeo Khitihun, who is the special envoy to Myanmar from this year's ASEAN chair Laos and a former ambassador to the United Nations, addressed the closed-door council meeting on behalf of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. According to a diplomat familiar with the meeting, who requested anonymity because the meeting was private, Kittikhoon agreed to pursue ASEAN's “five-point agreement'' toward peace in Myanmar through continued “quiet diplomacy.'' He has promised to fulfill his promise.
Myanmar's military leadership has so far ignored this plan, and the violence and humanitarian crisis in the country is rapidly escalating.
Before the board meeting, nine of the board's 15 members stood before reporters and endorsed a statement read by Britain's ambassador to the United Nations, Barbara Woodward. The statement echoed ASEAN's call for Myanmar's military to “cease its attacks, particularly against civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
The military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and is facing an armed pro-democracy resistance movement backed by ethnic minority fighting forces. After three ethnic armed groups launched a major offensive in late October, the military stepped up airstrikes and took control of towns in northeastern China and key border crossings for trade with China.
Three years after military occupation, more than 18 million people in nine countries – Ecuador, France, Japan, Malta, South Korea, Slovenia, Switzerland, the UK and the US – remain in need of humanitarian assistance and 2.6 million remain displaced. He said that.
At the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on January 29, Lao Foreign Minister Sarmsai Kommasit told reporters that Thailand is moving forward with plans to further increase humanitarian assistance to Myanmar. Nine countries reiterated the Council's call for improved humanitarian access.
They expressed increasing concern over the situation in Rakhine State, which borders Bangladesh. More than 1 million Rohingya Muslims have fled the state since August 2017, when Myanmar's Buddhist-majority military took control of them following an attack by the Arakan Army rebel group. A brutal “clearance operation” was launched against the enemy. .
The Arakan Army is part of the Alliance of Ethnic Minority Combatants. Bangladeshi officials said on Monday that more than 100 members of the Myanmar Border Guard Police had fled into Bangladesh in the past two days during fighting with the Arakan Army in Rakhine state. This is the first time that Myanmar's military is known to have fled the country since the fighting between ethnic minority forces. The offensive has begun.
The nine Member States of the Council recognize that the Rohingya, who have been subjected to decades of systematic discrimination, remain in Myanmar and are fighting further restrictions on their freedom of movement and denial of access to medicines and medical care. He expressed growing concern about the current situation. They called for an immediate end to the violence and the immediate release of all “arbitrarily detained” prisoners of war, including Suu Kyi and former President Win Myint. He demanded the implementation of the first resolution.
Kyaw Moe Tun, Myanmar's ambassador to the United Nations who still heads Suu Kyi's ousted government, said on Monday that “democratic forces are gaining ground and the military regime is being defeated day by day.” He called on the Security Council to adopt a stronger and more enforceable resolution.
The nine Council members continue to see no progress on a resolution calling on all parties to respect the human rights, fundamental freedoms, rule of law and “democratic will and interests” of the people of Myanmar. He said he was deeply concerned.
Diplomats on the council said there was no unanimity on next steps at Monday's meeting, but the escalation of the situation nationwide with troops fighting on multiple fronts, the risk of atrocities in Rakhine state, He said there were widespread concerns, including the need to improve humanitarian access. .
The United States has called for a binding Security Council resolution to block Myanmar's access to jet fuel, a council diplomat said.
The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and others have imposed sanctions on aviation fuel supplies to Myanmar in 2023, but Amnesty International said on January 31 that Myanmar's military is using new tactics to evade sanctions. It reported that there is new evidence suggesting that
Human rights groups said 2023 was the worst year for airstrikes since Myanmar's takeover, and said at least seven aviation fuel shipments to Myanmar were directly linked to storage facilities in ASEAN member Vietnam.
China, which has close ties with Myanmar, stressed the need to give time and space to ASEAN efforts, the council diplomat said. Russia, which also has ties to Myanmar, reiterated that the Security Council should not interfere in Myanmar's internal affairs.
