Conflicts & War

Myanmar junta says UN resolution aimed at destabilizing country

Bangkok, Dec 24 (EFE).- Myanmar’s military junta has rejected the resolution passed by the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday demanding an immediate end to violence and release of all political prisoners, accusing the global body of trying to “destabilize” the country.

Myanmar’s foreign ministry said in a statement late on Friday that the resolution – approved on Wednesday with 12 votes in favor and three abstentions (China, Russia and India) – includes “several intrusive elements on Myanmar’s internal affairs that contravene the principles and purposesof the United Nations.”

The statement insists that the situation in Myanmar was “solely internal affairs” of the country and “in no way poses any risk to international peace and security.”

“Exerting pressure to destabilize Myanmar rather than supporting the government’s efforts does not help the country and Myanmar will not accept such acts,” the ministry said.

The UN resolution passed on Wednesday – after the draft having been discussed for months – was the first on the issue approved by the council since the February 2021 coup.

The document urged an immediate stop to the violence in Myanmar and demanded the release of all political prisoners, including ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The proposal, first tabled by the United Kingdom in September, was approved after intense discussions among the 15 members of the UNSC in order to reach a language acceptable to all members and especially avoid a veto by China or Russia, the two world power seen as close to the junta.

In the end, the two permanent members ended up abstaining from the vote, along with India.

In its statement, the military junta repeated its allegations that an electoral fraud in the 2020 polls – in which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy registered a landslide victory – was at the root of the ongoing political crisis.

However, international observers present during the elections had declared them to be free and fair, and since the coup, several governments and international organizations have condemned the widespread repression and violence unleashed by the military.

The coup plunged Myanmar in a deep political, economic and social crisis, which has aggravated armed ethnic conflicts raging in the country for decades.

Since the military uprising, at least 2,639 people have been killed in repression unleashed by the security forces, which have at times shot to kill peaceful and armed protesters, while more than 13,000 dissidents remain in prison, according to data compiled by nonprofit Assistance Association of Political Prisoners. EFE

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