Myanmar dissident govt opens representative office in Seoul
Bangkok, Sep 17 (EFE).- The National Unity Government of Myanmar, made up of exiled politicians and activists opposed to the military junta, has opened a representative office in South Korea in a campaign to achieve international recognition, sources said Friday
An employee at the new office on the outskirts of Seoul told EFE that the office was opened Tuesday and that although it does not have South Korea’s recognition, the opening has been promoted by a group of Korean parliamentarians, local NGOs and university professors.
No country has officially recognized the exiled government, although South Korea said in August it is in “constant communication” with members of the group, showing its willingness to “contribute” for Myanmar’s situation to be resolved with “the aspirations of its people.”
The office, the first announced by the group that seeks to open more in other countries, marks another step in its fight for international recognition.
The struggle between the military junta that took power Feb. 1 in a coup and the pro-democracy side, embodied by the dissident government, has reached the United Nations, which will have to decide who represents the country this week at the General Assembly, after both groups applied.
The military regime said the coup was legal, since it is within the clauses in the Myanmar Constitution the army passed in 2008, by separating the executive from deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy for allegedly rigging the November 2020 elections.
Salai Maung Taing San, International Cooperation Minister and spokesperson for the pro-democracy camp, said in a four-page report posted on social media that the dissident government has the majority support among Myanmar’s 54 million people.
He also spoke about the league’s indisputable election victory, the formation of his own armed wing to “defend the people” from the army’s abuses, the work to combat Covid-19 and the commitment to return to a democratic system inclusive of all ethnic groups in the country. EFE
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