Myanmar: Deposed ambassador in London asks for help for his country

Enlarge image

Kyaw Zwar Minn in front of the Myanmar embassy in London: a "kind of coup"

Photo: Tayfun Salci / imago images / ZUMA Wire

The deposed Myanmar ambassador in London has asked for international aid for his country.

This has been ruled by a military junta for more than two months.

"Please help our country, because without your help we will not be able to free ourselves from this chaos," said Kyaw Zwar Minn in London.

The recalled ambassador stated that his military attaché and deputy Chit Win had taken over the diplomatic representation in a "kind of coup".

Chit Win and his people threatened embassy staff with severe penalties if they refused to work for the junta in Myanmar, the ambassador added.

Count Lambsdorff demands expulsion of military attaché in Germany

The deputy leader of the FDP parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, called on the federal government to expel the military attaché of Myanmar in Germany immediately.

At the Myanmar embassy in Berlin there shouldn't be a "diplomatic coup" like in London, Lambsdorff declared in Berlin.

In the current situation, it is "a matter of increasing international pressure on the military junta in order to end the brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrators as quickly as possible."

The British government said it would have to accept the recall of the Myanmar ambassador in London.

The military junta in Myanmar formally announced the dismissal of the diplomat, according to British government circles.

According to diplomatic rules, this decision must be recognized.

Kyaw Zwar Minn spent Thursday night in his car in front of the embassy.

On the back window was a picture of the former head of government Aung San Suu Kyi, who had been deposed by the junta.

The British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab condemned the "intimidation" by the military government in Myanmar in a Twitter message and praised the "courage" of the deposed ambassador.

Since the military coup on February 1, the army leadership in Myanmar has been using tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition against demonstrators.

According to a local Political Prisoner Aid (AAPP), nearly 600 people have been killed in the protests so far, including almost 50 children.

Great Britain, the former colonial power of Myanmar, is one of the sharpest critics of the military junta.

Just last week, London imposed further sanctions on the generals in the Southeast Asian country.

Meanwhile, the US announced sanctions against the state-owned gem company Myanmar Gems Enterprise on Thursday.

All relevant assets would be frozen and all transactions with the company would be prohibited, said the US Treasury Department.

The company oversees the mining and marketing of jade and other precious stones in the country.

Gemstones are one of the main sources of income in Myanmar.

"By imposing targeted sanctions, we are sending a clear signal to the military that the United States will increase pressure on the regime's income streams until it ceases its violence," said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Washington imposed sanctions on three Myanmar gemstone companies shortly after the coup.

asa / AFP