The Burmese junta on Thursday, December 2 denounced the UN decision to refuse a seat to its envoy, the international organization now in place a representative appointed by the ousted government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
"
This decision does not reflect the reality on the ground and the existence of our country
" on the international scene, the spokesman for the military regime, Zaw Min Tun, told AFP.
Read also In Burma, the junta undermined by the defections of its soldiers
Since their February coup, the Burmese generals who rely on their traditional allies, China and Russia, have been eager for international recognition.
The acceptance by the United Nations of their envoy would be an important step in this direction.
But the committee, responsible for approving the nominations of ambassadors to the UN, met Wednesday without reaching a consensus on the representation of Burma and referred the file to the General Assembly.
"Probable crimes against humanity and war crimes"
In the meantime, Kyaw Moe Tun, the ambassador chosen by Aung San Suu Kyi, continues to sit. Shortly after the putsch, the latter made the headlines of the media, calling, in a speech to the organization, to "
put an end to the coup
" and "to
return power to the people
". He ended by making a three-fingered salute as a sign of resistance, provoking the ire of the generals. The latter quickly sacked him. At the beginning of the summer, they appointed a former soldier, Aung Thurein, to succeed him, but the latter cannot take office until his appointment is approved by the UN.
In August, US prosecutors indicted two Burmese nationals, accusing them of plotting a plot against Kyaw Moe Tun.
Burma has sunk into chaos since the putsch that ended a decade-long democratic transition.
The junta is waging a bloody crackdown on its opponents with 1,300 civilians killed and more than 7,600 in detention, according to a local NGO, the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners (AAPP), which reports cases of torture and extrajudicial executions.
The UN rapporteur for human rights in Burma, Tom Andrews, denounced at the end of October "
probable crimes against humanity and war crimes
" committed by the regime.