UN envoy urges calm in Myanmar
The Chinese ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday urged parties in Myanmar to settle their differences through dialogue while emphasizing that any action by the international community should contribute to the peace and stability of the country.
Zhang Jun, China’s permanent representative to the UN, made the comments while elaborating on China’s position on the current situation in Myanmar during a Security Council consultation.
Zhang said China is concerned about the situation in Myanmar. Violence and bloodshed serve no one’s interests, and it is the people of Myanmar who suffer, he stressed.
He expressed hope that “all parties in Myanmar can keep calm, exercise restraint, and take actions with a constructive attitude to de-escalate and cool down the situation”.
The lives and property of the people of Myanmar and foreign nationals and businesses should be protected, and any attack on them is unacceptable, Zhang said.
As a close neighbor, China has been following the situation in Myanmar very closely. China also has been working with all parties in Myanmar and is actively engaged in Security Council consensus-building, the envoy said.
China emphasizes that all parties in Myanmar should take up the responsibility of maintaining national stability and development, act in the fundamental interests of the people, strive to find a solution to the crisis within the constitutional and legal framework through dialogue and consultation, maintain political and social stability, and continue to advance the democratic transition in Myanmar, Zhang said.
Common interests
He stressed that maintaining peace and stability in Myanmar is in the common interests of the international community. Should Myanmar slide into protracted turbulence, it will be a disaster for the country and the region as a whole, Zhang said.
He urged the international community to step up diplomatic efforts and encourage the parties to narrow their differences, so as to find a way out, on the basis of respecting Myanmar’s sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity and national unity.
One-sided pressure and calls for sanctions or other coercive measures will only aggravate tensions and the confrontation and further complicate the situation, which is by no means constructive, the ambassador said.
The Security Council has reiterated on several occasions its support for the mediation efforts by the special envoy of the secretarygeneral. China hopes the special envoy will play a constructive role with concrete action, Zhang said.
Noting that Myanmar is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations family, Zhang expressed China’s support for ASEAN in conducting mediation in the ASEAN way and playing a positive role in easing the situation in Myanmar, while upholding the principles of noninterference and consensus-building.
China has noted the discussion by ASEAN countries to convene a special summit, Zhang said, adding that China hopes and believes that ASEAN will play an important role in finding a solution.
As a friendly, close neighbor, China hopes that Myanmar will restore peace, stability and constitutional order as early as possible and continue to steadily advance a democratic transition, Zhang said.