UN envoy stakes claim as Myanmar’s legitimate representative
NEW YORK — Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York formally staked his claim as the country’s legitimate representative in letters — seen by Reuters on Tuesday — to the UN General Assembly president and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Myanmar state television announced on Saturday that Kyaw Moe Tun had been fired for betraying the country, a day after he urged countries to use “any means necessary” to reverse a Feb. 1 coup that ousted the nation’s elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
“The perpetrators of the unlawful coup against the democratic government of Myanmar have no authority to countermand the legitimate authority of the president of my country,” Kyaw Moe Tun wrote on Monday to Blinken and Volkan Bozkir, president of the 193-member UN General Assembly.
“I wish therefore to confirm to you that I remain Myanmar’s permanent representative to the United Nations,” he said, adding that President Win Myint and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi appointed him last year and they remain lawfully elected to their roles.
Reuters was unable to reach the military authorities for comment.
The United Nations does not officially recognize the junta as Myanmar’s new government as it has received no official notification of any change in government or UN representation.
“We have not received any communication concerning changes in the representation of Myanmar here at the UN in New York,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Monday. “And nor have our colleagues in protocol received any information from the Permanent Mission in Myanmar on any changes in the government.”
UN Secretary-general Antonio Guterres has pledged to mobilize global pressure “to make sure that this coup fails.”
As the United States hosts United Nations headquarters in New York City, Kyaw Moe Tun also asked Blinken to “continue to support my work with the immunities customary to this role.”
“We have not seen any official evidence or request that he be removed and, for the time being, he is the representative of the Myanmar government,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-greenfield, told reporters on Monday.
If the Myanmar junta, led by General Min Aung Hlaing, tries to seek international recognition by installing a new UN envoy, it could set off a fight at the world body that could culminate with a vote at the General Assembly.