Myanmar’s fired UN envoy pushes Asean to get tough on Army coup

It’s been more than two months since Myanmar’s military staged a coup, but the country’s pro-democracy envoy to the United Nations continues to arrive daily to his office, where he lobbies ambassadors and UN officials to help reverse the takeover.

there’s only one problem: since giving a dramatic speech in February at the UN in defense of his country’s demonstrators, Ambassador Kyaw Moe tun has been fired by the Myanmar junta, and many of the people he claims to represent have been thrown in jail.

the plight of Myanmar’s nascent democracy will dominate this weekend’s special summit of the Asean meeting in Indonesia. Even with more than 700 protesters killed by the military since February, expectations are low that the bloc— which has a long history of “non-interference” in other members’ internal affairs—will act decisively.

Myanmar’s seat at the meeting will be filled by senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the nation’s new military government, who is making his first overseas trip since the coup. that’s sparked criticism from protesters and observers who say the region has been too cautious in addressing the crisis.

For diplomats like Kyaw Moetun, whose threefinger “Hunger Games” salute at the UN podium made him a hero among activists in Myanmar and others around the world, there’s still a chance.

“they need to take stronger action against the military,” he said in an interview. “We appreciate the support they’ve extended to the people in Myanmar but without more aggressive action, more people are going to die.”

Asean leaders haven’t formally invited members of Myanmar’s pro-democracy alliance known as the National Unity Government to the saturday gathering in Jakarta. And some leaders such thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte have said they’ll stay home and send a subordinate, a relatively strong sign of disapproval for a bloc that historically shuns such overt statements.

In a letter dated tuesday to Brunei, which holds the rotating chair of Asean, the top diplomat of Myanmar’s parallel National Unity Government said it hadn’t yet received an invitation to the meeting.

“It would be remiss if Asean fails to listen to the voices of Myanmar people,” Zin Mar Aung, the group’s minister of foreign affairs, wrote in the letter seen by Bloomberg. “It is of the paramount importance that Asean stands with the people of Myanmar, not with the oppressive and illegitimate coup leaders.”

since the coup, Asian nations have condemned the violence to various degrees, while stopping short of supporting sanctions or any other measures that would hit the military’s finances. the leaders of many Western nations and international organizations want to see more.

“I have repeatedly called on the international community to work, collectively and through bilateral channels, to help bring an end to the violence and the repression by the military,” UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said Monday.