Myanmar ambassador barricaded in London home
SUPPORTERS of the ousted Myanmar ambassador to the UK are sleeping at his residence with pepper spray by their beds in anticipation of military regime loyalists breaking in to evict him.
Kyaw Zwar Minn, who was last week forced out of the London embassy on the regime’s orders, was given until tomorrow to quit the house where he has lived with his family since his 2013 appointment, or he faces prosecution.
He was last night barricaded inside the residence, in Hampstead, north London, where his supporters are only letting those they trust through the padlocked gates.
One, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals against his own family in Myanmar, told The Daily Telegraph: “I’m sleeping with pepper spray by my bed in case the regime loyalists try to break in. We are all terrified they will try to force their way into the residence to evict the ambassador.”
Mr Minn, who lives in the residence with his wife and their son, says the regime has threatened to force him to leave the house.
He urged the British government to stand up to Myanmar’s military junta, which is accused of killing hundreds of people since it took power on Feb 1.
The ambassador told The Guardian: “They have to show their strength.”
A source close to the ambassador’s family said: “We are asking the British government to help his family. We are scared about what they will do to us if they get in. They are already killing people at home.” Mr Minn says his friends and family in Myanmar are in hiding, adding: “They are not able to show their face in public because of me.”
The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office said: “We are seeking to ensure Kyaw Zwar Minn can live safely in the United Kingdom, while he decides his long-term future.”
The stand-off at the ambassador’s residence comes amid reports of up to 100,000 people fleeing the central Myanmar town of Bago after the military attacked anti-coup protesters at the weekend, leaving at least 100 dead.
Residents said that many people were seeking refuge from the junta’s violence in the surrounding countryside.
“The people fleeing their homes are residents of four neighbourhoods in the city where the junta forces attacked,” one woman, who asked not to be identified, told Radio Free Asia. “There must be over 100,000 or so.”
The United Nations human rights office said yesterday it fears that the military clampdown on protests in Myanmar since the coup risks escalating into a civil conflict like that seen in Syria and appealed for a halt to the “slaughter”.
UN High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet said in a statement: “I fear the situation in Myanmar is heading towards a full-blown conflict.”