Former Myanmar ambassador to London, Kyaw Zwar Minn, who opposed the military junta in his country, spent the night in a car after he was denied entry to the embassy. The diplomat was fired and immediately asked to leave the territory of the mission. It is reported by the BBC.
Minn said he was kicked out of the embassy building by the military attaché.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab condemned the “actions of intimidation”, but Britain accepted the ambassador’s resignation after receiving an official notice. The Foreign Ministry explained that “the decision of the Myanmar regime must be made.” According to the Vienna Diplomatic Convention, the work of an ambassador is automatically terminated after his government informs his host country of this.
Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup on February 1, sparking protests and escalating violence. About 600 people, including dozens of children, were killed. Democracy protesters demand the return to power of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party.
Kyau Zwar Minn criticized the military coup and called for the release of Suu Kyi.
He is now calling on the British government not to recognize the newly appointed military junta ambassador and send him back to Myanmar.
“In February, there was a coup in Myanmar. Now the situation is the same in central London,” he said, adding that the embassy staff are threatened with “severe punishment if they do not continue to work for the military general.”
The embassy reportedly called the police to keep the former ambassador out of the building. Protesters have already gathered outside the embassy.
Reuters, citing diplomats, reports that Deputy Ambassador Chit Win has become Chargé d’Affaires in London. However, the Foreign Ministry said that “it has not received official notification of its replacement.”
The chargé d’affaires acts as the head of the diplomatic mission in the absence of the ambassador.
- On February 1, 2021, the military seized power in Myanmar: the country was “ruled” by the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, Hlain. The next day, the military announced re-elections a year later.
- Then, in Myanmar, Facebook was turned off, and then the Internet. Local residents took to street protests against the new regime. On February 20, the military began to violently suppress the protests, in particular, using firearms. More than 320 people have been killed since the protests began, according to BBC News.
- Sanctions against the junta were imposed by the United States, Great Britain and the EU.
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