Myanmar’s military authorities have recalled its ambassador to the United Kingdom, Kyau Zuar Min, for consultations after he spoke out in favor of the release of the country’s former de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and former president Win Myint, detained after the February 1 coup d’état.
The ambassador, a former colonel, said Monday in an interview with British television network BBC that he had decided to issue his statement after seeing that the crackdown on protests had resulted in the deaths of demonstrators.
“I don’t want to see Myanmar’s citizens die. I call on everyone (protesters and Army) to stop,” he said. “The country is already very divided and at risk of a possible civil war. I want peace,” Zuar Min added.
He also stressed that he was appointed ambassador to the UK by Suu Kyi and will “accept her orders.” “I call for both her and the president to be released. The solution is not in New York or London, it is in (the Myanmar capital) Naipyidó,” he argued.
The ambassador, who has held the post since 2013, stressed that his words were not a betrayal of the Asian country and denied plans to seek asylum in the UK, while stressing that the Myanmar Embassy in London has no direct contact with the military.
Following this, the Myanmar government has issued a statement to confirm that he has been recalled for consultations, although it is not known at the moment whether the ambassador will travel to Myanmar, according to the BBC. Zuar Min’s statements came after the Myanmar Embassy in the United States protested against the coup.
Suu Kyi and other senior Myanmar officials, including the president, were arrested in connection with the coup. She was subsequently charged for allegedly violating the Export and Import Law over walkie talkies found in her home, for allegedly violating disaster management laws in the context of the coornavirus pandemic and for incitement.
The assault took place shortly before the new parliament, which emerged from November elections in which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won a sweeping victory, amid allegations of fraud by a party linked to the armed forces, was sworn in.
The coup has been followed by a wave of protests that have resulted in dozens of deaths and hundreds of arrests, amid international calls for the military to respect the right to demonstrate and return power to civilian authorities.
