Myanmar’s military regime on Saturday sacked the country’s ambassador to the United Nations, Kyaw Moe Tun, the day after he delivered a pro-democracy speech urging UN member countries to publicly condemn the February 1 coup, reports The New York Times.
The most recently: Kyaw Moe Tun told Reuters late on Saturday: “I decided to fight back as much as I can.”
- Earlier in the day, Myanmar state television said the ambassador “betrayed the country and spoke for an unofficial organization that does not represent the country and abused an ambassador’s power and responsibilities”.
- Kyaw Moe Tun was out of Myanmar when the coup occurred, according to the Times.
Update quickly: The UN envoy was appointed by the civilian government that shared power with the military before the coup. He said he was speaking on behalf of the government of Aung San Suu Kyi and asked UN members to denounce the coup, not to recognize the military regime and to take “all the strongest possible measures” to stop attacks by Myanmar security forces against the protesters and end the coup immediately.
- “The United Nations does not officially recognize the junta as the new government in Myanmar as it has not received any official notification of any changes,” Reuters reported, noting that Kyaw Moe Tun remains Myanmar’s ambassador to the UN for now.
Worthless: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed support for Kyaw Moe Tun’s speech, saying, “The United States commends the bold and clear statement made by Permanent Representative U Kyaw Moe Tun and by those in Burma who are making themselves heard.”
- “We must all heed his call to restore democracy in Burma.”
Go deeper: Myanmar’s ambassador to the UN calls on the world to condemn military coup
Editor’s note: this story has been updated with Kyaw Moe Tun’s comment to Reuters.