The UN General Assembly on Wednesday strongly condemned widespread human rights violations in Myanmar and called on the government to halt politically motivated arrests and free all detainees and political prisoners, including democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.
The sharply worded resolution, sponsored by the US, Australia, South Korea, Israel and many European countries, was approved by a vote of 80 to 25 with 45 abstentions.
Myanmar accused the assembly of “blatant interference” in its internal political process and said it would not be bound by the resolution. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding but carry weight because they reflect the views of the 192-member world body.
Myanmar’s representative, who was not identified, told the assembly the country had made significant political strides and was now on track for a smooth transition to democracy, with a seven-step political process including multiparty elections in 2010.
But the resolution expressed “grave concern” at the failure to include members of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy and other political parties and some ethnic groups “in a genuine process of dialogue, national reconciliation and transition to democracy.”
It said Myanmar’s political processes “are not transparent, inclusive, free and fair, and that the procedures established for the drafting of the [country’s new] constitution resulted in the de facto exclusion of the opposition from the process.”
The General Assembly also expressed grave concern at the government’s decision to go ahead with a referendum on the Constitution “in an atmosphere of intimidation and without regard to international standards of free and fair elections at a time of dire humanitarian need” just after Cyclone Nargis devastated coastal areas in early May.
It took note of the government’s cooperation with the international community in delivering aid to cyclone victims “despite its initial denial of access, which resulted in widespread suffering and increased the risk of loss of life.”
The cyclone affected 2.4 million people and left an estimated 130,000 people dead or missing.
Myanmar’s military, which has ruled since 1962, when the country was known as Burma, tolerates no dissent and crushed pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks in September last year. It holds more than 2,100 political prisoners, up sharply from nearly 1,200 before the demonstrations, human rights groups say.
The General Assembly “strongly” called on Myanmar’s government “to desist from further politically motivated arrests and to release without delay and without conditions those who have been arbitrarily arrested and detained, as well as all political prisoners.”
The resolution said those freed should include Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders of her party, leaders of the 88 Generation — a group at the forefront of a 1988 pro-democracy uprising — leaders of ethnic groups and all those detained as a result of last year’s protests.
Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has spent more than 13 of the past 19 years under house arrest.
The General Assembly expressed deep concern that urgent calls to Myanmar’s government to improve human rights and institute democratic reforms “have not been met.”
It strongly condemned “the ongoing systematic violations of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the people of Myanmar.”
The resolution expressed “grave concern” at Myanmar’s “continuing practice of enforced disappearances, use of violence against peaceful demonstrators, rape and other forms of sexual violence, torture and cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment” and arbitrary detentions.
It singled out Aung San Suu Kyi, last year’s protestors, “as well as the high and increasing number of political prisoners.”
BOMBARDMENT: Moscow sent more than 440 drones and 32 missiles, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in ‘one of the most terrifying strikes’ on the capital in recent months A nighttime Russian missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine killed at least 15 people and injured 116 while they slept in their homes, local officials said yesterday, with the main barrage centering on the capital, Kyiv. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said 14 people were killed and 99 were injured as explosions echoed across the city for hours during the night. The bombardment demolished a nine-story residential building, destroying dozens of apartments. Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble. Russia flung more than 440 drones and 32 missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki yesterday erupted again with giant ash and smoke plumes after forcing evacuations of villages and flight cancelations, including to and from the resort island of Bali. Several eruptions sent ash up to 5km into the sky on Tuesday evening to yesterday afternoon. An eruption on Tuesday afternoon sent thick, gray clouds 10km into the sky that expanded into a mushroom-shaped ash cloud visible as much as 150km kilometers away. The eruption alert was raised on Tuesday to the highest level and the danger zone where people are recommended to leave was expanded to 8km from the crater. Officers also
ESPIONAGE: The British government’s decision on the proposed embassy hinges on the security of underground data cables, a former diplomat has said A US intervention over China’s proposed new embassy in London has thrown a potential resolution “up in the air,” campaigners have said, amid concerns over the site’s proximity to a sensitive hub of critical communication cables. The furor over a new “super-embassy” on the edge of London’s financial district was reignited last week when the White House said it was “deeply concerned” over potential Chinese access to “the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies.” The Dutch parliament has also raised concerns about Beijing’s ideal location of Royal Mint Court, on the edge of the City of London, which has so
RSS