The UN’s special envoy for Myanmar is to embark on an Asian tour to step up diplomatic efforts to tackle the crisis, as the death toll from the junta’s crackdown on dissent yesterday passed 600.
The push by Christine Schraner Burgener comes amid mounting international concern at events in Myanmar, rocked by daily protests since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and seized power on Feb. 1.
Burgener starts her trip in Thailand and is also to visit China, although exact details and timings for her trip have not been confirmed.
At least 614 civilians have been killed in the military’s crackdown on protests and nearly 3,000 arrested, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a local monitoring group.
There was more bloodshed early yesterday, with rescue workers reporting at least four people killed when security forces broke up protest barricades in Bago, 65km northeast of Yangon.
UN rights officials said the military is making increasing use of heavy weaponry, including rocket-propelled and fragmentation grenades, heavy machine guns and snipers.
The violent response has drawn intense international criticism and on Thursday Washington imposed another set of sanctions, this time on Myanmar’s state gem company, as it seeks to deprive the junta of sources of income.
Burgener wants face-to-face meetings with the generals, but she has not received permission to visit Myanmar.
“She, of course, stands ready to resume dialogue with the military to contribute to a return to Myanmar’s democratic path, peace and stability,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
As well as China — a key player with historical links to the military and which more recently cultivated close relations with Aung San Suu Kyi — Burgener also hopes to visit member countries of regional bloc ASEAN.
“As she has highlighted repeatedly, a robust international response to the ongoing crisis in Myanmar requires a unified regional effort involving neighboring countries who can leverage influence towards stability,” Dujarric said.
An ASEAN summit on Myanmar is scheduled for the end of the month, but diplomats say the bloc is deeply divided over the crisis.
“At one end, there are Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, who are in the mode of ‘back off, there’s nothing to see, it’s a question of internal politics,’” one diplomat said, while Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are open to a more active role for ASEAN.
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