New Zealand yesterday announced the suspension of high-level military and political contacts with Myanmar, the first major international move to isolate the country’s ruling junta following a coup.
Unveiling the measures, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called for the international community to “strongly condemn what we’re seeing happen in Myanmar.”
“After years of working hard to build a democracy in Myanmar, I think every New Zealander would be devastated to see what we’ve seen in recent days led by the military,” she told reporters. “Our strong message is we will do what we can from here in New Zealand.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
Ardern said the measures would include travel bans on senior military figures.
The Burmese military last week detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and dozens of other members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, ending a decade of civilian rule.
New Zealand wants the UN Human Rights Council to hold a special session to discuss developments in Myanmar, Ardern said.
She added that New Zealand’s aid programs in Myanmar — worth about NZ$42 million (US$30.44 million) — would continue with safeguards that they did not benefit, or come under the control of, the military junta.
“We’re being very cautious with whatever aid and development work we do there that we are not propping up that regime,” she said.
New Zealand has limited leverage on the Burmese military, Ardern said, adding that Aung San Suu Kyi had personally thanked her during past meetings for Wellington’s help during the country’s transition to democracy.
“While it may seem New Zealand’s position on this may not seem particularly relevant, one of the last occasions when I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Aung San Suu Kyi, she specifically mentioned some of our representatives from New Zealand in Myanmar,” Ardern said.
The junta last week proclaimed a one-year state of emergency, promising to hold fresh elections after that, without offering any precise timeframe.
In doing so, they ended Myanmar’s 10-year experiment with democracy after close to 50 years of military rule.
The generals justified the coup by claiming that the elections held in November last year —which the NLD won by a landslide — were fraudulent.
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