Kim Aris rallies support for Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun ahead of critical UN credentials battle

Jailed State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi’s son, Kim Aris, is rallying international support behind Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun’s campaign to remain in the role as Myanmar’s permanent representative to the U.N. on Monday. “[Kyaw Moe Tun] has spoken out for the people the military have tried to silence, including my mother, Aung San Suu Kyi, political prisoners, and millions across Burma. Now our voices matter for him,” Aris said in a video message posted on social media Sept. 7. He called on Myanmar nationals in the U.S. to join a support rally for Kyaw Moe Tun, scheduled to take place outside of the U.N. headquarters in New York City, on Sept. 19. This will be the culmination in a series of rallies supporting the campaign for Kyaw Moe Tun to remain Myanmar’s UN ambassador, organized by the diaspora in the U.S. with support from pro-democracy networks in Europe, Asia, Australia and Canada. Aris’ endorsement of Kyaw Moe Tun comes ahead of a critical U.N. Credentials Committee decision on whether he will remain accredited or be replaced by a representative from the regime in Naypyidaw, which ousted the elected National League for Democracy (NLD) administration that appointed him to the role in 2020—months before the coup. The committee will meet during the 81st Session of the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA), which begins on Sept. 8. The U.N. Credentials Committee comprises three permanent Security Council members—the U.S., China and Russia—along with six rotating member states yet to be named. Kyaw Moe Tun has retained Myanmar’s U.N. seat for six years through annual deferrals by the committee. On Feb. 27, 2021, the regime in Naypyidaw terminated Kyaw Moe Tun, alleging “abuses of his assigned duty and mandate.” It seeks to replace him with Aung Thurein, a former colonel who served in the military since the age of 18, until he was chosen for this post, according to his official biography submitted to the U.N. on May 12, 2021. Aung Thurein reportedly participated in a training session at an undisclosed location in China and was on three regime delegations to Beijing as a military attaché to the Myanmar embassy in Washington. On June 17, China publicly backed Myanmar’s “full” participation in both the U.N. and in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the regional bloc that has barred senior regime officials, including Min Aung Hlaing, from attending high-level summits and meetings due to his refusal to implement its Five Point Consensus, a peace plan agreed to in April 2021 during a meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, but never implemented upon his return to Myanmar. Richard Horsey, the Senior Asia Advisor at the International Crisis Group (ICG), told DVB that the repeated deferrals allowing Kyaw Moe Tun to remain Myanmar’s U.N. ambassador is a “result of an informal agreement” between Beijing and Washington. “I think if Beijing does not accept him, it will be very difficult for [Kyaw Moe Tun] to continue [in his role as UN ambassador],” said Horsey, adding that it’s unclear if Beijing will take action to have Kyaw Moe Tun replaced with its regime ally at the U.N. Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. Congress signed a congressional letter on March 26, urging the Trump administration to reject any formal recognition of Myanmar’s regime, which held highly controversial elections that ended on Jan. 25 and excluded all major opposition parties, including the NLD. The post Kim Aris rallies support for Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun ahead of critical UN credentials battle appeared first on DVB.