Myanmar regime seeks INTERPOL warrant for UN Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun

The regime’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on Saturday that it is seeking the arrest of Myanmar’s Permanent Representative to the U.N., Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, on six charges through INTERPOL and the United States National Central Bureau, which coordinates law enforcement activities between U.S. agencies and their international counterparts. Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun is facing charges from the regime in Nypyidaw under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act for communicating with two groups representing lawmakers elected in 2020 but ousted during the 2021 military coup: the National Unity Government (NUG) and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH). Both groups of lawmakers have been declared “unlawful and terrorist organizations” by the regime following the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. Kyaw Moe Tun was charged under Section 122(2) of the Penal Code for “high treason” by the regime-controlled Dekkhina District Court in Naypyidaw in March 2021. Additional charges have been filed against him under Section 124-A of the Penal Code for “sedition”, the Counter-Terrorism Law, and Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law. The regime also accuses Kyaw Moe Tun of “misusing” an undisclosed amount of funds, reportedly including $2.76 million USD and 38,233 EUR ($44,000 USD), from the bank account of Myanmar’s Permanent Mission to the U.N. in New York. It has opened another case against him under Section 6(1) of the Public Property Protection Act for continuing to live in a state-owned property over the last five years after Naypyidaw “revoked and withdrew” him from the position of U.N. ambassador. On Feb. 27, 2021, the regime dismissed Kyaw Moe Tun, alleging “abuses of his assigned duty and mandate” after he urged all countries to “strongly condemn” the coup, and to refuse to recognize the military regime ensconced in Naypyidaw at the U.N. General Assembly. At the end of his speech, he raised his hand in the three-finger salute, a symbolic gesture adopted by pro-democracy protesters, and declared, “Our cause will prevail.” The regime is attempting to replace him with Aung Thurein, a former colonel who served in the military from the age of 18, according to his official biography submitted to the U.N. on May 12, 2021. A statement released on Sept. 12 alleged that Kyaw Moe Tun has been using his platform at the U.N. to make “one-sided accusations” against the regime. During a U.N. General Assembly plenary debate on July 6, Kyaw Moe Tun formally appealed to the international community to invoke the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine, urging direct intervention to halt what he described as a “systemic campaign of mass atrocities and war crimes” waged by the military on the people of Myanmar. The regime’s statement comes ahead of a critical U.N. Credentials Committee decision on whether Kyaw Moe Tun will remain accredited or be replaced by Aung Thurein, who reportedly works at the Myanmar embassy in Washington, DC. The credentials committee will meet during the 81st Session of the U.N. General Assembly, which begins on Sept. 8. It consists of three permanent Security Council members—the U.S., China and Russia—along with six rotating member states, which includes the Bahamas, Belgium, Benin, Jamaica, Uganda and Vanuatu this year. Jailed State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi’s son Kim Aris 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 last in a series of rallies supporting Kyaw Moe Tun’s campaign 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. Myanmar’s former ambassador to the U.K. has been on trial in a London court since Aug. 12, charged with trespassing at the diplomatic residence after refusing Naypyidaw’s orders to leave following his dismissal for stating his opposition to the 2021 coup. The post Myanmar regime seeks INTERPOL warrant for UN Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun appeared first on DVB.