— A group of some 358 Myanmar and international civil society organizations is urging the United Nations to retain Kyaw Moe Tun as the permanent representative of Myanmar to the United Nations, ahead of a Tuesday meeting of the UN’s credentials committee.

In a letter to the members of the General Assembly, the group said Kyaw Moe Tun had provided a “crucial voice” at the UN for the people of Myanmar and the government that was removed by the military in a coup on Feb 1.

“There is a real risk that complacency from UN member states could result in the Myanmar people being robbed of their rightful voice at the UN, or even in the military junta receiving official UN accreditation as representatives of the people they have murdered and tortured so mercilessly,” Khin Ohmar, the founder of Progressive Voice one of the groups that signed the letter said in a statement.

“We, therefore, need any UN member state that values humanity, peace, and stability, and respects the will of the people, to reject as the people of Myanmar categorically have the military junta and its mass atrocities, and take a stand publicly in support of U Kyaw Moe Tun and the NUG.”

The UN’s Credentials Committee, made up of nine UN member states, including China, Russia, and the United States, will meet on Tuesday to consider who should represent Myanmar, Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun or a representative of the generals who seized power seven months ago. The committee will submit its recommendations to the General Assembly.

Some 1,080 people have been killed in the crackdown since the coup and more than 6,000 people have been detained, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Some have fled across the border to Thailand amid air attacks in border areas or to escape the military dragnet.

Kasit Piromya, a board member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) and a former foreign minister of Thailand, said it would be a mistake for the UN to recognize a representative from the military.

“The junta is the very antithesis of the UN’s core values of peace, human rights, justice, and social progress,” Kasit said in a statement. “Allowing it to sit at the UN would not only undermine any chance of seeing peace and democracy again in Myanmar but would undermine the credibility of all UN efforts across the globe.”

The UN General Assembly voted in June to condemn the excessive and lethal violence used by Myanmar’s military, also known as the Tatmadaw, in response to the widespread opposition to its power grab.

“Myanmar’s military is responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, and continues to kill and arrest its own people for resisting the coup,” said Simon Adams, the executive director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, which was also a signatory to the letter. “No country should recognize or support Myanmar’s military junta.”

Source: NAM News Network