Berita 24 English - According to a report from Benar News, nine Southeast Asian countries have urged the United Nations not to endorse a fr...
Berita 24 English - According to a report from Benar News, nine Southeast Asian countries have urged the United Nations not to endorse a freeze on arms sales to Myanmar.
According to a US-funded Radio Free Asia affiliate report, the nine states wrote a letter to countries sponsoring a draft United Nations General Assembly resolution on Myanmar, where a Feb. 1 coup sparked mass protests and a bloody crackdown by the military-led junta.
According to the news outlet, the letter requested that countries sponsoring the draft resolution remove a sentence requiring "an immediate halt to all direct and indirect supply, sale, or transfer of all weapons and munitions" to Myanmar.
The letter was sent on behalf of nine of ASEAN's ten members but did not include bloc member Myanmar, according to Benar News.
According to Benar News, Georg Sparber, deputy permanent representative at Liechtenstein's United Nations mission, stated that the request contained "no justification in the letter." The letter was not obtained by Benar News.
The Liechtenstein mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Indonesia's foreign ministry spokesman stated that he was unaware of the letter and referred Reuters to ASEAN. ASEAN's spokesman did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
ASEAN is leading the diplomatic effort to end Myanmar's bloodshed and promote dialogue between the junta and its opponents.
The United Nations General Assembly's scheduled vote on the non-binding resolution was suspended last week, with some diplomats claiming the delay was intended to rally more support. https://reut.rs/3oUP8EO (https://reut.rs/3oUP8EO)
