Myanmar, China blocks UN condemnation

The Beijing regime stops the draft UN resolution condemning the coup in Myanmar. The Security Council met on Tuesday 2 February, with the aim of calling for the restoration of democracy in the country, respect for human rights and the release of all political prisoners, starting with Aung San Suu Kyi, who was taken into custody on Monday at dawn from the army.

Since then, there has been no official confirmation of his place of detention. According to some sources, she is confined to her home. He will remain under arrest until February 15. A court ordered his provisional detention on charges of violating a law on the import-export of walkie-talkies found at his home in Naypyidaw. Crime punishable by 3 years in prison. Former president Win Myint, himself under arrest, is accused of violating the law on the management of natural disasters, for holding a meeting despite the bans in force to contain Covid-19. He too faces 3 years in prison.

In Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, however, signs of civil resistance and disobedience have increased, in response to Suu Kyi's call not to surrender to the generals. Staff from 70 hospitals and medical wards in 30 cities across the country have stopped working as a form of protest, according to a statement by the Myanmar Civil Disobedience Movement posted on Facebook.

As expected, Beijing is asserting its veto power to defend Myanmar, Aljazeera and BBC report . China is in turn under fire for its grip on Hong Kong's democratic aspirations and for its treatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang.

Beijing is thus forced to defend itself against the accusation of supporting the coup in Myanmar. On Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry rejected the hypothesis: "As a friendly country of Myanmar, we want the parties to be able to adequately resolve their differences and support political and social stability," said spokesman Wang Wenbin in response to a question. in a briefing, expressing irritation at the leak of news about the internal discussion in the Security Council.

On the eve of the virtual meeting, which lasted two hours, the UN special envoy, Christine Schraner, had strongly condemned the coup of the generals after the refusal to accept the outcome of the general elections in November. As early as 2017, China, Myanmar's main partner and protector, had protected it from any Security Council initiative following ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya ethnic group.

Instead, the condemnation of the G7 arrived: "We, the foreign ministers of the G7 of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States and the High Representative of the European Union, are united in condemning the coup State in Myanmar ». Ministers called on the military to end the state of emergency and allow unrestricted access to humanitarian aid. "We call for the re-establishment of the democratically elected government, the release of all those who have been unjustly detained and respect human rights and the rule of law »Reads the statement.

France puts the weapon of sanctions on the table. According to the Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, the European Union will have to "provide" new sanctions against the Burmese military if they do not lift the state of emergency. On Monday February 1, US President Joe Biden threatened to restore sanctions against the country, which has just received $ 350 million from the International Monetary Fund in emergency aid to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The transfer came a few days before the coup.

In the first meeting of the emergency cabinet on Tuesday, the chief of the army and strongman of Myanmar, Min Aung Hlaing, reiterated that the seizure of power by the generals had been "inevitable" and required by the Constitution. General Aung Hlaing has already been hit by sanctions launched by the United States and the United Kingdom for the responsibilities in the persecution of Rohingya, a Muslim majority ethnic group, victims of violence with "genocidal intent" (as the UN defined them) in 2017, when hundreds thousands of people were forced to seek refuge in Bangladesh.

The situation in Myanmar has already put several multinationals on alert. A spokesman for the Italian Eni makes it known that “our activities in the country are located in areas far from the main cities and currently there are no operational activities in progress. Eni expatriate personnel are very limited. We are closely monitoring the evolution of the situation ». Eni has been present in the Exploration & Production sector since 2014, following the reopening of the market to foreign investors by the Government.