Dr. Sasa
Image courtesy Dr. Sasa|Twitter
Yangon/New York: Coinciding with the closed door briefing to the United Nations Security Council members by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy Christine Shraner Burgener last night (IST), and 45 former heads of states and foreign ministers under the banner of Global Leadership Foundation calling on the United Nations to “confront the crisis” in Myanmar, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) – a Myanmarese government in exile representing National League for Democracy lawmakers ousted in the 2021 coup d’état – declared a new Federal Democracy Charter to guarantee equal rights, gender equality, basic human rights, self-determination for ethnic states, religious freedom and collective leadership.
As the death figures climbed beyond 500 in the two months since the military coup in Myanmar, Dr. Sasa, the UN envoy who was appointed by the disbanded Parliament, tweeted last night declaring that the democratically elected law makers, members of Parliament and the people had abolished the 2008 Constitution of Myanmar “once and for all”. “The new day begin here,” Dr. Sasa tweeted, and said an interim Constitution was now in place in the country.
Federal Democracy Interim Constitution of Federal United States of Myanmar is being declared by democratically elected Members of Parliament by the people and for the people of Myanmar. pic.twitter.com/abtpAUJOmE
— Dr. Sasa (@DrSasa22222) March 31, 2021
The 2008 constitution was created by the military Generals of Myanmar and while the democratically elected government in the country made a new Constitution, the 2008 military constitution stayed in the way. However, as a local citizen, who welcomed the tweet explained, “after knowing the true intention of the military now, there is no place for them [2008 Constitution] in the country now.”
It may be mentioned that the CRPH was established following an emergency meeting convened by 298 Hluttaw Representatives on February 5, 2021, after President U Win Myint, State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, government leaders, and the Speakers of Parliament were arrested following the coup. On February 8, the CRPH had issued a notice, appealing the international community to recognize the government of President U Win Myint as the only legitimate government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and to engage the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw is the de jure national-level bicameral legislature of Myanmar).
Dr. Sasa had fled Myanmar on February 1, 2021 – the day of the coup, soon got many supporters from the public. Tweeted one: “The time has come for the ppl to step into the role@of governing themselves and not being governed by fear and death as #WhatHappeningInMyanmar has been for 60 years now. Major first step forward and now for the world to support this progression.”
Another citizen took to the twitter handle demanding : “UNSC ACT NOW”.
All this happened when the UNSC members were engaged in closed consultations with Burgener on the developments ever since Myanmar’s military junta usurped power through a coup on February 1, 2021, and unleashed a reign of terror through indiscriminate killings of civilians including children.
Dr. Sasa also reportedly wrote to the UN Secretary-General as well as to the President of the General Assembly, calling for a referral to the International Criminal Court regarding the terror unleashed by the military junta in the country. When asked about the said letter, Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, said: “I haven’t seen the letter. I will take a look at it. I think on the UN intervention, that’s always a broad call. I think the Secretary‑General has been extremely vocal on the situation in Myanmar from the get‑go. We continue to be engaged through the Special Envoy, but as I’ve said, there are no bystanders in this situation. The international community as a whole represented by the United Nations, by the Security Council, needs to speak with one voice. And individual countries in the region and beyond also have a role to play.”
In Myanmar, some of the armed ethnic groups have also disapproved of the crackdown by the army or Tatmadaw on pro-democracy protesters, and the United Nations acknowledged that the previous Government had reached agreement with a number of these armed ethnic groups to try to bring peace and stability to all of the country. “…all of this is endangering those gains,” Dujarric said.”…it is also endangering the peace with the various armed groups, armed ethnic groups, that operate in Myanmar,” he affirmed while acknowledging the events provoked by the military had “many different impacts, whether it’s humanitarian on the access to people in need, whether it’s on health, the stopping of COVID, whether it’s of course and clearly, first and foremost, on violations of human rights and the basic rights of the people of Myanmar to express themselves freely and have a government that represents them”.
– global bihari bureau
