Yangon/New York: An increasing number of people are now being held in detention in Myanmar and the United Nations team on the ground is currently tracking more than 900 political and state officials, activists and civil society members — including journalists, monks and students — now being detained. It said today that at least 150 people were arrested in protests in Nay Pyi Taw on February 22, and that is on Nay Pyi Taw alone.
“We call for their immediate release,” Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, told journalist in New York.
While the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Myanmar, Christine Schraner, is scheduled to brief the UN General Assembly on February 26, even as she is “continuing her contacts”, she is not yet able to secure travels to Myanmar. Dujarric parried a question on what reasons had the military government given her for not allowing her back into the country, and said:” I’m not going to go into what they’re saying.”
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The office of the Secretary-General however informed that there were ongoing efforts to get her into Myanmar and even the Secretary‑General, António Guterres “has been on the phone with people”.
“Her goal is, obviously, to get there but, more importantly, to ensure that there is respect for the outcome of the elections in November, that the will of the people of Myanmar is expressed democratically… be respected and that their fundamental rights [are] respected,”Dujarric explained, and added: “I think it’s important for the international community to remain united and to remain in close contact with political actors, civil society, and to ensure that the people of Myanmar are able to have their voices heard and their rights respected.”
– global bihari bureau
