Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun told a rally outside the U.N. headquarters in New York on Saturday that conditions remain “favourable” for him to continue serving as Myanmar’s permanent representative to the U.N. for a sixth year.
“Based on my experience over the past five years and the information I have gathered during this period, I can say that the situation is likely to remain unchanged,” Kyaw Moe Tun told DVB, without providing further details.
The nine-member U.N. Credentials Committee will evaluate representation disputes following the 81st U.N. General Assembly session, which takes place Sept. 18-28.
The committee includes the three permanent Security Council members: U.S., China, Russia, along with newly-appointed members: Bahamas, Belgium, Benin, Jamaica, Uganda, and Vanuatu.
“The Credentials Committee usually holds its regular meeting around the end of November. After that meeting, the committee’s decision is submitted to the U.N. General Assembly’s plenary session for approval. So, we will have to wait and see until then,” Kyaw Moe Tun added.
The support rally in the U.S. on Sept. 19 is part of an international campaign to help show the international community that Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun is the representative of the people of Myanmar at the U.N. Solidarity rallies took place over the weekend in Europe, Asia, Australia, and Canada.
“We hope that Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun will continue to represent Myanmar at the U.N. as he has done previously,” Zin Mar Aung, the National Unity Government (NUG) Foreign Affairs Minister, told the crowd gathered at the rally in New York on Sept. 19.
The regime in Naypyidaw announced on Sept. 13 that it has revoked the status of Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, accusing him of carrying out illegal activities and engaging in civil service misconduct.
Min Aung Hlaing’s regime ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) administration during the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. Kyaw Moe Tun was appointed to the U.N. seat by the NLD in 2020.
The regime has accused Kyaw Moe Tun of the unauthorized use of state property and mission funds, alongside illicit cooperation with the civilian-led interim administration NUG, which represents NLD lawmakers elected in 2020 but ousted in the coup.
“I have maintained systematic financial records and accounts throughout my work, so I have a clear conscience regarding financial matters,” Kyaw Moe Tun told DVB on Sept. 19.
Despite the regime’s order to dismiss Kyaw Moe Tun in 2021 following the coup, he has retained control of Myanmar’s seat at U.N. in New York due to annual deferrals by the U.N. Credentials Committee.
However, the regime wants the seat to be occupied by Aung Thurein, a former colonel who served in the military from the age of 18 until he was chosen for this post, according to his official biography submitted to the U.N. on May 12, 2021.
