FROM THE DVB NEWSROOM

Regime media published an op-ed titled The Picture of Irrelevance on June 16, calling the U.N. “rotten.” It was accompanied by a photo of the U.N. headquarters in New York, stating: “it looks so peaceful!…But inside, it is infested with egos. Its core is rotten.” This comes after the U.N. Special Envoy for Myanmar Noleen Heyzer stepped down from her post on June 12, which was referenced in the article: “another one of them ‘bites the dust’, in connection with Myanmar.” This language used by the regime in its mouthpiece English language newspaper comes after U.N. officials met with regime officials in Sittwe on June 15 to request access to areas devastated by Cyclone Mocha. Naypyidaw revoked travel authorizations to international humanitarian aid organizations on June 7. The U.N. denounced the regime’s decision to suspend aid deliveries to Rakhine State, which was hit worst by the cyclone on May 14. DVB reported that 163 bodies have been recovered in Rakhine during the recovery efforts in the days and weeks following the cyclone. Heyzer’s tenure as U.N. Special Envoy was criticized often by activists with civil society groups calling on the U.N. to suspend the post. But U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he will appoint a new special envoy to replace Heyzer in Myanmar. Much to the regime’s chagrin, or so it seems.