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STORY: UN / MYANMAR
TRT: 03:09
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 26 FEBRUARY 2021, NEW YORK CITY / RECENT
RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations Headquarters
26 FEBRUARY 2021, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, General Assembly
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Christine Schraner Burgener, Special Envoy on Myanmar:
“I told you in 2019 that I would sound the alarm if necessary. This is now the case. I am ringing the alarm bells. I strongly condemn the recent steps taken by the military and urge all of you to collectively send a clear signal in support of democracy in Myanmar.”
4. Wide shot, General Assembly
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Christine Schraner Burgener, Special Envoy on Myanmar:
“Instead of resorting to established legal mechanisms, the military exploited differences to try to justify an attempted coup. I say “attempted,” since the takeover has not stabilized, it would appear to be roundly rejected by the people. It is important the international community does not lend legitimacy or recognition to this regime.”
6. Wide shot, PGA walks up to podium
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Volkan Bozkir, President, General Assembly:
“I reiterate my call on the military authorities to grant the UN Special Envoy, Christine Schraner Burgener, access to Myanmar to assess the situation first-hand under agreeable conditions while fostering the conditions for a frank and open dialogue. And I also call for unity within the international community and Member States. If you work together, you can, we can make a positive difference to this dire situation.”
8. Wide shot, GA
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Kyaw Moe Tun, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Myanmar:
“People from all strata of life have come out on the streets all over the country and expressed their disappointment with the military coup as well as demanded the immediate release of all detainees and return of the state power to the people through the elected government. The people of Myanmar are resolute for achieving their demands. I agree with the Secretary-General that the military coup is not acceptable in this modern world, and the coup must fail.”
10. Wide shot, GA
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, United States:
“Like the Perm. Rep., the people of Myanmar are making their voices heard. Doctors and civil servants. Grocery store cashiers and milk tea servers. Delivery drivers, oil rig operators, and artists. They are marching in the streets. They are raising red balloons, and banging pots and pans, and they are demanding their democracy back. We stand in solidarity with them. We stand with the millions of people in Myanmar who have displayed courage and determination to reject this military coup. We stand with them as they call for a return to peace, democratic governance, and rule of law.”
12. Wide shot, GA
The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, today (26 Feb) condemned recent steps taken by the military in Myanmar and urged the international community “to collectively send a clear signal in support of democracy in Myanmar.”
Addressing a General Assembly Informal meeting of the plenary to hear her briefing, the Special Envoy said, “I told you in 2019 that I would sound the alarm if necessary. This is now the case. I am ringing the alarm bells.”
Schraner Burgener said, “Instead of resorting to established legal mechanisms, the military exploited differences to try to justify an attempted coup. I say “attempted,” since the takeover has not stabilized, it would appear to be roundly rejected by the people. It is important the international community does not lend legitimacy or recognition to this regime.”
The President of the General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir, reiterated his call on the military authorities to grant the Special Envoy “access to Myanmar to assess the situation first-hand under agreeable conditions while fostering the conditions for a frank and open dialogue.”
He also called for “unity within the international community and Member States” in order to “make a positive difference to this dire situation.”
Myanmar’s Ambassador, Kyaw Moe Tun, told the General Assembly that “people from all strata of life have come out on the streets all over the country and expressed their disappointment with the military coup as well as demanded the immediate release of all detainees and return of the state power to the people through the elected government.”
The people of Myanmar, he said, “are resolute for achieving their demands” and expressed agreement with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that “the military coup is not acceptable in this modern world, and the coup must fail.”
In her first address to the General Assembly, the new Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said, “like the Perm. Rep., the people of Myanmar are making their voices heard. Doctors and civil servants. Grocery store cashiers and milk tea servers. Delivery drivers, oil rig operators, and artists. They are marching in the streets. They are raising red balloons, and banging pots and pans, and they are demanding their democracy back. We stand in solidarity with them. We stand with the millions of people in Myanmar who have displayed courage and determination to reject this military coup. We stand with them as they call for a return to peace, democratic governance, and rule of law.”
The political unrest in Myanmar has impacted the ability of humanitarians to respond to the needs of vulnerable communities, including internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the country’s conflict-affected areas, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Thursday (25 Feb).
The United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) has called on the military in Myanmar to end the harassment and intimidation of workers by security forces and ensure that they can exercise their rights to freedom of expression, in a climate free of violence and fear.
