Myanmar ambassador tells UK: reject junta's envoys

Myanmar ambassador tells UK: reject junta's envoys

Myanmar's ousted ambassador to the United Kingdom, who has been locked out of his embassy by the military, urged the British government on Thursday to refuse to recognize the military's envoys and send them back to Myanmar.

Emer McCarthy reports.

Myanmar's ousted ambassador to the United Kingdom, who has been locked out of his embassy by the military, urged the British government on Thursday to refuse to recognize the junta's envoys and send them back to Myanmar.

In a move that has implications for Myanmar's network of diplomats across the world, Kyaw Zwar Minn was locked out of his London embassy on Wednesday by his deputy at the behest of the Myanmar military which seized power in February.

His spokesman gave a statement outside the embassy in London on Thursday.

"We have full faith in the UK government not to recognize the Military Council of Myanmar, and not to follow the Military Council's request to install Chit Win as the charges d'affaires, but to stand with the democratically-elected government of Myanmar and its people, the people of Myanmar.

Therefore we believe that the UK government would not back those who are working for the military junta." The embassy drama puts Britain in a quandary: it has condemned and sanctioned the Myanmar military but could find it hard to evict those holed up in the embassy in West London.

There was no immediate response from Britain to the appeal.

Meanwhile, anti-coup demonstrators remained defiant against the military as marches were held across Myanmar, Thursday.

Local media reported that least 11 protesters were killed in a northwestern town, which would take the toll of civilians killed by security forces to over 600 since the junta seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

These protesters in Launglon township sang and marched by candlelight at dawn and later burned copies of the country's 2008 constitution.

Printed copies of the Chinese and Russian flags were also set on fire in opposition to the two nations, who are accused by protesters of legitimizing the junta.