UNITED NATIONS • It has been more than two months since Myanmar's military staged a coup, but the country's pro-democracy envoy to the United Nations continues to arrive daily at his office, where he lobbies ambassadors and UN officials to help reverse the takeover.
There is only one problem: Since giving a dramatic speech in February at the UN in defence of his country's demonstrators, Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun has been fired by the Myanmar junta, and many of the people he claims to represent have been thrown in jail.
The plight of Myanmar's nascent democracy will dominate today's Asean special summit in Indonesia. Even with more than 700 protesters killed by the military since the Feb 1 coup, expectations are low that the bloc - which has a long history of "non-interference" in other members' internal affairs - will act decisively.
Myanmar's seat at the meeting will be filled by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the nation's new military government, who is making his first overseas trip since the coup.
That has sparked criticism from protesters and observers who say the region has been too cautious in addressing the crisis.
Mr Moe Zaw Oo, deputy foreign minister in the parallel National Unity Government that was formed earlier this month by close allies of detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, expressed disappointment that his representatives were not invited.
For diplomats like Mr Kyaw Moe Tun, whose three-finger "Hunger Games" salute at the UN podium made him a hero among activists in Myanmar and others around the world, there is still a chance.
"They need to take stronger action against the military," he said in an interview. "We appreciate the support they've extended to the people in Myanmar but without more aggressive action, more people are going to die."
A grouping of 45 South-east Asian non-governmental organisations said the invitation to Gen Min Aung Hlaing "provides legitimacy... to the genocidal slaughter being committed by the military regime against its own citizens and people".
Despite the omnipresent threat of violence, nationwide demonstrations for a return to democracy persisted in Myanmar yesterday.
Protesters marched in downtown Yangon - where the anti-coup movement had laid low in recent weeks due to fear of crackdowns - to demand that regional leaders "stand with Myanmar people". They came from different Yangon townships, some carrying signs that read "Asean please stand with Myanmar people" and "Asean do you need more blood... to make the right decision?".
In central Sagaing region - the site of brutal crackdowns - the local media showed students protesting against the bloodshed by dressing in uniforms covered in red dye and reading crimson ink-splattered textbooks.
The military has tried to crush protests across Myanmar against its coup, killing hundreds and fighting with ethnic groups along the border has also escalated.
Security sources and a resident yesterday said the military fired warning shots a day before at a civilian boat carrying Thai border patrol officers, near where thousands of ethnic Karens from Myanmar had fled military air strikes last month.
"The Myanmar military unit was concerned about boats sending supplies to their opponents on the other side so they signalled the boat for inspection," one of the sources said.
BLOOMBERG, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
