Please understand our people's frustration: Myanmar's envoy to UN

Myanmar's envoy to the United Nations has pleaded for the international community to understand why its shadow government declared a "people's defensive war" this week, saying the world needs to "understand the desire of the people" who have been subject to military atrocities since the Feb 1 coup.

"The people of Myanmar have been waiting for the help from the international community," Mr Kyaw Moe Tun told The Straits Times from New York in an online interview on Wednesday.

"The inhuman acts of the military have not stopped. Instead, they have only increased."

The ambassador, who pledged his allegiance to Myanmar's ousted civilian leaders shortly after the coup, is a central figure in the tussle for international recognition between the junta and the National Unity Government (NUG) formed partly by elected lawmakers.

Although fired and charged with treason by the junta - and most recently the target of an alleged assassination plot - he still occupies the UN seat as Myanmar's representative.

In a process due to begin next week, the UN General Assembly will decide whether the NUG or the junta can represent Myanmar at the UN.

So far, no country has officially recognised Myanmar's military regime. But countries like China and Russia, as well as regional bloc Asean, are leaning towards de facto recognition through their high-level interactions with the junta.

The question over recognition is expected to be muddied further by the NUG's declaration of a nationwide uprising on Tuesday.

In a video broadcast online, acting NUG president Duwa Lashi La called on ethnic armed groups and resistance fighters to attack the junta, and warned civil servants against turning up for work. Since then, local media has logged an uptick of ambushes on soldiers, police officers and alleged junta collaborators.

This "defensive war" was declared just a few days after Asean's special envoy Erywan Yusof, tasked by the bloc to facilitate dialogue, revealed his proposal for a four-month ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to be safely delivered in Myanmar.

Asked for his view on the ceasefire proposal, the dark-suited ambassador, who was framed by the Myanmar and UN flags, smiled.

"As a diplomat we always go for engagement and go for dialogue. We always go for the peaceful settlement of the conflict," he said. "But you look at the inhumane acts, the cruelty, the atrocities committed by the military - it's beyond what we can tolerate."

He pointed out that Asean took more than two months to convene a special meeting after the coup, and then another three months to appoint a special envoy. In the meantime, some 1,000 people, many of them young people, were killed by the junta, he said.

"If we put ourselves in the shoes of the parents, brothers and sisters, how can we be patient?" he said, as his voice shook with emotion.

"We really want to go for the peaceful settlement, but the situation as well as the desire of the people already pushed us in that direction, that is the people's defensive revolution.

"Please do understand the situation on the ground. Please do understand the frustration that the people of Myanmar have been experiencing since the first of February."

The ambassador, meanwhile, said he is "very confident the representation from the military will not be accepted whatsoever at the forthcoming session" of the UN General Assembly.

The committee to be set up to scrutinise the credentials of each country's UN representatives can choose to defer the decision on competing candidates, and simply let the incumbent continue. In which case, Mr Kyaw Moe Tun would get to keep his seat.

"This seat at the UN is very important for the people of Myanmar," he said. "Through this seat, we can convey the voices of the people of Myanmar to the international community."

Mr Kyaw Moe Tun and his mission are guarded around the clock by pro-democracy volunteers within New York's Myanmar community, to prevent him from suffering the same fate as Myanmar's ambassador to Britain, who was locked out of his embassy by junta representatives in April. The volunteers follow him even on his grocery runs, he said.

Last month, two Myanmar nationals in the United States were arrested over a plot to kill or injure Mr Kyaw Moe Tun. The junta has denied any part in it.

Reflecting on this threat, he said: "I was quite surprised because I didn't think there would be anyone who would want to harm me or kill me."

The father of two has since become more vigilant and now keeps security officials informed of his schedules. But he has not stopped going shopping for groceries.

"Otherwise I get a lot of complaints from my wife. That is part of my duties, especially during the weekend," he said with a laugh.

To reduce the security risks, he also tries to avoid crowded places. This means he has had to turn down invitations to join bazaars organised by the expatriate Myanmar community to raise funds for fellow citizens inside the country. "I told them, maybe not this time, maybe in the future."