The U.N. Security Council has adopted its first and long-discussed resolution of Myanmar on Wednesday, demanding the military junta to free political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi.
Myanmar is in crisis for a long time, since the army stolen power from the government of
Aung San Suu Kyi, on February 1, 2021. Military junta imprisoned her and her government officials, and also treated people who protested for democracy with violence.
“Today we’ve sent a firm message to the military that they should be in no doubt – we expect this resolution to be implemented in full,” Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward said. “We’ve also sent a clear message to the people of Myanmar that we seek progress in line with their rights, their wishes and their interests”.
Decisions have long been split in the council with China and Russia opposing strong action. Both countries and India abstained from the vote in the meeting on Wednesday. China said that whether the crisis can be properly resolved in the end, it would depend fundamentally, and only, on Myanmar itself. The world’s second largest economy also said that it wanted the council to adopt a formal statement rather than a resolution.
Meanwhile, Russia said that it did not view the situation in Myanmar as an international threat on peace and security. With this regard, Russia believed that the U.N. Security Council should not be the one to deal with this issue.
On the other hand, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the resolution of the council.
The draft resolution by the council urges for concrete and immediate actions to implement a peace plan agreed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
