Security Council resolution condemning Myanmar vetoed by Russia and China

13.04.2023

A U.N. Security Council resolution condemning a violent crackdown by Myanmar’s military junta has been aborted over opposition from Russia and China. A few days ago, an airstrike by government forces may have killed nearly a hundred people, including civilians.

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) Russia and China have blocked a resolution on Myanmar in the UN Security Council. The resolution condemned an airstrike by Burmese government forces that killed nearly 100 people.

“There are conflicting information about this controversial attack and we must first be clear about the details,” Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s deputy representative to the United Nations, said on Wednesday (April 12). The Chinese representative said that the Security Council should encourage all parties in Myanmar to resolve differences through dialogue and reconciliation, but he also stressed that he does not advocate interfering in a country’s internal affairs.

According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Radio Free Asia (RFA)’s Burmese-language program and news website “Irrawaddy” (Irrawaddy), an airstrike launched by the Burmese military government on Tuesday (April 11) killed 80 to 100 people , which includes civilians. A rebel fighter said 16 children were among the dead.

According to Myanmar’s Delta News Agency (Delta News Agency) citing eyewitness reports, an office of the anti-government armed organization “People’s Defense Force” was being unveiled that day, and government fighter jets bombed it. Among the people who participated in this event, there were many residents of neighboring villages. The Myanmar military said it was an operation against “terrorists”.

Recently, in Sagaing Province in central Myanmar,Clashes between government forces and rebelsIntensified. The area is an important stronghold of anti-government armed forces.

In February 2021, Myanmar military generals seized power in a coup, and the leader of the democratically elected government, Aung San Suu Kyi, was arrested.the nobel peace prize winnercharged with multiple crimes, was sentenced to more than 30 years in prison.Since the coup, thousands of people have been killed in the country, more than 20,000 people have been arrested, and nearly 1.5 million people have been forced toUprooted。

Many political opponents were arrested, tortured or executed. Massacres of civilians by government soldiers have occurred repeatedly. Airstrikes launched by government forces have increased in recent times. In October last year, at least 50 people were killed in airstrikes in the northern Kachin province.

In March, a village in northwestern Myanmar was hit by air strikes. At least eight civilians, including children, were killed, according to human rights groups, rebels and media reports. In January, another village in the same area was bombed, killing at least seven people.

Many countries have imposed sanctions on the Burmese military government. The Myanmar military has argued that the coup was caused by electoral fraud and denied that the army had committed violence against civilians, while saying that the army was attacking terrorists who destabilized the country.

(Reuters, DPA)

© 2023 Deutsche Welle Copyright Statement: All content in this article is protected by copyright law and may not be used without special authorization from Deutsche Welle. Any wrongdoing will result in recovery and be subject to criminal prosecution.