Singapore’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan told parliament on Tuesday he did not support slapping “widespread generalised indiscriminate sanctions” on Myanmar in response to a military coup, because they could hurt ordinary citizens.
The island state is a major investor in Myanmar and a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Other ASEAN members like Indonesia and Malaysia have been calling for a special meeting to discuss the situation in Myanmar.
Also Read Myanmar protesters block railway line; UN warns against crackdown
UN Special Envoy Christine Schraner Burgener spoke on Monday to the deputy head of the junta in what has become a rare channel of communication between the army and the outside world, urging restraint and the restoration of communications.
“Ms Schraner Burgener has reinforced that the right of peaceful assembly must fully be respected and that demonstrators are not subjected to reprisals,” UN spokesman Farhan Haq said at the United Nations.
“She has conveyed to the Myanmar military that the world is watching closely, and any form of heavy-handed response is likely to have severe consequences.”
In an account of the meeting, Myanmar’s army said junta Number Two, Soe Win, had discussed the administration’s plans and information on “the true situation of what’s happening in Myanmar”.
The unrest has revived memories of bloody outbreaks of opposition to almost half a century of direct army rule that ended in 2011 when the military began a process of withdrawing from civilian politics.
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