Staff Reporter : Thirty-six countries, including Bangladesh, abstained from voting on the resolution against Myanmar in the UN General Assembly. These include India, Bhutan, China, Laos, Nepal, Thailand and Russia. It was not immediately clear on what grounds Bangladesh refrained from voting. India says the draft UN resolution does not reflect India’s position. So New Delhi does not believe in the hasty resolution that has been brought. India calls for greater participation in the peaceful resolution of all issues.
The UN General Assembly on Friday passed a resolution calling for an arms embargo against Myanmar. It condemned the February 1 military coup in Myanmar. Violence against peaceful protesters was called for.
But India says the hasty move is a countermeasure to the joint efforts to strengthen the country’s democratic process.
The draft resolution, entitled “The Situation in Myanmar”, was tabled in the UN General Assembly on Friday. 119 countries voted for it. Thirty-seven countries, including Bangladesh and India, abstained. However, Belarus is the only country that has voted against the proposal. TS Thirumurthy, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, later told PTI that the proposal had been rushed to the UN General Assembly without adequate discussions with neighboring and regional countries. This is not only helpful, but also counterproductive to ASEAN’s efforts to resolve the current situation in Myanmar.
TS Thirumurthy added that India is Myanmar’s closest neighbor and close friend. So India is aware of the deadly effects of political instability there. This instability could spread beyond the Myanmar border. India demands greater participation in solving the problems there. Such an initiative has already been taken through ASEAN. It is important for us to support this initiative of ASEAN. He added that consultations and constructive discussions with neighboring and regional countries are needed to resolve this issue. Because, the international community wants a peaceful solution to these issues. That’s why we can’t believe a proposal quickly in this situation. So we abstained from voting.
It is to be noted that the resolution raised in the UN expressed deep concern over the military coup in Myanmar. Myanmar’s military junta must immediately and unconditionally release President Win Mint, State Councilor Aung San Suu Kyi, government officials, politicians and all those who have been detained or arrested at will. It called on all member states to suspend arms sales to Myanmar. Myanmar’s military has been called upon to lift the state of emergency and respect all the basic rights of the country’s people. At the same time there was a call for the military to approve a sustainable transfer of democratic power.
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