Myanmar's military-backed government said yesterday that its permanent representative to the United Nations, Kyaw Moe Tun, had undertaken "illegal activities" and that his status had been "revoked and withdrawn," sharpening a credentials fight that will land before the U.N. later this month. The ministry in Naypyidaw accused him of misusing state funds and property for "personal interest" and of colluding with resistance groups, including the National Unity Government, which it said "have been declared unlawful associations and terrorist organizations."
Who Gets Hit First
Kyaw Moe Tun is the man the junta wants gone. He was appointed by the civilian government removed in a military coup in February 2021, and after that coup he used his U.N. General Assembly address to break publicly with the junta and call for "the strongest possible action from the international community" to restore democracy to the country. He later pledged loyalty to the National Unity Government, formed by members of the ousted government and other members of Myanmar civil society. That choice put him squarely against the military apparatus now trying to erase him from the diplomatic record.
The ministry went further, saying Kyaw Moe Tun had acted "as an accomplice to terrorist acts by concealing, defending, and supporting unlawful violent operations targeting innocent civilians, civil servants, and public infrastructure within Myanmar on the international stage." It also said the Myanmar Embassy in Washington, D.C. was coordinating with INTERPOL and the United States National Central Bureau to pursue "necessary action" against him. The language is blunt. The machinery of state power is, once again, trying to turn a diplomatic dispute into a criminal hunt.
The Seat That Won't Sit Still
The military junta terminated Kyaw Moe Tun and nominated the retired colonel Aung Thurein to replace him, but he has remained in the seat because the U.N. Credentials Committee has repeatedly deferred the question of who has the right to represent Myanmar at the U.N. That delay has kept the fight alive in the halls of international bureaucracy, where recognition can matter more than the people being ruled back home.
On September 8, the U.N. General Assembly appointed a new nine-member Credentials Committee that will soon consider whether to defer again or make a definitive ruling. The annual session is scheduled to begin on September 22, but no date has been set for the committee to decide on the Myanmar issue. The committee currently comprises the Bahamas, Belgium, Benin, China, Jamaica, Russia, Uganda, the U.S. and Vanuatu. The names change. The hierarchy remains.
What the Rulers Call Order
In April, coup leader Min Aung Hlaing was appointed president at the head of a new "civilian" government after tightly circumscribed elections held over three phases in December and January. The label says civilian. The structure says otherwise. Since taking office in April, he has visited four ASEAN member states — Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia — to press for Myanmar's readmission into the 11-nation bloc. ASEAN has barred Myanmar from its summits over the lack of action to implement its Five-Point Consensus plan for managing the post-coup conflict.
He has also been welcomed recently as head of state in China, India, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. China and Russia have accorded Min Aung Hlaing red carpet treatment in recent months and can be expected to support his government's position. The rest of the field is less clear. The view of the other nations on Myanmar's representation, and the recent political transition in Naypyidaw, remains unclear, as does the position of the U.S. under President Donald Trump.
The U.S. has refused to recognize the military regime that took power in 2021, but the administration appears internally divided on Myanmar. In a human rights report released in August of last year, the U.S. State Department cited "significant" human rights issues in Myanmar, including "credible reports" of arbitrary killings and disappearances, torture, persecution of journalists, human trafficking and restrictions on religious freedom. Three months later, the Department of Homeland Security revoked temporary protected status for Myanmar nationals in the U.S., including many fleeing post-coup repression, saying the country had "made notable progress in governance and stability."
People Organize While Institutions Stall
In recent weeks, the Myanmar diaspora has called on U.N. missions to continue recognizing Kyaw Moe Tun. According to the Democratic Voice of Burma, Kim Aris, the son of ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, is planning a rally outside U.N. headquarters in New York on September 19 to show support for the representative. Simultaneous support rallies and public advocacy events are scheduled in cities in Asia, Europe and Australia.
That’s the part the diplomats can’t quite file away. While the committee waits, the junta lobbies, and powerful states posture, people outside the official channels are still organizing around the question of who gets to speak for Myanmar. The answer, for now, is being fought over in public, not granted from above.