According to insiders, the deputy ambassador and military attache shut it down and took over the ambassadorial position on behalf of the military governors.
Myanmar’s military launched a coup on 1 February after Aung San Suu Kyi’s pro-democracy party won the elections in November. The military arrested members of the civilian government and accused Aung San Suu Kyi and her party of rigging the elections.
Ambassador in London Kyaw Zwar Min has separated from the junta in recent weeks and has called for Aung San Suu Kyi’s release. On Wednesday, the ambassador told Reuters news agency that he had been denied entry. “It’s like a coup in the heart of London,” he said outside the embassy. “You can see that they occupied a building.” The ambassador said he was in consultation with the British Foreign Office.
Four diplomatic sources say that Deputy Ambassador Chet Win has taken control of the embassy and that he and the military attache have shut down the ambassador. The ambassador spoke with the protesters in front of the embassy building. When Kyaw called on visitors to Min for Aung San Suu Kyi’s release last month, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab praised his courage.
“This is my building”
“This is a building. I have to go in. That is why I am waiting here,” the ambassador told reporters. The British Foreign Office said it was currently investigating the situation at the Myanmar embassy.
Kyaw Zwar Min is not the first Myanmar diplomat to clash with the junta. UN Ambassador Kyaw Mo Tun also spoke out against the military coup. And demanded the imposition of international sanctions on the military regime. When the military wanted to replace him, Kyaw Moe Tun refused to relinquish his position, claiming to represent Myanmar’s democratically elected government.
