UN Security Council to discuss Myanmar situation

UNITED NATIONS - The Security Council will discuss the Myanmar situation on Tuesday, following the detention of political leaders by the military in the country.

British ambassador to the United Nations, Barbara Woodward, whose country takes over the rotating Security Council presidency for the month of February, said the council members have agreed to bring forward the Myanmar issue given the latest developments.

"We had it on the program of work originally for discussion later this week. In discussion with council members, we have agreed now that we will move it up to discussion tomorrow, given the developments in Myanmar over the weekend," Woodward told reporters on Monday.

"We want to address the long-term threat to peace and security, of course working closely with Myanmar's Asian and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) neighbors."

Tuesday's Myanmar virtual meeting will be held behind closed doors "to allow for frank discussion," she said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' special envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, will brief the Security Council on Tuesday, said Stephane Dujarric, Guterres' spokesman.

The last Security Council discussion on Myanmar was in September 2020, before the general elections in the country.

Myanmar political leaders, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint, regional and state ministers and some central executive committee members of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), were detained by the military in the early hours of Monday.

The military had demanded the postponement of new parliamentary sessions, claiming that there was massive voting fraud in the November 2020 general elections, in which the NLD won the majority of seats in both houses of parliament.