Irrawaddy-Nov 8
Two representatives of Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG) were barred from participating in the Global Town Hall 2022 meeting at the last minute after the UN complained to a co-organizer that their inclusion would amount to taking sides in the country’s conflict, sources close to the matter said. Joined by leading public figures such as former UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and current US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Kritenbrink among many others, Saturday’s livestreamed meeting, “Sustaining Peace and Development in a Divided World”, was hosted by the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) in partnership with international advocacy organization Global Citizen to discuss pressing foreign policy issues. Global Citizen, also known as the Global Poverty Project, works with the UN in various sectors including poverty reduction. Press materials released ahead of the meeting show NUG Foreign Minister Daw Zin Mar Aung among the speakers, along with two senior UN officials. When the meeting started on Saturday, however, Daw Zin Mar Aung’s prerecorded opening remarks were not aired and U Moe Zaw Oo was barred from joining the discussion. “I was informed that I had been removed from the agenda due to a complaint from the UN,” U Moe Zaw Oo told The Irrawaddy. The FPCI held a meeting with the NUG deputy foreign minister on Monday, apologizing to him for what happened on Saturday. According to U Moe Zaw Oo, FPCI director Dr. Dino Patti Djalal told him that Global Citizen was told by a high level UN official to drop NUG representatives from the meeting because the world body was afraid of appearing to take sides by inviting them. U Moe Zaw Oo denounced the UN’s interference in the meeting. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/the-world-myanmar/myanmar-shadow-govt-barred-from-global-town-hall-meeting-after-un-objects.html
