Myanmar junta summons German envoy over birthday video for ousted President Win Myint

Mizzima

The Myanmar junta’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned German chargé d’affaires Mathias Licharz on 10 November, two days after he marked ousted President Win Myint’s 75th birthday with a video filmed outside the family home in Yangon, and demanded to know whether Berlin had authorised it.

In the video, posted on the German embassy’s social media on 8 November, Licharz said “U Win Myint is not a free man,”. He repeated calls by the UN General Assembly, the UN Security Council and his own government for the unconditional release of all those arbitrarily detained, including Win Myint and Aung San Suu Kyi, and urged the junta to open a genuine dialogue.

Deputy Foreign Minister Ko Ko Kyaw handed Licharz an aide-memoire, according to a ministry statement, and asked for a formal explanation of whether Germany’s Federal Foreign Office had authorised the video or he had acted on his own. The ministry called the video interference in Myanmar’s internal affairs and an insult to the head of state, citing Article 41(1) of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

The ministry also said it would not stop Licharz from leaving Myanmar if he regarded Win Myint as president and did not want to work with the current government, and warned of action under international law and diplomatic practice if he repeats the conduct.

Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing declared himself “president” in April, following a military-run election that critics called a sham. Win Myint, removed in the February 2021 coup, was freed on 17 April in a New Year amnesty after more than five years in detention.