The ousted Myanmar ambassador to Britain has appealed to the British government to help him as he faced eviction from his London residence.
LONDON — The ousted Myanmar ambassador to Britain has appealed to the British government to help him as he faced eviction from his London residence.
Kyaw Zwar Minn had to spend a night in his car last week after his country’s military attache barred him from the embassy in central London.
He told reporters from behind the padlocked gates of his residence in northwest London on Thursday that he is “not going to go today” and intends to stay despite orders from his former staff that he has to move out.
The former diplomat had criticized the Feb.1 coup in his country and called for the release of former elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained after the military took power.
Asked what he would do over the next few days, he replied: “Who can tell? The last time they seized the embassy without warning, so I need to be careful.”
He only spoke briefly to reporters and did not elaborate on what kind of help he wanted from the British government.
Britain Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said last week he condemned the “bullying actions of the Myanmar military regime in London.”
The British government has said it had been notified by Myanmar authorities that Kyaw Zwar Minn had been removed from his post. But it was not clear who has replaced the former ambassador as Myanmar’s representative to the U.K.
Sky News reported last week that when asked whether he would return to his home country if Britain does not support him, the former envoy replied: “Do you want to see me get killed?”
More than 700 people in Myanmar have been killed in a brutal crackdown against pro-democracy protesters and others opposed to February’s coup.