Myanmar envoy evicted by military attache appeals for UK govt's help

The former diplomat had called for the release of former elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained after the military took power in a coup on Feb. 1.

The ousted Myanmar ambassador to Britain has appealed to the British government to help him as he faced eviction from his London residence.

Myanmar's ambassador Kyaw Zwar Minn stands, after he was locked out of the embassy, and sources said his deputy had shut him out of the building and taken charge on behalf of the military, outside the Myanmar Embassy in London. (REUTERS)

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 called for the release of former elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained after the military took power in a coup on Feb. 1.

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 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.”

More than 700 people in Myanmar have been killed in a brutal crackdown against pro-democracy protesters and others opposed to February’s coup.