| After Burma
Coup US Reviews All Aid While UN Paralyzed
and UNSC Censored Under UK
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY / UN GATE,
Feb 2 – The
United States, responding to
the coup in Burma, is
reviewing all of its programs
that benefit the Burmese
military.
This was said on
an embargoed US State
Department press conference on
February 2, at the same time
that the UN Security Council
was hold a closed meeting
about Myanmar.
The US
State Department official
repeated that cutting US
funding would not impair
assistance to the Rohingya,
and alluded to working with
countries with closer ties to
the Myanmar government, such
as Japan and India.
While the
US State Department official,
on background, described
sanctions on businesses tied
to military figures being
considered, there is no chance
of UNSC sanctions, give for
example China's veto right.
But the United Kingdom as
President of the UNSC for
February did not even push to
have the Tuesday meeting be
open, and UK Ambassador
Barbara Woodward on February 1
banned the Press - which was
given access to Tuesday's
background briefing - from her
UN "press" conference (at
which not a single question on
Africa, for example, was
taken).
Here was
and is Inner City Press'
question to the UK, as UNSC
President: ""on
deadline, for
UK's response
to current
developments
in Myanmar /
Burma. Please
confirm
receipt." This
was sent on
January 31 to
PR Barbara Woodward,
Jaclyn Licht,
Sorcha Lowry
and Isabella
Olex; no
answer from
them or
"spokesman"
Mungo
Woodifield.
Later
at the
February 2 US
State Department
briefing,
Spokesman Ned
Price said,
"When it comes
to Burma,
look, I don’t
think the
military
takeover, the
military coup,
is in the
interest –
it’s certainly
not in our
interest.
It’s certainly
not in the
interest of
our likeminded
partners.
I think you
will also find
that it’s not
in the
interest of
the
Chinese.
So our first
concern, of
course, is the
restoration of
civilian
leadership in
Burma.
Our concern,
consistent
with that, is
ensuring that
as we
undertake this
review, now
that we have
determined
that a coup
has taken
place on
February 1st,
the
civilian-led
government has
been deposed
by the
military – our
first concern
as we do that
review will be
to ensure that
of the $135
million we
contribute
annually to
the people of
Burma, that we
don’t do
anything that
would affect
the
long-suffering
people of
Burma,
including the
Rohingya in
this case." Inner
City Press will have more on
this.
***
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