UN Envoy Arrives in Myanmar
Noeleen Heyzer, appointed last year, will focus on 'addressing the deteriorating situation'
The U.N.’s special envoy for Myanmar visited the country for the first time Tuesday, nearly 10 months after being appointed to the post. A U.N. statement said Noeleen Heyzer “will focus on addressing the deteriorating situation and immediate concerns” following the U.N. Security Council’s latest call for an immediate halt to all violence and for unimpeded humanitarian access. The U.N. did not detail any specific details of her plans during the visit, but said it comes after “extensive consultations with actors from across the political spectrum, civil society as well as communities affected by the ongoing conflict.” Heyzer arrived a day after a court found ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi guilty in four corruption cases and sentenced her to six years in prison. The cases involved allegations that Suu Kyi leased government-owned land at a discounted rate and misused charitable funds to build a home. Suu Kyi denied all the charges that have been filed against her after the military ousted her government and detained her in February 2021. Suu Kyi was sentenced in earlier cases to 11 years in prison and is being held in solitary confinement in a jail in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyitaw. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won the November 2020 general elections in a landslide over the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party. The junta claimed widespread electoral fraud in the elections as its reason for toppling the civilian government and invalidating the results. The civilian electoral commission denied the fraud allegations before it was disbanded.