United Nations special envoy for Myanmar to resign, says UN chief spokesman 

The United Nations special envoy for Myanmar is going to step down this month, reported AFP citing spokesman for the UN chief. The special envoy will step down after 18-month tenure. During this time, she was criticised by Myanmar's military junta and its opponents. In Myanmar, the military had toppled civilian government and seized power in February 2021. The country has been in turmoil ever since. The military coup ended a brief democratic experiment and sparked clashes with ethnic rebel groups and anti-coup fighters.

Noeleen Heyzer, who was named envoy by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in October 2021, "will conclude her assignment on 12 June" when her contract ends, Stephane Dujarric said.

Guterres "is thankful to Ms. Heyzer for her tireless efforts on behalf of peace and the people of Myanmar," the spokesman said, adding a new envoy would be appointed.

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Heyzer is a Singaporean sociologist, she was tasked with urging the military junta to enter into dialogue with its opponents and for ending a bloody crackdown it launched after coming to power.

In August last year, she visited Myanmar and met military junta chief Min Aung Hlaing and other top officials. This was criticised by rights group as they said that such visits lent legitimacy to the generals.

But she was denied a meeting with detained democracy figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi and later irked junta officials who accused her of issuing a "one-sided statement" of what had been discussed.

Later, she vowed not to visit the country unless she was allowed to meet Suu Kyi.

Aung San Suu Kyi has now been jailed for a total of 33 years by a closed-door junta court.

The military junta finds support from major allies like Russia and China. The strong support has emboldened the generals to rebuff attempts to start a dialogue with their opponents.

The junta blocked a visit by former UN special envoy Schraner Burgener, a Swiss diplomat. Myanmar's state-backed media made Burgener target of their criticism.

Cambodian Foreign Minister and ASEAN envoy for Myanmar Prak Sokhonn visited Myanmar twice but both times the military denied him visits with Suu Kyi.

More than 3,500 people have been killed in the military's crackdown since the coup, according to a local monitoring group.

More than one million people have been displaced by the violence, according to the United Nations.

(With inputs from agencies)

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