The resolution of the crisis in Myanmar by force, as it happened in Iraq, is impossible in present circumstances, Thailand's former deputy foreign minister and former ambassador to Myanmar, Virasakdi Futrakul, told Sputnik on Friday
BANGKOK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th August, 2021) The resolution of the crisis in Myanmar by force, as it happened in Iraq, is impossible in present circumstances, Thailand's former deputy foreign minister and former ambassador to Myanmar, Virasakdi Futrakul, told Sputnik on Friday.
Futrakul, who currently serves as a senator, was among the candidates to become a special envoy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to Myanmar, a post that was eventually entrusted to Brunei's Erywan Yusof.
"Let's see what leverage the Western countries now have to influence the processes in Myanmar? The power solution, if it is implemented through the United Nations Security Council, will be immediately blocked by Russia and China. UN peacekeepers could not be deployed to Myanmar for the same reason," Futrakul said.
The West can only resort to attempting to influence Myanmar through the ASEAN, as the state is its member, or to sanction it, the Thai official said, adding, however, that the latter option has proven ineffective.
"The 2003 scenario of Iraq simply cannot repeat itself in today's Myanmar, namely an international coalition can not be formed and military force cannot be used for power transition," Futrakul said.
On February 1, the military came to power in Myanmar through a coup. Top-ranking generals accused the former civilian authorities of rigging the results of the November 2020 general election. After gaining power, they pledged to hold new elections within two years and hand over power to the winning party or parties.
The coup ignited mass anti-military protests and a subsequent crackdown. As a result of clashes, more than 1,000 civilians were killed.
The political and social crises, including the emergence of the so-called civil disobedience movement, paralyzed many of the country's institutions vital to surviving the pandemic.
