Myanmar’s Military Council has ordered diplomats and embassy staff of Timor-Leste in Yangon to leave the country by 1 September, according to a social media post by Aung Myo Min, the Minster for Human Rights of the National Unity Government (NUG), on 26 August.
His post said: “Timorese president Jose Ramos-Horta responded to this order that they are proud of their standpoint and policy of their government on the NUG.”
The NUG minister reiterated his respect for Timor-Leste’s strong advocacy for human rights and democracy.
East Timor is due to become the eleventh member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
But, the Timorese government recently commented they may consider not joining ASEAN if efforts to resolve the Myanmar crisis fail to reflect the country’s “difficult balancing act” in dealing with the bloc’s norms, and its prime minister also said that they could not accept military junta regimes anywhere, nor could it ignore human rights violations in Myanmar.
The NUG’s foreign minister Zin Mar Aung attended a cabinet inauguration of the Timor-Leste government in the capital Dili at the invitation of the country’s president on 1 July, while Myanmar’s military council was not invited.
On 23 August, the NUG Human Rights Minister, Aung Myo Min, held a meeting with the Timorese President at the Dili Presidential Palace. After the two-hour meeting, the minister told reporters, "We are talking about how the Timor government can help the democracy movement in the countries and also more engagement with the National Unity Government. The first one is recognition of the movement and the stand for human rights and justice of the people."
During his visit to Timor-Leste, the NUG minister also called on Virgílio da Silva Guterres, the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice, and discussed cooperation between the two governments – the NUG and Timor-Leste.
On Sunday, as a result of Aung Myo Min’s visit to East Timor, Myanmar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the "irresponsible actions" of East Timor, ordering the country's Charge d'Affaires in Yangon "to leave no later than 1 September 2023".
The ministry said in a Facebook post that East Timor was "encouraging the terrorist group to further committing their violations in Myanmar".
East Timor condemned the expulsion order, reiterating in a statement "the importance of supporting all efforts for the return of democratic order in Myanmar".
Dili also urged the junta to "respect human rights and seek a peaceful and constructive solution to the crisis”.
Linn Thant, an NUG representative based in Prague in the Czech Republic, condemned the junta's decision and told AFP that there was no justification for the expulsion of the Timor East diplomat.
Additional reporting from AFP.
