At UN, States Condemn Myanmar's Junta

NEW YORK - The international community sent a strong signal Friday to Myanmar's military, condemning its seizure of the civilian government and its monthslong violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.  

In a resolution adopted in the U.N. General Assembly by a vote of 119-1, with Belarus the only country voting against and 36 abstentions, member states called for an end to the violence and for respect of the will of the people as expressed in the November election. They called for the return to the democratic path, the release of political detainees and the end of the state of emergency imposed after the February 1 coup.  While the legal power to impose an international arms embargo lies only with the Security Council, the resolution does call on "all member states to prevent the flow of arms into Myanmar."  Myanmar's ambassador, who is aligned with the national unity government, welcomed the resolution, saying that he hoped it would help pressure the military to stop "their inhumane acts" but was disappointed it fell "far short of our expectations."