Myanmar summons German envoy over Suu Kyi release call

Myanmar's foreign ministry said it summoned Germany's top resident diplomat on Tuesday over a Facebook video calling for authorities to unconditionally release ousted politicians, including Aung San Suu Kyi.

Germany's mission head Mathias Licharz posted the video on Sunday outside the former Yangon residence of Win Myint, the figurehead president of Suu Kyi's government that was removed in a 2021 coup.

Licharz said in the message, scheduled for Win Myint's 75th birthday, that the United Nations still regards Win Myint as Myanmar's legitimate president.

Myanmar's foreign ministry said Licharz was summoned for a meeting with deputy minister Ko Ko Kyaw, warned against the video and handed an aide-memoire.

The ministry accused Licharz of conduct that appeared to fuel opposition to Myanmar's government and incite internal unrest. It said any similar conduct would be treated with seriousness and would prompt appropriate action.

Germany's embassy in Myanmar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Win Myint was jailed in the February 2021 coup. Authorities said in April that he had been pardoned of his post-coup convictions, which supporters and analysts say were fabricated to remove the elected government.

Licharz said in the video that efforts to meet Win Myint had been unsuccessful and concluded that he was not a free man.

Suu Kyi remains detained but was moved to house arrest in Naypyidaw this year, authorities say. Access to the 81-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate remains tightly controlled.

Myanmar has been riven by civil war since the 2021 coup, as pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic minority insurgencies have fought central rule. The junta behind the coup organised elections installing a nominally civilian government this spring, although analysts regard it as a cover for continued military rule.