Myanmar to kick out top U.N. official

[maddezmom]

Source: Reuters

BANGKOK, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military junta is kicking out the U.N.'s top resident diplomat for highlighting the country's deepening economic crisis, casting a shadow over a planned visit this weekend by special envoy Ibrahim Gambari.

U.N. officials said on Friday that country chief Charles Petrie had been summoned to the former Burma's new capital, Naypyitaw, for an official dressing down for a statement he released on the Oct. 24 United Nations Day.

After the meeting, Petrie and his colleagues were given a letter saying the military government would not be renewing his credentials, which expire "pretty much now", a Yangon-based diplomat said.

"They were basically not very happy with the statement," one U.N. official told Reuters in Bangkok. "The government has emphasised that they do not want him to continue to work in Myanmar."

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