Dunedin Burmese community member Saw Hay Mar said they felt ‘‘betrayed’’.
‘‘The New Zealand government has been against the military and New Zealand policy is aligned with full democracy.
‘‘None of the murderous people of that regime should be landing on this soil,’’ she said.
The protest, called ‘‘Keep out the Butchers of Myanmar’’ will convene at the Octagon this Saturday, at 11am.
Saw Hay Mar and other members of the community met local Labour MPS Ingrid Leary and Rachel Brooking to discuss their concern over the granting of visas for members of the unelected State Administration Council to attend an Asean meeting in Auckland this month.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed that senior Myanmar officials have been invited to the summit between New Zealand and Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries, being held in Wellington on April 18 and 19.
This would be the first time either Australia or New Zealand have allowed officials to enter the country for meetings since the military coup three years ago that deposed Aung San Su Kyi’s elected government.
The community is campaigning across New Zealand, urging the Government to prevent any representative of the regime from entering the country.
Taieri MP Ingrid Leary said she would write to Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters seeking revocation of the visas, attend this week’s protest at Parliament, and do everything in her power to draw attention to the issue.
‘‘This is a brutal and illegal regime that has killed more than 4800 civilians. It burns down villages, bombs displaced persons’ camps, and it tortures and kills political prisoners. Giving its officials visas to come to New Zealand is inconsistent with our call for the restoration of democracy,’’ Ms Leary said.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said Myanmar had been invited to participate at the senior officials’ level dialogue between New Zealand and Asean. It was for each Asean country to determine who would attend the meeting.
The community says that allowing officials to participate in international dialogue is used domestically in Mynanmar by the Junta to legitimise its illegal regime.
