{"id":51268,"date":"2021-02-24T01:58:43","date_gmt":"2021-02-24T01:58:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newmandala.org\/?p=54874"},"modified":"2021-02-24T01:58:43","modified_gmt":"2021-02-24T01:58:43","slug":"anu-academics-submit-open-letter-for-detained-colleague-to-myanmar-embassy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/02\/24\/anu-academics-submit-open-letter-for-detained-colleague-to-myanmar-embassy\/","title":{"rendered":"ANU academics submit open letter for detained colleague to Myanmar Embassy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Academic staff of the Myanmar Research Centre at the Australian National University in Canberra on Wednesday submitted an open letter calling for the release of Professor Sean Turnell from detention in Myanmar to the country\u2019s ambassador in Canberra.<\/p>\n

The letter had 360 signatories from universities across Australia, among them many leading economists and prominent scholars of Southeast Asia who are friends and colleagues of Turnell.<\/p>\n

\u201cProfessor Turnell has given many years to assisting Myanmar\u2019s engagement with the international community as an advisor on economic policy,\u201d Charlotte Galloway, the director of the MRC, told the ambassador upon submitting the letter on behalf of the signatories.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis detention is at odds with our values of free and open exchange of knowledge,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Copies of the letter and signatories have also been sent to the Australian minister and shadow minister for foreign affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Australian embassy in Myanmar. \n\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t

\n\t\t\tBehind the coup: what prompted the Tatmadaw’s grab for power?<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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Despite the seeming incredulity of the military and USDP\u2019s claims of fraud, there is reason to take the Tatmadaw\u2019s insistence on the legitimacy of its constitutional claims seriously.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHunter Marston<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t12 February, 2021\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t <\/em><\/p>\n

The letter notes that Turnell was detained in Myanmar on February 6, five days after the military coup on 1 February. He has been held incommunicado since.<\/p>\n

An economist based at Macquarie University in Sydney, Turnell is well known for his research on Myanmar\u2019s banking sector.\u00a0 In recent years he spent much of his time in Myanmar, offering economic advice, and working with the Myanmar Development Institute.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat Professor Turnell is an academic with a strong and genuine commitment to Myanmar there can be no doubt,\u201d the letter states.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis credibility and ethics are exemplary. His detention is unjustified. We call for his immediate release, without charge,\u201d it concludes.<\/p>\n

In communications to the MRC, the Australian government reiterated that it is doing everything it can to assist Professor Turnell and secure his release.<\/p>\n

The letter remains open for signatures here: https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSfQq7d2IyPkkfrk8y2vjRa1m9qlZ9JFxBt89YOQAvY9Ngdedg\/viewform<\/a><\/p>\n

For further comment contact: Charlotte Galloway<\/a> or Nick Cheesman<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The post ANU academics submit open letter for detained colleague to Myanmar Embassy<\/a> appeared first on New Mandala<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

This post was originally published on New Mandala<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Academic staff of the Myanmar Research Centre at the Australian National University in Canberra on Wednesday submitted an open letter calling for the release of Professor Sean Turnell from detention in Myanmar to the country\u2019s ambassador in Canberra. The letter had 360 signatories from universities across Australia, among them many leading economists and prominent scholars…<\/p>\n

The post ANU academics submit open letter for detained colleague to Myanmar Embassy<\/a> appeared first on New Mandala<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2517,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94,1589,9860],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51268"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2517"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51268"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51268\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51269,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51268\/revisions\/51269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}