CETRI
The crises unleashed in Myanmar after the military coup of February 1 last year « have deepened and expanded dramatically, » the organization’s special envoy to that Asian country stated in a report to the United Nations General Assembly. , Noelen Heyzer.
Myanmar “continues to plunge into deep and widespread conflict. It is one of the largest refugee emergencies in the world and 14.4 million people, a quarter of the population, urgently require humanitarian assistance,” said Singaporean Heyzer.
The crises have plunged the country into a spiral of poverty and violence, and accentuated one of the largest refugee emergencies in the world, with nearly a million Rohingya people, mostly Muslims, taking refuge in neighboring Bangladesh, and thousands more scattered throughout the region.
On February 1, 2021, the Myanmar army, known as the Tatmadaw, staged a coup and arrested Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s main civilian leader and 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, President Win Myint, and numerous members of his National League for Democracy (NLD), tried by military courts
General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the Tatmadaw, has assumed the powers as chairman of the State Administrative Council that governs the country of 54 million people, also known by its old name of Burma.
The coup sparked civil protests with street demonstrations that were severely repressed, while hundreds of politicians, social activists, journalists and other professionals were imprisoned and prosecuted.
A year after the coup, the repression had already claimed more than 1,500 lives « and that figure does not include thousands more deaths from the armed conflict and violence, which have intensified throughout the country, » said the High Commissioner for the United Nations for Human Rights , Michelle Bachelet.
Heyzer said there are reports of as many as 600 armed resistance groups, or « people’s defense forces, » engaging in fighting, with some carrying out assassinations against people deemed « pro-military. »
The spiral of violence has intensified in the border provinces, where ethnic groups other than the majority of the country, Bamar or Burmese, live.
The military « continues its disproportionate use of force, has intensified its attacks against civilians and increased operations against resistance forces, using aerial bombardments, » said the UN representative, who has not been able to enter the country since she was released. appointed six months ago.
According to their report, « civilian buildings and villages have been destroyed by fire and internally displaced populations have been attacked. »
Burma’s economy, as the country is also known, has suffered, with the construction, clothing, tourism and hospitality industries plummeting, with the loss of more than a million jobs and a generally precarious situation for Workers.
The de facto government has been excluded from some programs and meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, and there is international pressure for a political solution.
The military has offered to organize elections in 2023. With allegations of irregularities in the elections at the end of 2020, won by the NLD, the military leaders justified last year’s coup.
According to Heyzer, the current situation is one of the collapse of state institutions, the interruption of social and economic infrastructure, including health, education, banking, food security and employment, while crime and illicit activities are on the rise. .
After the covid-19 pandemic and the political crisis, school enrollment has been reduced by up to 80% in two years, leaving 7.8 million children out of the classroom, he said.
“A generation that benefited from the democratic transition (2011-2021) is now disillusioned, facing chronic difficulties, and tragically, many feel they have no choice but to take up arms,” Heyzer commented.
The UNIO envoy said that « I will continue to play a bridging role, to address the protection needs and suffering of the most vulnerable, and to support the will of the people for a future federal democratic union based on peace, stability and shared prosperity. » ”.
