C
IVICUS discusses the conflict in Myanmar with Zoya Phan, Programme Director of the campaigning organisation Burma Campaign UK, and Programme Director of Advance Myanmar, a UK-registered charity that supports grassroots organisations and provides assistance to activists and displaced people in Myanmar.
Since the 2021 coup that overthrew Myanmar’s democratically elected government, the ruling military junta has faced armed resistance from the People’s Defence Force and ethnic militias. The conflict has recently intensified along Myanmar’s eastern border with Thailand, where the resistance movement dealt a major blow to the military by coming close to capturing the major trading town of Myawaddy. The escalation of violence has prompted thousands to flee to Thailand for safety, raising tensions in the region and prompting Thailand’s Prime Minister to offer humanitarian aid.
What’s the current status of the conflict between the Myanmar military and the armed resistance?
The situation in Myanmar/Burma is rarely in the news, but when resistance forces recently came close to taking Myawaddy, a major border town, it sent shockwaves through neighbouring Thailand.
The Burmese military made a big mistake when they launched their latest coup in 2021. They were met with huge protests across the country. When they cracked down, opening fire on protesters and arresting thousands, instead of going home in fear, people took up arms. Thousands of young men and women fled to areas controlled by ethnic armed forces that had long resisted military rule. They received training and joined forces to free Burma from military occupation. Dozens of military bases and towns have been liberated in Karen State and Karenni State, the parts of Burma bordering Thailand.
In response to growing resistance, the military has unleashed its full force against the population. They deliberately target civilians with airstrikes, drone attacks, artillery shelling, landmines and incendiary bombs. They target villages, camps for internally displaced people, religious sites, hospitals, schools and farms. They violate international law by targeting civilians and blocking aid to areas with ethnic minority populations. They have committed mass killings, burned villages and towns and used civilians as human shields.
This has led to a human rights and humanitarian crisis on a scale never before seen in Burma. Hundreds have been killed. More than three million people have been forced to flee their homes. Some have fled to Thailand, but in many cases Thailand hasn’t accepted them or allowed them to register.
What’s the humanitarian situation like on the ground?
People are desperate. I recently travelled to Burma and crossed the border from Thailand into Karen State, which Karen people call Kawthoolei. It broke my heart to see the suffering of my people, women, children and older people who have been displaced by airstrikes, drone strikes and artillery shelling by the Burmese military. I saw abandoned villages, schools and homes destroyed. I saw sick children who weren’t getting medical treatment because there was no hospital or clinic in the village or the hideout.
People live in constant fear of Burmese military attacks, especially aerial bombardments. Children go hungry and fall ill because of a lack of food and clean water. Many schools have closed due to constant airstrikes and artillery shelling by the Burmese military, which has also destroyed churches and Buddhist monasteries, so people are afraid to go near religious sites. People are dying as a result of the Burmese military’s attacks, as well as from injury and illness due to lack of medical care and little or no transport.
What’s civil society’s role in the response?
It’s very sad that so many people in Burma are experiencing trauma right now. But people are also very resilient because they have so much hope for the future. Civil society organisations and other community groups are playing a very important role in responding to the crisis. For decades, civil society has been there for people, providing support, shelter, food, medicine, clothing and other needs.
These organisations have also been documenting the Burmese military’s human rights abuses in the hope that the world will take notice of what is happening and one day there will be justice and accountability. They are working with groups around the world to advocate for our suffering people, to get more humanitarian aid, to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis and stop the Burmese military attacks.
What should the international community do to help?
International donors and United Nations (UN) agencies are far too slow to wake up to the reality that the military is losing control and the only way to reach millions of vulnerable people is to work with local civil society and local administrations run by ethnic revolutionary organisations. It’s not acceptable to continue to operate out of military-controlled Rangoon and allow the Burmese military to dictate who can and cannot receive international aid.
Governments must also increase humanitarian aid to the people of Burma. Incredibly, the UK and the European Union (EU) have cut aid to Burma by 70 per cent since the coup, despite the huge increase in need.
An effective way to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis is to stop the supply of aviation fuel. Burma doesn’t produce it, so it buys it from other countries. Without aviation fuel, Burmese military jets can’t fly. If they can’t fly, they can’t bomb us. The EU, the UK, the USA and other countries must ban the sale of aviation fuel to Burma.
Thailand and other neighbouring countries must allow refugees from Burma to take shelter in their countries until it’s completely safe for us to return home. They must also allow humanitarian aid into Burma to save lives.
The Burmese military has repeatedly broken international law. It’s shocking they are still allowed to do so with impunity. This must stop. The UN Security Council should do its job and refer Burma to the International Criminal Court.
We will not give up. The people of Burma will not give up. For the first time, it looks very possible the Burmese military can be defeated by people power. That’s why it’s more important than ever for the international community to support us. We will continue to fight until we have real peace, democracy and human rights in our country.
The prospect of finally defeating the military gives us hope despite the suffering.
Civic space in Myanmar is rated ‘closed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor.
Get in touch with Burma Campaign UK through its website, and follow @burmacampaignuk and @zoyaphan on Twitter.
