On February 1, 2021, after losing a national election by a landslide, the Burmese, or Myanmar, military, staged a coup d’état. They arrested the elected civilian leaders and cracked down on the peaceful protests that followed.
Since then, the military regime has been using increasingly violent methods to repress its own people, reserving the most brutal treatment for ethnic minorities.
To mark this ugly anniversary, on January 31, Australia, Canada, the European Union, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States issued a joint statement condemning the overthrow of Burma’s democratically elected government, and the subsequent actions of the military dictatorship that followed.
“We condemn in the strongest terms [Burma’s] military regime’s escalating violence harming civilians, including human rights violations, sexual and gender-based violence, and systematic persecution and discrimination against all religious and ethnic minorities. The military’s airstrikes are killing civilians, destroying schools, markets, places of worship and medical facilities; with almost a 25-fold increase since 2021 this represents an average of three airstrikes per day. The rise in airstrikes in areas with no active conflict has marked a clear escalation by the military.”
The joint statement urged the Burmese junta to de-escalate violence, allow for the delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid country-wide and to prioritize the protection of civilians while fully adhering to International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law.
According to the United Nations, in the four years since the coup, humanitarian needs have increased twenty-fold. Over one-third of the population, about 19.9 million people, are now in need of humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs. Another 15.2 million people are in need of food assistance, while the incidence of preventable diseases is on the rise. Millions of Burma’s citizens have been displaced, both internally and outside of Burma.
In the meantime, transnational crime, including narcotics production and trafficking, scam centers and human trafficking, is rising.
“The current trajectory is not sustainable for [Burma] or the region. Now is the time for the [Burmese] military regime to immediately change course,” said the joint statement. “We strongly urge the [Burmese] military regime to cease violence, including harming civilians and civilian infrastructure, release all political prisoners, and engage in genuine and inclusive dialogue with all stakeholders. These are essential first steps towards any peaceful, democratic transition, reflecting the will of Myanmar’s people.”
