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Myanmar is on the “path to self-destruction” if violence in conflict-engaged Southeast Asian nations does not end, the UN envoy warned.
Julie Bishop told the UN General Assembly that “surprisingly” violence didn’t end after a powerful earthquake in late March, Napidau, the capital, and Mandalay, the second-largest city, killed more than 3,000 people and injured thousands more.
The ceasefire announced by several parties has been rarely observed as “embedding the crisis into a crisis.” And the people of Myanmar now have to deal with the fierce conflict and the devastation of the earthquake, the bishop said.
“The zero-sum approach lasts on all aspects,” she said. “Armed conflicts remain a barrier to meeting humanitarian needs. The flow of weapons to the country promotes the hope that military solutions are possible.”
The broad armed struggle against Myanmar’s military rule began in February 2021 after the general seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Figures compiled by non-governmental organizations estimate that more than 6,600 civilians have been killed by security forces.
The military acquisition sparked fierce battles with long-standing armed militias organized by Myanmar ethnic minority groups in the border area.
It also led to the formation of democratic militias supporting a national unified government established by elected lawmakers who were barred from taking their seats after the Army’s acquisition.
Bishops, including Suu Kyi, who turned 80 on June 19, and Suu Kyi, who won the exiled president, Maint, said more than 22,000 political prisoners were still in custody.
The UN envoy said “we have detected some degree of openness to regionally supported political dialogue, but there is no broad agreement yet on how to move forward.”
At a meeting with the country’s leaders, Bishop said they encouraged them to rethink their strategy, which made the country more divided.
She also warned against elections scheduled for December or January, saying that there is a risk of fostering greater resistance and instability unless the violence is held in a no-end and inclusive and transparent way.
Bishop has coordinated further actions with Myanmar envoy Osman Hashim from the Association of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN) of 10 countries, and said they agreed to visit Myanmar together.
The UN envoy said she held an online meeting with representatives of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar and Bangladesh on Monday.
She said that the situation for the Rohingya in northern Rakhine state in Myanmar remains disastrous, with up to 80% of civilians living in poverty, and being caught up in crossfire between government forces and Arakan forces, an armed military wing of Rakhine minorities who “requires forced recruitment and other abuses.
More than 700,000 Muslim Rohingya fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh from late August 2017 when Myanmar’s military began its “clearance operations.”
Members of ethnic groups face discrimination and are denied citizenship and other rights in the majority of Buddhist countries.
Bishop said he hopes that the high-level meetings on Rohingya and other minorities, called on by the UN General Assembly on September 30, will highlight the urgency to find a “durable solution” in their light.
