John J. Metzler
Myanmar is no stranger to conflict or endemic ethnic clashes. Tragically, the isolated Southeast Asian state has been in the crosshairs of strife for generations as a churning cycle of violence creates civil confrontation and refugee exodus, and a widening humanitarian disaster plagues this Texas-sized country.
Now, three years after the Myanmar military seized power in one of the country's periodic coups, which toppled a reasonably democratic government, the situation has gone from bad to much worse. The conflict's regional spillover has tragically seen more than a million refugees pushed into neighboring Bangladesh.
Since the most recent military coup in 2021, "Some 2.8 million people have been displaced, 90 percent of them since the military takeover," Lisa Doughten of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. Addressing the U.N. Security Council, she implored, "In 2024, 18.6 million people will need humanitarian assistance across the country, a 19-fold increase from February 2021 … Only an end to the conflict will pave the way for an end to the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar."
Myanmar, a resource-rich multi-ethnic state of 55 million people and eight major ethnic groups, has been beset by violence and military rule. Between 1962 and 2011, the Beijing-backed military ruled the country like a fiefdom. A cautious political opening followed, leading to free elections in 2015, which saw the election of longtime pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Regarding this former British colony, Britain asserted, "We will not allow Myanmar to become a forgotten crisis." But has it?
Though 88 percent Buddhist, Myanmar hosts Christian and Muslim minorities. It's the Rohingya Muslims who face the most recent rounds of persecution.
The recent troubles revolve around the Rakhine State. Its Arakan Army militias often clash with the Myanmar military. In 2017, Myanmar's junta initiated large-scale ethnic cleansing and evictions of the Muslim Rohingya. More than a million were pushed into neighboring Bangladesh.
This crisis festered even before the most recent military takeover in 2021, but the current problems go beyond the tragic humanitarian crisis inside Myanmar.
Addressing the U.N. Security Council, Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari stated, "Myanmar's crisis continues to spill over as conflicts in key border areas have weakened transnational security and the breakdown in the rule of law has allowed illicit economies to thrive." He warned, "Myanmar has become a global epicenter of methamphetamine and opium production, along with a rapid expansion of global cyber-scam operations."
Equally, Khiari remarked that in Rakhine State, fighting between the Myanmar military and the separatist Arakan Army has reached "an unprecedented level of violence."
U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood followed up on the growing threat to international security, saying, "Myanmar has become the world's largest opium producer, a hub for transnational organized crime and a driver of several major refugee crises."
As importantly, he stated, "In the past five months, Myanmar's military carried out 588 airstrikes across the country, with such attacks on civilians increasing five-fold."
Recently, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed former Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop as his new envoy for Myanmar to hopefully revive the moribund peace process.
Myanmar's military, the powerful Tatmadaw, is supported by both Russia and China. Moscow's U.N. delegate expressed regret that holding an open meeting on Myanmar prevents the council from "having a tranquil non-politicized discussion focused on seeking solutions to the problems." China, long the political patron to the Myanmar junta, added, "The conflict in Rakhine State is Myanmar's internal affair. As a friendly neighbor of that country, China has continued to promote peace and dialogue."
Beijing has pressured the "Brotherhood Alliance" of three ethnic armies not to attack Chinese interests. Interestingly, Beijing's moves aim to sponsor some sort of peace deal between various Myanmar militants and the central government to smooth the path for its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Myanmar shares a long border with China, along which both illicit border trade and official commerce thrive.
A Chinese delegation is currently visiting Myanmar to carry out communication and mediation efforts on the Rakhine situation. Through Beijing's BRI, Myanmar is closely linked to China. The junta and Beijing officials are developing a special economic zone and deep-sea port project in western Rakhine at Kyaukphyu, allowing China's landlocked Yunnan province to access the Indian Ocean. China already has oil and gas pipelines running to the Bay of Bengal.
Will China's geo-strategic moves outflank India and the United States in the Indo-Pacific region?
John J. Metzler is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of "Divided Dynamism: The Diplomacy of Separated Nations; Germany, Korea, China" (1996).
Myanmar’s cycle of violence spills over to Southeast Asia
23
0
10.04.2024
John J. Metzler
Myanmar is no stranger to conflict or endemic ethnic clashes. Tragically, the isolated Southeast Asian state has been in the crosshairs of strife for generations as a churning cycle of violence creates civil confrontation and refugee exodus, and a widening humanitarian disaster plagues this Texas-sized country.
Now, three years after the Myanmar military seized power in one of the country's periodic coups, which toppled a reasonably democratic government, the situation has gone from bad to much worse. The conflict's regional spillover has tragically seen more than a million refugees pushed into neighboring Bangladesh.
Since the most recent military coup in 2021, "Some 2.8 million people have been displaced, 90 percent of them since the military takeover," Lisa Doughten of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. Addressing the U.N. Security Council, she implored, "In 2024, 18.6 million people will need humanitarian assistance across the country, a 19-fold increase from February 2021 … Only an end to the conflict will pave the way for an end to the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar."
Myanmar, a resource-rich multi-ethnic state of 55 million people and eight major ethnic groups, has been beset by violence and........
© The Korea Times
visit website
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Andrew Mitrovica
Mort Laitner
Nikkei Editorial
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Rami G Khouri
