Violence in Myanmar continues to escalate

The situation in Myanmar has only gone from bad to worse since the military seized power after refusing to accept the results of the country's national elections in February. On March 27, while the Myanmar military junta celebrated its Armed Forces Day, the country also saw one of the most brutal days of the ongoing crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, with 114 reported deaths. This included many children, including two 11-year-olds. In less than two months, at least 25 children have allegedly been killed in the violence in Myanmar, according to the Unicef. Reports suggest that over 500 people have lost their lives while protesting for their rights on the streets of Myanmar.

Despite these horrible killings, the Myanmar military junta's disproportionate use of force against its own people has only continued unabated. Over the past few days, the military has even launched airstrikes against the ethnic Karen population in eastern Myanmar, breaking an existing ceasefire agreement with the armed groups of that region. As a result, there is now a growing refugee crisis on Thailand's borders, with thousands of ethnic Karen fleeing the bombardments.

It is clear now that the civil conflict in Myanmar will only continue to escalate, with different ethnic armed groups coming together to unite against the coup, as reported by Reuters. It is high time for the international community to also come together and take a stand against the violent crackdown on civilians by the Myanmar military as well as their unlawful seizure of power.

It is telling that only after being faced with a refugee crisis did Thailand ask Myanmar to "reduce violence" there. So far, the silence of the ASEAN countries despite the violent actions of their neighbour has been only too conspicuous. Although the UK and the US finally decided to impose sanctions on military businesses, the response from the international community has also been painfully slow and inadequate, with the special UN rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar calling the global diplomatic response "out of step with the scale of the crisis".

Although the UN Security Council yesterday finally convened an emergency meeting on the situation in Myanmar, we are yet to get any information on the deliberations. We hope the members of the council will take the right decisions and inspire the world to unite against the military regime in Myanmar and support a return to democracy.