By Rajika Chauhan
Staff Writer
The people of Myanmar have been routinely subject to abuses and bombardment by their own government, in the two years since a military coup replaced democratically elected Aung San Suu Kyi and members of her National League for Democracy party. AP News reports that an airstrike conducted by the Myanmar military killed 29 people in a displaced persons camp on Oct. 10, among them about a dozen children. Targeted was the Mung Lai Hkyet camp located in Laiza, alongside the Chinese border in the northern state of Kachin.
The nation’s current human right crisis began in Feb. 2021, when the first democratically elected government after 40 years of military rule was overthrown, as detailed by the BBC. Troops arrested State Counsellor Suu Kyi and members of her government, claiming that the landslide election through which her party had won control over the military-backed Union Solidarity & Development Party had been fraudulent. The move was met by widespread protests in support of what had been a popular government, and the military has since sought to consolidate power through harsh counterrevolutionary measures.
The military junta extended its now two year rule for another six months in July, under the guise of a prolonged state of emergency. The army’s constitutional documents allow for a one year military rule during periods of political instability, with a maximum of 2 6-month extensions to account for inadequate preparations. BBC reports that the country is currently operating under its fourth extension.
The two major enemies of the military government are the pro-democracy People’s Defense Forces, along with a collection of guerrilla groups representing the nation’s ethnic minorities. The military has enacted a siege against its own people in efforts to suppress threats from opposition, carrying out bombardments and artillery attacks on supposed rebel strongholds. Reuters notes that while the military claims these attacks are meant to target bases of rebel operation, they often strike churches and schools, with heavy civilian casualties.
Tuesday’s strike was enacted against the Kachin Independence Army, with a lack of the typical warning sounds from jet fighters preventing victims from fleeing the site. According to AP News, Kachin leadership believe that the military used air to ground missiles or armed drones for a more covert attack, putting villages with more than 400 displaced peoples at risk.
Myanmar’s National Unity Government is the nation’s main political opposition group and considers itself the legitimate governing body. The group issued a strong condemnation of the strike, stating: “This deliberate and targeted attack by the terrorist military council on civilians fleeing conflict constitutes a blatant crime against humanity and war crime.”
A spokesperson for the military government denied wrongdoing, suggesting that the explosions may have been due to the Kachin militia’s own stockpiled explosives.
Data collected by Reuters indicates that more than 3,857 people have been killed by military forces since the coup, with the 1.7 million people fleeing their homes creating a national displacement crisis. Reports from the UN have emerged suggesting that the military is fueling its campaign with weapons from the US, France and China, and with the military prolonging its rule under a supposed state of emergency, relief lies nowhere in sight for the Burmese people.
