The Kachin Airstrike: the Latest Human Rights Abuse by Myanmar's Government

After decades of political instability and an uncertain transition towards democracy, a military coup in February 2021 altered the trajectory of Myanmar’s political path. Myanmar’s people have subsequently faced human rights abuses, ranging from the recent Kachin air strike, killing 80 people, to parcel bombing and ongoing violent conflict between state security forces and rebel groups belonging to ethnic minorities. The recent violence has spurred increased dissent from civilians and rebel armed groups and a call for international assistance against the Myanmar military.

The Kachin air strike in October 2022 targeted a concert held by a rebel group comprising members of the Kachin ethnic minority just three days before the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was scheduled to meet in Indonesia to discuss a strategy for calming the ongoing violence within Myanmar. UN Special Envoy on Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer criticized the air strike as a human rights abuse and labeled the situation in Myanmar under the military junta a ‘humanitarian crisis’. Heyzer has expressed concern over the conflict and its ‘catastrophic toll on the people.’ Over 13.2 million people do not have enough to eat and 1.3 million are actively displaced. These numbers reflect the severity of the new political reality in Myanmar and the people are demanding change.

Institutions like Human Rights Watch (HRW) and international political commentators criticize the lack of action among the international community, specifically ASEAN. Manny Maung, Myanmar researcher at HRW, stressed the need for a UN resolution that would enforce an arms embargo and refer human rights abuses to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Maung’s call for international assistance is only one of many as Myanmar politicians, such as Kyaw Win criticize the lack of political will to take action. For Win, focusing on dialogue with and obtaining promises from the junta, the approach taken by ASEAN’s 5-point plan, is a waste of time. Only immediate action, including referral to the ICC, sanctions, and arms embargoes will make a difference. The question then is why the lack of action from the international community?

Myanmar’s relationship with China and Russia render action by the West futile as harsh economic sanctions from the United States and the EU are undermined by ongoing economic ties and foreign aid from China. The relationship between Myanmar and China has a long history of territorial disputes. However, the Aung San Suu Kyi government was keen to sustain the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor and foster economic cooperation. A visit from China’s President, Xi Jinping, in 2020 continued this economic cooperation as programmes for China’s Belt and Road Initiative, like the Kunming-Kyaukphyu high-speed railway, came under negotiation. 

Political instability within Myanmar following the coup presents challenges for China. The implementation of BRI projects faces delays and border insecurity contributes to displaced peoples and concentrates international attention on the Rohingya crisis. However, China and Russia continue to enable Myanmar’s military to sustain itself and perpetuate human rights abuses. The legitimation granted to the Myanmar military by these countries has sustained the junta’s power. The increase in support comes from China and Russia viewing the success of the military’s State Administration Council (SAC) as tied to their interests. Russia has sustained support for the SAC from the beginning, sending an official representative to the Armed Forces Day in the capital, Naypyidaw, while protesters were killed by security forces. In return for their loyalty and backing, Myanmar has voiced its support for Russia’s conflict in Ukraine. 

Despite continuous public protests and growing dissent, the international community has refused to face its responsibility to take immediate action following the increase in violence and displacement in the ongoing conflict. Former chief spokesperson for the UN Relief and Works Agency, Christopher Gunness, compares the ongoing human rights abuses in Ukraine to those in Myanmar and questions why the international community has gone to great lengths to sanction Russia and provide financial backing to Ukraine, while no country under the Roman Statute has made a referral to the ICC over the situation in Myanmar. Nor has the Constitutional Court of Indonesia, a member of ASEAN, petitioned for a case there. 

In a country with a long shadow of destructive colonialist rule, racial hierarchy, and international isolation, the solution to Myanmar’s ongoing suffering under junta rule requires the unification of rebel groups, external actors, and the people of Myanmar. The monopolization of power by former National League for Democracy (NLD) members within the national council of the NUG and the exclusion of certain ethnic minority groups, including Rohingya Muslims, appears to perpetuate instability. In a panel featuring Christopher Gunness, Kyaw Win, and Justine Chambers, an anthropologist, the need for international recognition of the NGU party and forming an all-inclusive policy to increase ethnic representation within legislative decision making was agreed upon. Therefore, the solutions discussed within the international community and from within Myanmar point to the necessity of cooperation and inclusion to overcome the oppressive junta rule.

Image courtesy of MgHla via Wikimedia Commons, © 2021, some rights reserved.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the wider St. Andrews Foreign Affairs Review team.