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While Edie Stark, a San Diego-based therapist with...
Editor’s Note: Zin Mar Aung is Foreign Affairs Minister of the National Unity Government of Myanmar. A former political prisoner and lawmaker, Zin Mar Aung was ousted from office when the Myanmar military seized power in a coup on February 1, 2021. She is currently outside of her country for her safety. The views expressed here are the author’s. Read more opinion on CNN.
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I am thinking of a man who sang of freedom. His name is Zeyar Thaw.
He released my country’s first hip-hop album in 2000. In the Myanmar of that time, this was almost a revolution. His rap touched the lives of many.
Anyone who spoke of freedom then was living dangerously. A founder of Generation Wave, a pro-democracy movement, Zeyar Thaw’s music brought him inevitably into politics.
In 2011, after a stint in prison for his political activism and just as our democratic transition began, Zeyar Thaw was released and elected to parliament.
Now he is sitting on death row. A few weeks ago, Zeyar Thaw and fellow freedom activist Ko Jimmy were sentenced to die by the military regime that stole power in February 2021. If their execution goes ahead it will be the first in the country in decades.
Their crime? The regime accuses them of being “involved in terrorist acts.” What does this mean? That they believe in freedom.
The National Unity Government (NUG) has recorded almost 3,000 people who have been killed since the illegal coup. More than one million people have been displaced from their homes, with many seeking shelter in refugee camps. Another 1.6 million more have lost their jobs. More than 19,000 homes have been destroyed, the NUG estimates.
I was elected by the people of my constituency in November 2020. I was waiting to take the oath of office and to choose our next President. But on February 1, 2021, soldiers under the command of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing surrounded the dormitories where we lived as parliamentary members. They forced each of us to choose – do we surrender to their guns or do we resist?
I had already endured 11 hard years as a political prisoner under a previous military regime between 1998 and 2009. Most of those I spent in solitary confinement. This time, I could not just watch as another despotic general forced my country into chaos. I chose resistance.
So did Zeyar Thaw and Ko Jimmy and many thousands across Myanmar. Nurses, teachers, doctors, farmers, even children – they came out into the streets against the unwanted coup.
We chose to assert our legitimacy, as elected members of parliament. We formed the National Unity Government because our freedom will not be stolen by the military’s Russian guns.
We have first-hand experience that Russia’s military interference is not limited to Ukraine. Russia and Myanmar are strengthening their ties and we see it as part of a larger strategic engagement with Southeast Asia – a coordinated attempt to promote autocracy and erode democracy in the region.
In turn, the military junta has sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine. Just last week a high level delegation from the military council attended the 25th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum with the aim of strengthening their ties with the Russian regime.
We are living in a world where dictators support each other to retain their power. Therefore it must be clear that the struggle for democracy and freedom undertaken by the Myanmar people is a struggle that concerns everyone.
I am the Foreign Minister of the National Unity Government of Myanmar. It is my task to tell the world we will not be defeated. But what can I tell the people of Myanmar in return? What is the world saying to us?
Over a year on from the coup, no country has formally recognized the regime of Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. The military continues its campaign of violence – killing, burning, destroying food and crops, imprisoning people without charge. The generals stand accused of dreadful crimes against the Rohingya Muslim community and other ethnic minority people in our country.
It claims it is targeting what it calls and has designated “terrorists” and blames many of these incidents on resistance fighters, rather than its own military.
But US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s words in March 2022 need to be heard: “There is no one the Burmese military won’t come for. No one is safe from atrocities under its rule. And so more people in Burma now recognize that ending this crisis, restoring the path to democracy, starts with ensuring the human rights of all people in the country, including Rohingya.”
We have to overcome this junta, changing their calculus so that they realize that they cannot keep Myanmar forever in the chains of their fear and greed.
This is how we are going to do it.
We must deny the junta the income that funds its violence. The United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom have imposed some sanctions against the regime. But much more must be done to deny the junta the foreign currency it craves.
The military continues to rely on funds from foreign companies to fund its acts of war. That flow of money, especially oil dollars, must and can be stopped.
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Protesters make the three-finger salute of resistance during an anti-coup demonstration in Yangon, Myanmar, on Tuesday, April 27.
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Police officers clear a road after demonstrators spread placards in Yangon on Saturday, April 24.
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Protesters run from security forces during an anti-coup demonstration in Yangon on April 12.
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Buses from the Yangon Bus Service are seen burnt on April 12.
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Police talk as they arrive at the site of a demonstration in Yangon on April 12.
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Anti-coup protesters walk through Yangon’s Hlaing township on April 9.
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An anti-coup protester raises a decorated Easter egg along with the three-fingered salute of resistance during a demonstration in Yangon on April 4.
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Protesters hold homemade pipe air guns during a demonstration in Yangon on April 3.
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Protesters hold improvised weapons in Yangon on April 3.
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Residents of the Tamwe area of Yangon participate in a candlelight vigil on April 3.
People take part in a “flower strike” in Yangon on April 2.
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Protesters wearing face paint stand near a burning barricade during an anti-coup demonstration in Yangon on March 30.
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Soldiers walk toward anti-coup protesters during a demonstration in Yangon on March 30.
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Protesters run to avoid the military in Yangon on March 30.
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A man rides his bike as smoke billows from burning barricades in Yangon on March 30.
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Protesters throw stones and use slingshots as security forces approached in Yangon on March 28.
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Smoke rises after anti-coup protesters burned tires in Yangon on March 27.
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Protesters make incendiary devices during an anti-coup rally in Yangon.
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Smoke rises over Yangon’s Thaketa Township on March 27.
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Mourners attend the funeral of Tin Hla, a 43-year-old who was reportedly shot dead by security forces during a protest.
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People cry in Yangon after a relative was shot during a crackdown on anti-coup protesters.
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Protesters occupy a street during a rally in Yangon on March 27.
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Protesters gesture during a march in Yangon on March 26.
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Thein Zaw, a journalist with the Associated Press, waves after being released from a prison in Yangon on March 24. He had been detained while covering an anti-coup protest in February.
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Men pray during the funeral of Khin Myo Chit, a 7-year-old girl who was shot in her home by Myanmar’s security forces on March 23. The girl was killed during a military raid, according to the Reuters news agency and the advocacy group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
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A Buddhist monk uses binoculars as he squats behind a road barricade with others in Mandalay, Myanmar, on March 22.
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The mother of Aung Kaung Htet wails during the teenage boy’s funeral on March 21. Aung, 15, was killed when military junta forces opened fire on anti-coup protesters in Yangon.
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Unidentified people cross the Tiau River at the India-Myanmar border on March 20. Some people from Myanmar have sought refuge in India since the protests began.
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An anti-coup protester jumps over a makeshift barricade in Yangon on March 19.
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Protesters take positions on Yangon’s Bayint Naung Bridge on March 17. The bridge was blocked with an improvised barricade to prevent security forces from crossing.
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Medical students hold up the three-finger salute at the Yangon funeral of Khant Nyar Hein on March 16. The first-year medical student was fatally shot during the crackdown.
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Protesters test Molotov cocktails in Yangon on March 16.
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Protesters stand near burning tires in Yangon on March 16.
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Anti-coup protesters pray in Yangon on March 14.
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Emergency workers transport the body of Shel Ye Win, who was shot by security forces in Mandalay.
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Smoke billows from the industrial zone of the Hlaing Tharyar township in Yangon on March 14. The Chinese Embassy in Myanmar said several Chinese-funded factories were set ablaze during protests. Demonstrators have accused Beijing of supporting the coup and junta.
A member of Myanmar’s police is seen firing a weapon toward protesters in Yangon on March 13.
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People lay flowers and light candles beside bloodied pavement where protester Chit Min Thu was killed in Yangon.
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Military trucks are seen near a burning barricade in Yangon that was erected by protesters and then set on fire by soldiers on March 10.
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A protester holds a homemade shield during an anti-coup demonstration in Yangon on March 9.
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A protester discharges a fire extinguisher to counter the impact of tear gas that was fired by police in Yangon on March 8.
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Protesters string up longyi, traditional clothing worn in Myanmar, during a demonstration in Yangon on March 7.
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The wife of Phoe Chit, a protester who died during a demonstration, cries over her husband’s coffin during his funeral in Yangon on March 5.
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Protesters step on portraits of Myanmar’s armed forces chief, Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, during a demonstration in Yangon on March 5.
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People cry in Yangon on March 4, near a spot where a family member was killed while protesting.
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Protesters lie on the ground after police opened fire to disperse an anti-coup demonstration in Mandalay on March 3.
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Schoolteachers wear traditional hats while participating in an anti-coup demonstration in Mandalay on March 3.
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A soldier stands next to a detained man during a demonstration in Mandalay on March 3.
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Anti-coup protesters run in Yangon on March 3. One of them discharged a fire extinguisher to counter the impact of tear gas fired by police.
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An anti-coup protester writes vital emergency information of another protester on his arm in Yangon.
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Police run toward protesters to disperse a demonstration in Yangon on March 3.
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A citizen of Myanmar living in India burns a poster of Myanmar’s military chief during a protest in New Delhi on March 3.
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Medics help supply oxygen to a protester who was exposed to tear gas in Yangon on March 3.
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Protesters flee after tear gas was fired during a demonstration in Yangon on March 1.
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Protesters smoke behind shields during a demonstration in Yangon on March 1.
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Protesters in Yangon run away from tear gas on March 1.
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People in Yangon take part in a ceremony on February 28 to remember those who have been killed during demonstrations.
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Soldiers patrol during a protest in Yangon on February 28.
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Protesters take cover as they clash with police in Yangon on February 28.
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Protesters erect barricades during a demonstration in Yangon on February 28.
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Police charge at anti-coup protesters in Yangon on February 27.
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An injured protester receives medical attention in Mandalay after police and military forces cracked down on protests on February 26.
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Factory workers hold placards and shout slogans as they hold an anti-coup protest in Yangon on February 25.
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Anti-coup protesters shout slogans in Yangon on February 25.
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A police officer films protesters near the Indonesian Embassy in Yangon on February 24.
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Thida Hnin cries during the funeral of her husband, Thet Naing Win, in Mandalay on February 23. He and another protester were fatally shot by security forces during an anti-coup protest.
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Police stand guard near the US Embassy in Yangon as protesters take part in an anti-coup demonstration on February 22.
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Protesters hold signs featuring civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration in Yangon on February 22.
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Protesters gather for a demonstration on February 22.
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A man is carried after police dispersed protesters in Mandalay on February 20.
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A police truck uses a water cannon to disperse protesters in Mandalay on February 20.
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A police officer aims a gun toward protesters during a demonstration in Mandalay on February 20.
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A protester holds a Suu Kyi poster as he sits in front of police in Yangon on February 19.
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Protesters flash the three-fingered salute during a rally in downtown Yangon on February 19.
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Flower tributes and sympathy messages are left in Yangon for Mya Thweh Thweh Khine. The 20-year-old was shot in the head at a protest in Naypyidaw, and she died on February 19.
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Protesters block a major road during a demonstration in Yangon on February 17.
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Demonstrators block a Yangon bridge with their cars on February 17.
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Buddhist monks march during an anti-coup protest in Yangon on February 16.
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A Suu Kyi banner is displayed during demonstrations in Yangon on February 15.
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Soldiers carry barricades in Yangon on February 15.
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Elected members of Parliament wave to protesters in Yangon as police surround the headquarters of Suu Kyi’s political party, the National League for Democracy, on February 15.
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Medics clear the way as an injured protester is carried away for treatment in Mandalay, Myanmar, on February 15.
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People gather around an armored vehicle in Yangon on February 14.
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Young people in Yangon take part in an anti-coup hip-hop performance on February 14.
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Protesters demonstrate in Yangon on February 14.
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A child runs alongside an armored vehicle in Yangon on February 14.
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Protesters march through the city of Shwebo on February 13.
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Members of the Myanmar Photographers Association hold up their cameras as they call for Suu Kyi’s release on February 13.
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Police detain a protester during a demonstration in Mawlamyine on February 12.
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Farmers ride a tractor with a Suu Kyi poster during a demonstration in Thongwa on February 12.
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A protester dressed as Lady Justice makes a three-finger salute as she takes part in a demonstration in Yangon on February 11.
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Protesters demonstrate in Bagan, a UNESCO World Heritage site, on February 11.
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Bodybuilders take part in a protest in Yangon on February 11.
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People hold up letters that spell “get out dictators” during a demonstration at Inle Lake on February 11.
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A protester carries a child during a march in Yangon on February 10.
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Women in wedding gowns holds up anti-coup placards in Yangon on February 10.
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A police officer aims a gun during clashes with protesters in the capital of Naypyidaw on February 9.
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A protester pleads for police to refrain from using tear gas against demonstrators in Yangon on February 9.
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Police fire water cannons at protesters in Naypyidaw on February 9.
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Protesters gather in Yangon on February 8.
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Protesters flash three-fingered salutes as they face rows of riot police in Naypyidaw on February 8.
Hospital workers show three-finger salutes during a demonstration in Yangon on February 7.
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A rally takes place in Yangon on February 7.
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Protesters shout slogans in Yangon on February 7.
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Protesters give roses to riot police in Yangon on February 6.
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Yangon residents bang objects to show support for Suu Kyi and her party on February 5.
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Soldiers block a road near Myanmar’s Parliament on February 2, a day after the coup.
It also relies on Russia. Russian weapons are flowing into my country, and Min Aung Hlaing has visited Moscow and even been honored by a Moscow university since the coup. Russia’s veto makes it impossible for the UN Security Council to reach any common position on stopping this violence.
The example of Ukraine demonstrates how the world can use economic levers to put pressure on a regime.
Sanctions have thus far been used in Myanmar mostly against individuals – more can and must be done to go after oil revenues and the ease with which the military can use the international banking system to extract its stolen riches and import the weapons it needs to prosecute its crimes. Recently, the UK government imposed sanctions against Russian companies that are supporting the military junta: this a step in the right direction.
The murderous acts of the Myanmar military will not stop until their income fails.
Domestically, we will overcome the junta by the power of inclusion. My country has been at war with itself for many decades. Now, in opposition to the military, a new alliance between the ethnic groups of Myanmar is building a new, shared future. We are addressing the root causes of violence through our new Federal Democratic Charter – a plan for a decentralized, inclusive Myanmar. We are learning together where we need to go.
This vision has been validated by our National Union Consultative Council, the most inclusive, substantive and people-oriented process we have ever had in Myanmar. This NUCC brings together representatives of different political parties, ethnic voices and civil society to create common solutions to the challenges we face. We are learning together where we need to go.
And we are putting this inclusion into practice. Many parts of our country are already free from junta control thanks to the bravery of ethnic resistance organizations and the actions of the people in defending their own homes.
In these areas, we are working with ethnic political and civil society organizations to build local administrations led by the people’s representatives, and these new administrations are taking responsibility for health and human services.
Another element in our plan is to oppose the sham election that the junta seeks to impose on the country.
This tactic is familiar, creating elections in which only they can stand, only they can win, and then parading the result as if it matters. This traps Myanmar in endless cycles of disempowerment and violence.
Our intention is to give the people of the country real freedom, not some mockery that serves the ambitions of one general who knows the people spurned him last time they had a choice.
Internationally, we assert the right of the people of Myanmar to the government that they choose. The French Senate and other parliaments have already determined that we are the legitimate government, because we carry the authority of the 2020 election and the consent of the people.
The current ASEAN Five Point Consensus has failed. The international community needs a more effective strategy to help Myanmar – and restore the civilian government.
This must start with a more effective plan to deliver humanitarian assistance. Efforts at providing aid will fail if the donors allow the military a veto over how it is delivered — Min Aung Hlaing and his henchmen do not care about the sufferings of the people. They have even in the last few days targeted food supplies so as to starve our people.
They made clear that they want full control on humanitarian aid as a way to gain legitimacy and leverage on their strategy.
We in the National Unity Government stand ready to enable humanitarian agencies to reach those most in need. Myanmar has a resilient civil society that is carrying out incredible work to serve their communities. Humanitarian aid can and should be delivered while being accountable to the Myanmar people.
Finally, we must hold Min Aung Hlaing and his henchmen to account for the crimes they committed. The murdered children, the people taken and tortured in prison, the villagers forced to watch their crops destroyed – victims have a right to justice, and it shall not be denied to them.
We have seen the international reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That reaction gives me hope. We do not want to live in a world where such crimes can be committed with impunity. People believe that Ukraine can and should be free.
My country, its people and my friends – Zeyar Thaw and Ko Jimmy, about to be murdered – they are waiting for the world to believe that Myanmar can be free as well.