The Australian economist Sean Turnell, a former aide to State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, said on Wednesday that Myanmar’s economy is 50 percent below where it would be if the military had not seized power in 2021.
The special advisor for the interim Central Bank of Myanmar established by the civilian National Unity Government (NUG) told a panel discussion: “Most Myanmar people are living a hand-to-mouth existence and the penury of the country is quite extraordinary.
“It is a measure of the collapse of the economy.”
He said there were now around 7,700 kyats to the US dollar compared with 1,300 kyats before the 2021 coup.
“A nice financial indicator of what the military regime has done is that they have destroyed 80 percent of the currency,” Turnell added.
He said Myanmar was set to become an Asian tiger but was now being listed again among the poorest countries in the world.
The economist, who was jailed by the regime, urged the international community to recognize that the regime is not a reliable partner economically, diplomatically or strategically and it is not going to last.
He said air superiority and other advanced weaponry was the junta’s only advantage and the regime needed foreign exchange to buy air-delivered ammunition.
Turnell said the United States has begun to restrict the junta’s foreign exchange and has reduced the supply of weaponry.
He urged other countries to join the US in financially sanctioning the regime and block jet fuel sales.
Turnell added that financial restrictions on the regime could be effective.
“They are many loopholes but closing off those loopholes if other countries would join the US in financially sanctioning the regime in putting some sanctions on jet fuel, then we begin to restrict the only real advantage that the SAC regime has,” he said.
Two Burmese traders and three companies that supply jet fuel to the regime were added to the US Specially Designated List in August last year.
The NUG, human rights groups and armed groups have repeatedly urged the international community to impose aviation fuel sanctions on the regime.
