• Burmese
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
29 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion Commentary

All But Forgotten

Lawi Weng by Lawi Weng
May 4, 2018
in Commentary
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
Villagers displaced by fighting between the Myanmar military and KIA take shelter in a forest in Kachin State in April. / Hkun Aung Labang

Villagers displaced by fighting between the Myanmar military and KIA take shelter in a forest in Kachin State in April. / Hkun Aung Labang

6.6k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

United Nations Security Council delegates wrapped up a four-day visit to Bangladesh and Myanmar on Tuesday. They met Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the Myanmar military, and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on their last day.

Members of the country’s many ethnic minority communities, perhaps the Kachin most of all, hoped the UN delegation would condemn the military for its many human rights abuses against them. But as most expected, the team focused exclusively on the Rohingya crisis.

Fighting in northern Kachin State has recently flared up between the military and Kachin Independence Army (KIA), driving nearly 10,000 civilians from their homes. Some, including international rights groups and local media outlets, were left disappointed that the UN delegation failed to speak out about it.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar People Skeptical of Junta’s Promises of Election, Peace

Myanmar People Skeptical of Junta’s Promises of Election, Peace

July 7, 2025
1.1k
Myanmar’s Dictator Extends Emergency Rule Again, Citing Election Preparations

Myanmar’s Dictator Extends Emergency Rule Again, Citing Election Preparations

July 31, 2024
3.2k
Governor of China’s Yunnan, Myanmar Junta Boss Discuss Ways to Resume Border Trade

Governor of China’s Yunnan, Myanmar Junta Boss Discuss Ways to Resume Border Trade

February 21, 2024
1.8k

The military largely ended its offensive in Rakhine State — which has driven some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh since August — after the international community started applying pressure, possibly scared by the prospect of new UN sanctions. Instead, the military turned its attention to the ethnic armed groups in the north, launching a major new offensive on April 11.

Myanmar’s ethnic minorities, many of whom are Christian, rarely invoke their religion in their struggle for equal rights. But since the UN delegation’s failure to address their plight, some have begun emphasizing their religious minority status in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar in hopes of attracting more attention from the international community.

At a protest in the Kachin capital of Myitkyina earlier this week, participants urged the military and government to let them rescue some 3,000 civilians trapped by the latest clashes and to bring the fighting to an end. Similar protests were also held recently in Yangon and overseas in Canada, Japan and the US, where participants also asked for donations to help the displaced families, now spread over at least 10 townships across Kachin.

The military and KIA have been fighting in Kachin off and on since a 17-year ceasefire broke down in 2011, displacing more than 150,000 civilians over the past seven years.

The US Embassy in Myanmar and Yanghee Lee, the UN’s special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, have issued statements expressing concern for the displaced families. They urged the military and government to let humanitarian aid into the conflict zone and to protect civilians from the fighting.

The military has racked up a long list of human rights abuses in the country’s ethnic minority areas over the past several decades, from forced labor to extrajudicial killings. Now in Kachin, those displaced by the latest fighting have no idea when they will feel safe enough to return home, or if they will even have homes to return to.

It is high time for the UN Security Council to speak up about their plight and press the military, or Tatmadaw, for their protection.

“The failure of the [UN Security Council] to express concern for Kachin civilians trapped in conflict gave the green light to the Tatmadaw to continue their abuses,” said David Mathieson, an independent analyst of conflict and peace issues.

“It was inexcusably callous to come all this way and only discuss the Rakhine crisis,” he said. “If the people of Kachin and northern Shan State and other conflict areas think the world has forgotten them in their obsession with the terrible Rohingya crisis, it’s because the UN Security Council just proved it.”

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Conflict
Lawi Weng

Lawi Weng

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Myanmar’s Dictator Extends Emergency Rule Again, Citing Election Preparations
Politics

Myanmar’s Dictator Extends Emergency Rule Again, Citing Election Preparations

by The Irrawaddy
July 31, 2024
3.2k

Coup-maker Min Aung Hlaing says he needs another six months to impose stability and security, and compile accurate voter lists,...

Read moreDetails
Assamese Journalist Shines Light on One of Asia’s Murkiest Conflicts
Books

Assamese Journalist Shines Light on One of Asia’s Murkiest Conflicts

by Bertil Lintner
January 8, 2024
2.6k

A new book by Rajeev Bhattacharyya charts the history of ULFA, which continues to battle the Indian government, including from...

Read moreDetails
Firefight Erupts as Myanmar Junta Troops Halt PNLO Arms Convoy in Shan State
Burma

Firefight Erupts as Myanmar Junta Troops Halt PNLO Arms Convoy in Shan State

by Brian Wei
January 23, 2024
2.4k

The PNLO burned the weapons rather than hand them over. The group’s leader said the incident would not affect his...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar’s Northern Alliance ‘Not Interested’ in Empty Peace Talks With Junta
Interview

Myanmar’s Northern Alliance ‘Not Interested’ in Empty Peace Talks With Junta

by The Irrawaddy
July 27, 2023
2.2k

A representative from the ethnic armed coalition sheds light on its latest meeting with the military regime.

Read moreDetails
Governor of China’s Yunnan, Myanmar Junta Boss Discuss Ways to Resume Border Trade
Myanmar-China Watch

Governor of China’s Yunnan, Myanmar Junta Boss Discuss Ways to Resume Border Trade

by The Irrawaddy
February 21, 2024
1.8k

Wang Yubo’s visit to Naypyitaw is the first by a senior Chinese official since Beijing brokered a ceasefire between ethnic...

Read moreDetails
A silhouetted solider from one of Myanmar's ethnic armed group. / The Irrawaddy
Specials

Timeline: 70 Years of Ethnic Armed Resistance Movements in Myanmar

by Nyein Nyein
February 1, 2019
16.5k

Since the Insein Battle of 1949, Myanmar has been a battleground for scores of ethnic armed groups each carrying out...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
A girl wearing traditional dress with lacquerware fashion accessories at the Bagan House lacquerware shop in Bagan. / Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy

Lacquerware Maker Experiments With Fashion Accessories to Keep Local Interest Alive

Ko Swe Win, center, leaves the Maha Aung Myay court after being granted bail in July last year. / Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy

News Editor Loses Bid to Have Evidence Thrown Out

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

6 days ago
1.3k
China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

1 week ago
1.1k

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta’s ‘Living Fence’ on Thai Border Falls to Karen Resistance

    Myanmar Junta’s ‘Living Fence’ on Thai Border Falls to Karen Resistance

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Launches Space Agency With Russian Help

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • TNLA Invites Investment in Ruby and Mineral Towns Amid Myanmar Junta Onslaught

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘Las Vegas in Laos’: the Riverside City Awash With Crime

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Two Myanmar Migrants Still Languish in Thai Jail Over Min Aung Hlaing Protest

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.