It is heartening to see Myanmar’s neighbors including India, China, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia sending search-and-rescue teams and delivering aid to the earthquake-devastated country. Washington’s cuts to USAID’s budget couldn’t have come at a worse time, however, with war refugees and now earthquake victims in need of assistance.
The good news is that the UK and the US (despite the gutting of USAID) have pledged US$12.9 million and $2 million respectively to Myanmar. We earnestly hope the assistance will go to the needy, not into the pockets of INGOs and junta proxies.
The death toll continues to rise from the powerful earthquake, now standing at over 1,600, with over 3,500 people injured and hundreds still missing.
The number is expected to rise as rescuers race against time in search of survivors in the ruins. The 7.7-magnitude earthquake caused widespread destruction across Mandalay, Sagaing, Magwe, Bago and Naypyitaw regions and parts of northeastern Shan State. Many affected areas remain in urgent need of assistance.
Rescue teams are working in Naypyitaw and Mandalay. One Malaysian rescue team has reached Sagaing and it is hoped that others will be able to access the region, much of which is controlled by armed resistance groups. Accurate information on the casualties and damage from Sagaing Region is still not yet available.
Images of elephants being used in rescue operations organized by resistance groups in Sagaing Region is like something out of the 19th century.
As usual, the war criminals in Naypyitaw are behaving contemptibly and dishonestly. This time we know the world is not fooled.
Despite the devastating earthquake that rocked Myanmar on Friday, the regime carried out aerial bombing raids on Pauk Township in the resistance stronghold of Sagaing Region—the region is also where the epicenter of the earthquake was located—and Ta’ang National Liberation Army-controlled Nawnghkio Township in northern Shan State on Sunday.
The extent of the damage and casualties from the raids is unknown as communications are down.
The regime’s air force also carried out an airstrike in Nawnghkio in the immediate aftermath of the quake on Friday.
Where are the Myanmar military’s helicopters? They are all missing in action from search-and-rescue operations. It appears they are busy bombing suspected resistance targets and civilians.
The junta must end its nationwide airstrikes. The State Administration Council (SAC) generals are the aggressors and they must end their violence and atrocities.
In Sagaing Region over the past four years, regime troops have acted with extreme violence, committing extrajudicial killings, beheadings and massacres.
We want all international rescue teams to hear this message, so they can understand the situation they are entering: Among the earthquake victims you encounter, along with their suffering, you will notice their resilience. Moreover, you will notice their deep fear of and disgust toward the regime that seized power in 2021.
The SAC must stop its air raids and killings and instead provide security for local and international rescue missions. Remember, this is a regime that has shown zero tolerance even for free funeral services and HIV/AIDS clinics operating in Myanmar. It even arrested and laid off hundreds of doctors and nurses who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement after the coup in 2021.
Many humanitarian missions have arrived from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, as well as India and China. We acknowledge that some are authoritarian governments, quasi-civilian military governments and communist countries such as China, but still they have one mission in Myanmar – to save lives. This is remarkable. It could be considered a “peacekeeping mission” to Myanmar.
Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Sunday rightly called for an immediate ceasefire in Myanmar to facilitate aid efforts after the huge earthquake hit the country.
A special emergency meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers was convened by ASEAN chair Malaysia and conducted virtually on Sunday following the quake.
Balakrishnan “called for an immediate and effective ceasefire in Myanmar which would facilitate the efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance and longer term national reconciliation, peace and reconstruction,” said Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement on Sunday afternoon.
Prior to the quake, China, Myanmar’s giant neighbor with major investments and considerable political influence in the country, brokered “ceasefire talks” between the junta and armed groups but without any breakthrough.
The regime’s ground forces and jet fighters have continued to conduct military operations even as foreign search-and-rescue missions are launched. The regime must immediately stop the airstrikes and get its troops involved in the rescue missions. The same goes for armed organizations including People’s Defense Force and ethnic armed groups who have already pledged to assist in rescue missions and agreed to halt the fighting temporarily.
