The UN special envoy for Myanmar has warned that February's military takeover has led to armed conflict and if power isn't returned to the people in a democratic way the country 'will go in the direction of a failed state.'
UNITED NATIONS -- The UN special envoy for Myanmar has warned that February's military takeover has led to armed conflict and if power isn't returned to the people in a democratic way the country "will go in the direction of a failed state."
She said the situation is reminiscent of the pattern of operations that the military, known as the Tatmadaw, used against Rohingya Muslims in northern Rakhine state in 1997. The Rohingya were first targeted by Myanmar's security forces in 1997-98 and over 700,000 fled to neighboring Bangladesh after a military crackdown in 2017.
The military takeover earlier this year followed November elections, which Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won overwhelmingly and the military contests as fraudulent.She said the conflict must be solved and that "the power must be returned to the people in a democratic way," but the military did not respond to her proposal for an inclusive national dialogue and appears intent on continuing its operations.
Looking at the dire situation on the ground, she said, the number of displaced people has increased from 370,000 to 589,000 since the military takeover, the number of people needing humanitarian assistance has jumped from 1 million to 3 million, and the health system and banking system have collapsed.