A minister of Myanmar\u2019s shadow government says the United Nations has an \u201cobligation\u201d to recognize what the people want ahead of the 76th General Assembly that began Tuesday in New York.<\/p>\n
Myanmar has been in turmoil since February\u2019s military coup, during which the military ousted the democratically elected government and followed it with an ongoing violent crackdown on opposing demonstrators.<\/p>\n
The annual assembly, which concludes on September 30, will see a nine-member credentials committee discuss who will take the nation\u2019s U.N. seat, with the choice down to either members of the military junta or representative of the former government.<\/p>\n
Dr. Sasa, the minister of International Cooperation for Myanmar\u2019s National Unity Government (NUG), the shadow government formed in the wake of the coup, which includes ousted legislators and ethnic minority leaders, says the people have spoken.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe origin of the legitimacy is really with the will of the people of Myanmar. The will of the people of Myanmar has been expressed in the elections, which were free and fair. The U.N.\u2019s duty is to uphold the will of the people of Myanmar. That is the obligation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe U.N should look at realistic issues, not just about politics,\u201d Sasa, who uses one name, told VOA from an undisclosed location.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith or without U.N recognitions, we know what we have to do. That is to end this military junta regime reign of terror,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
In Myanmar\u2019s November elections, the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won a landslide victory. But the armed forces made unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud as the coup unfolded earlier this year. A mass uprising, spearheaded by the Civil Disobedience Movement, opposed the coup, and thousands took to the streets in protest.<\/p>\n
But thousands have since been killed and detained, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a group that monitors Myanmar. The military disputes the figures, saying the number of those killed is lower.<\/p>\n
In July, the U.N. had warned that a civil war could break out, but Sasa said the current situation shouldn\u2019t be defined this way.<\/p>\n
UN Official Says Myanmar at Risk of Civil War as Despair Rises<\/p>\n
UN rights chief says that what began as a coup by the Myanmar military has rapidly morphed into an attack against the civilian population<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople from the outside will see this as a civil war. It\u2019s really not a civil war. It\u2019s a struggle for freedom and democracy, and tyranny, and the destruction of democracy under a military dictatorship.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘We draw the line’<\/p>\n
But only last week the NUG announced a \u201cdefensive war\u201d against the Myanmar military, following months of fighting across the country. Political analysts have argued that the announcement was a call to arms.<\/p>\n
Myanmar’s Shadow Government Announces ‘Defensive War’<\/p>\n
After the NUG\u2019s acting president, Duwa Lashi La, called for a nationwide uprising, there have reports that the government has increased its military presence in Yangon<\/p>\n
Sasa explained the decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to stick to law and order, protect the civilians as much as possible, but [at] the end of the day, another side is fighter jets. The people of Myanmar are facing military fighter jets, heavy artillery, heavy weapons. And the question is, how can we disable those weapons?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe draw the line. Enough is enough. We cannot prolong this reign of terror,\u201d Sasa said.<\/p>\n
Myanmar\u2019s political unrest has only multiplied the country\u2019s problems as it struggles with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Because many protest leaders work in the medical sector, several have been targeted by the armed forces. Furthermore, people are refusing to be vaccinated under the military\u2019s stewardship.<\/p>\n
Myanmar Faces COVID Vaccination Woes as Health System Under Threat<\/p>\n
The country is still fighting a third wave of COVID-19 at a time of increasing political tensions<\/p>\n
Originally a medical doctor from a remote village in Chin Yet, Sasa has become a popular new face in politics and was set to take a top job in the government before the coup.<\/p>\n
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has spent much of its years under military rule and has endured years of ethnic hostilities. Sasa said he faced many difficulties growing up in the country, including the loss of childhood friends and family members.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe suffering I have seen in my life is something I cannot even begin to describe. It is hard to see such suffering \u2014 no hospitals, school, college. To go to hospital or college \u2026 takes like seven days walking through the jungle,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But he managed to get an education, first in India, and then in Armenia, where he went to medical school. He also worked as a schoolteacher, he said, and more recently with humanitarians and health workers in rural villages in Myanmar. But when the opportunity to move into politics came, he found it difficult to resist.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was being asked by top leaderships to try politics. It became very difficult to say no. I got the opportunity to bring people together \u2014 me, as a minority. I feel I can bring a real value to the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
He became a leading member of the Chin State NLD\u2019s election committee for the general elections, which got him noticed by Aung San Suu Kyi.<\/p>\n
Today, however, with Suu Kyi still detained and facing a slew of charges by the military, and Sasa on the run, things are much different.<\/p>\n
\u201cNone of us thinks this hell [the coup] would happen. Because COVID-19 is happening, it would lead to chaos and help no one.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the coup unfolded, Sasa found himself immediately at risk. He managed to flee unnoticed, disguised as a taxi driver.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw the smoking guns, the government surrounding us, every street everywhere. I start thinking about how to get out from there. The only way was to do like a taxi driver \u2014 it takes me three days and nights \u2014 I thought I\u2019d be arrested and killed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sasa is still on the run and admits his current situation is still \u201cvery tough.\u201d The military charged him with high treason following his political involvement after the coup. He became Myanmar\u2019s representative to the U.N. by the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) \u2014 a legislative body representing ousted lawmakers.<\/p>\n
But he is still hopeful, saying he\u2019s honored to be \u201cbringing people together\u201d with an \u201cinclusive government\u201d fighting for a better Myanmar.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat feeling of risking life every day, it is uneasy, it is painful. But in the way we are building the future, we are building a better tomorrow for all.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully, we\u2019ll see a new Myanmar, a new future, sooner or later,\u201d he said. \u201cAll the sacrifices we have made, history will look back and remember something great.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Source: Voice of America<\/p>\n<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A minister of Myanmar\u2019s shadow government says the United Nations has an \u201cobligation\u201d to recognize what the people want ahead of the 76th General Assembly that began Tuesday in New York.Myanmar has been in turmoil since February\u2019s military coup, during…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n