Myanmar: UN envoy warns of 'full-scale civil war' if parties do not negotiate

The UN Special Envoy to Myanmar, on Tuesday, warned against a “full-scale civil war” if the key parties including the local residents, military junta, ethnic groups and ousted political leaders do not hold a successful dialogue. At least 965 people have been detained while another 7,135 have been detained over since the coup d’état took place in February this year. Elaborating on the same, Christine Schrader Burgener said that all the violence and chaos.

Highlighting the economic repercussions of the conflict, she said that Myanmar’s overall GDP has dropped by a whopping 18 per cent this year. Additionally, she said that the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates 2.2 million jobs have been lost since January. The ongoing violence, she said, has also led to constant fear and sufferings amongst people and a blatant curb on freedom of speech. On top of that, she said, Myanmar is currently facing “a severe COVID-19 third wave” with more than 333,000 reported cases, including 3,611 new cases on Monday.

Furthermore, the top diplomat said Myanmar’s military leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, desire to maintain his grip on power, pointing to the recent declaration naming him prime minister, the annulment of November’s election and fears that Suu Kyi’s party will soon be disbanded. She asserted that no side was ready to "give up or make compromises".

Myanmar's Coup

As Myanmar’s military has taken steps to undermine the country's democratic transition, including the arrest of the nation’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and few other civilian officials in Burma, several governments and human rights groups across the globe expressed concern and urged the military to immediately release all those who have been detained unlawfully. The Myanmar Army, on the other hand, has said that it carried out the detentions in response to fraud in last November’s general election that Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won by a landslide. According to Myanmar’s local media outlet, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is now in control of the country and a state of emergency has been imposed for one year. 

Image: AP