Myanmar crisis - The African Mirror

Apr

2021

Millions face hunger as Myanmar crisis worsens, United Nations says

POPPY McPHERSON FOOD insecurity is rising sharply in Myanmar in the wake of the military coup and deepening financial crisis with millions more people expected to go hungry in coming months, the United Nations said yesterday. Up to 3.4 million more people will struggle to afford food in the next three to six months with urban areas worst affected as job losses mount in manufacturing, construction and services and food prices rise, a World Food Program (WFP) analysis shows. "More and more poor people have lost their jobs and are unable to afford food," country director Stephen Anderson said in…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

Myanmar unity government says it must be part of any ASEAN bid to end crisis

WORLD

MYANMAR’S newly formed government of national unity urged neighbouring countries to not recognise the junta that seized power in February and to negotiate with it instead as part of any attempt to solve the crisis that began with the coup. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been trying to find a way out of the bloody turmoil that has racked fellow member Myanmar since the military ousted an elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1. The military has shown little willingness to engage with its neighbours and no sign of wanting…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

Myanmar activists cancel new year festivities; U.N. urges end to ‘slaughter’

WORLD

OPPONENTS of military rule in Myanmar cancelled traditional new year festivities yesterday and instead showed their anger with the generals who seized power through low-key displays of defiance and small protests across the country. The United Nations human rights office said it feared that the military clampdown on protests since the Feb. 1 coup risked escalating into a civil conflict like that seen in Syria and appealed for a halt to the "slaughter". A Myanmar activist group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, says the security forces have killed 710 protesters since the ouster of an elected government led by…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

China, Russia undermine international Myanmar response, EU’s top diplomat says

WORLD

KATE ABNETT THE European Union's top diplomat said on Sunday Russia and China were hampering a united international response to Myanmar's military coup and that the EU could offer more economic incentives if democracy returns to the country. "It comes as no surprise that Russia and China are blocking the attempts of the U.N. Security Council, for example, to impose an arms embargo," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a blog post. "Geopolitical competition in Myanmar will make it very difficult to find common ground," said Borrell, who speaks on behalf of the 27 EU member states. "But…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Myanmar protesters defiant as two more killed, pressure on junta grows

WORLD

DEMONSTRATORS in Myanmar maintained their dogged opposition to military rule yesterday despite a rising death toll, with two more people killed as the junta appeared equally determined to resist growing pressure to compromise. The country has been in turmoil since the military overthrew an elected government led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, bringing an end to 10 years of tentative democratic reform. One man was shot dead and several were wounded when police opened fire on a group setting up a barricade in the central town of Monywa, a doctor there said as a…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

From homes and streets, Myanmar citizens record spiralling bloodshed

WORLD

"I was lucky not to die," Min Thura Zaw posted on his Facebook page with a video that shows a soldier aiming in his direction in Myanmar's main city and the sound of a bullet's crack. He ducked from the window and tumbled to safety on the floor of his apartment - all captured in one of the growing number of videos shot by householders using their mobile phones to record violence on the streets outside. "I wanted to record the inhumanity of the military, shooting at houses and even stray dogs," Min Thura Zaw told Reuters. "The soldier ...…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

No breakthrough on Myanmar crisis at Southeast Asian summit

WORLD

TOM ALLARD A summit of Southeast Asian states held yesterday to discuss the coup in Myanmar failed to find a breakthrough to get the nation back on the path to democracy after last month's military takeover, sources with knowledge of the meeting said. Speaking after foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ended their virtual meeting, Indonesia's chief envoy Retno Marsudi urged the junta to allow the bloc to resolve escalating tensions. "It takes two to tango," she said after the meeting. "ASEAN's good intentions and readiness will be meaningless if Myanmar does not open its door."…