Torrential Rain, Torrential Junta Violence
“The AICHR has been silent in the face of the junta’s attacks on the Myanmar people. This organisation is not only doing nothing to help Myanmar people, but also actively working against them by inviting the military junta to its top meetings on human rights.”
Over recent weeks, torrential rain and record-breaking floods have had devastating impacts on towns and internally displaced person (IDP) camps across Myanmar. Countrywide, around 100,000 people have been forced to suffer life-threatening floods, with many left stranded without medicine, clean water, or adequate food and shelter. Ruthlessly compounding the people’s suffering and exacerbating their vulnerability to these natural disasters is a man-made disaster: the Myanmar military junta and its torrential violence against the people.
In early July, more than 10,000 residents of Myitkyina, Kachin State, were displaced or trapped on their roofs by severe flooding—the worst since 2004. In late July, record-breaking flooding of the Moei River along the Thailand-Myanmar border killed three civilians, including a child, and displaced nearly 3,000 residents of Myawaddy Town, Karen State. Nearby along the river, the makeshift shelters of IDP camps—which have almost no access to aid from international non-governmental organizations (INGOs)—have been destroyed by flood waters, illness is on the rise, and medicine remains in short supply. One volunteer doctor told Myanmar Now, “Difficult transportation conditions and ongoing fighting are making it almost impossible for aid deliveries to reach them.”
Meanwhile, in Bago Region, city-wide flooding displaced 20,000 residents of Bago City and created a dire shortage of food and water. While evacuees have been forced to seek shelter in relief camps, the junta has made itself known for obstructing assistance efforts, fixating instead on inspecting charity organizations and confiscating their vehicles. In Rakhine State’s Thandwe and Taungup Townships, residents are facing heavy flooding and are at risk of starvation due to junta-imposed travel restrictions, power cuts, and a lack of wood or charcoal for cooking. One local rescue worker told Myanmar Now, “Junta troops…haven’t provided any aid to local residents [in Taungup]. There is an urgent need for emergency assistance.”
Over the last two months, across eastern and southeastern Myanmar, communities are facing rising cases of malaria, dengue fever, and waterborne diseases—as a consequence of torrential rain and the junta’s weaponization of aid. In Karenni State, locals and IDPs have been suffering from a malaria outbreak, with a severe shortage of medicine and mosquito nets to stop the spread. Also of serious concern, dengue fever has been reported in at least six camps in Dawei Township, Tanintharyi Region, and four camps in Mon State.
In Pu Law Township, Tanintharyi Region, three IDP camps are suffering from outbreaks of malaria and diarrhea, with effectively no access to medicine, healthcare, or clean water for the 1,500 IDPs. An official from the Pu Law IDP Assistance Group told the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM), “We’ve attempted to control the outbreak. But we’re in the middle of armed clashes and in the rainy season so it isn’t okay to get medicine.”
Rainy season—marked by floods and landslides—creates difficulties for transporting food, medicine, and other essential supplies to IDP camps and flood victims. And across Myanmar, the junta is hellbent on making difficulties even worse by blocking routes to reach those in the most dire need. In Kaw Bane Village in Kawkareik Township, Karen State, the junta’s presence alone is preventing aid deliveries, as the junta has been known to arrest humanitarian workers providing aid.
Alongside this devastation, in Pekhon Township, southern Shan State, junta troops purposefully flooded more than 4,000 acres of farmland by suddenly releasing the Moebye hydropower dam. The junta-made floods displaced over 1,000 residents, put at risk more than 10,000 IDPs from Karenni State staying in the area, and devastated the livelihoods of local farmers. In addition to the Moebye dam, the junta’s reckless activities—including the Myitsone dam in Kachin State and the Upper Yeywa dam in northern Shan State—continue to cause irreversible environmental degradation, leaving local communities exceptionally vulnerable to landslides, floods, and other disasters.
Across the country, the needs of Myanmar’s people are extremely dire. The safest, most effective way to meet their emergency needs is through trusted local frontline humanitarian responders, including civil society organizations, community-based organizations, and their partners. The international community must put its trust and full support in local organizations who have proven well-equipped to meet emergency needs and save lives. These local groups have the decades of knowledge, trust, and experience to serve these communities with true dignity and efficacy—unlike the hypocritical and self-serving “localization” approach of UN agencies and many INGOs.
In tandem, the international community must also increase humanitarian aid for IDPs in Myanmar through cross-border channels and in collaboration with local humanitarian responders. Again, this is the only way to ensure that such assistance effectively and timely reaches IDP communities—Myanmar’s most vulnerable populations, whose suffering is compounded by the military’s terror campaign.
The military’s torrential violence that has forced IDPs to flee their homes is also the same violence that prevents any preparation for or adequate protection from natural disasters. In the words of Nai Aue Mon of HURFOM, it’s time for the international community to “recognize that the military junta is responsible for all the current human rights violations and the humanitarian crisis” in Myanmar today. To end their complicity in the junta’s war of terror against the people, the international community must immediately cut all ties and stop all engagements with the military junta.
[1] One year following the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, the former military junta changed the country’s name from Burma to Myanmar overnight. Progressive Voice uses the term ‘Myanmar’ in acknowledgement that most people of the country use this term. However, the deception of inclusiveness and the historical process of coercion by the former State Peace and Development Council military regime into usage of ‘Myanmar’ rather than ‘Burma’ without the consent of the people is recognized and not forgotten. Thus, under certain circumstances, ‘Burma’ is used.
Resources from the past week
Statements and Press Releases
By Karen National Union, Karenni National Progressive Party, and Chin National Front
By Five Members of United States Senate
By UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and UN Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect
By National Unity Government
The Burma Military Regime’s Extension of State of Emergency
By U.S. Department of State
Reports
Monthly Overview: Human Rights Situation in Mon State, Karen State & Tanintharyi Region
By Human Rights Foundation of Monland
July 1 – 28 2024 Summary of SAC human rights violations in Karenni State and Pekhon Township
By Karenni Civil Society Network
ကရင်နီပြည်နယ်နှင့် ဖယ်ခုံမြို့နယ် အတွင်း စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ ချိုးဖောက်မှုများအကျဉ်း
By Karenni Civil Society Network
Progressive Voice is a participatory, rights-based policy research and advocacy organization that was born out of Burma Partnership. Burma Partnership officially ended its work on October 10, 2016 transitioning to a rights-based policy research and advocacy organization called Progressive Voice. For further information, please see our press release “Burma Partnership Celebrates Continuing Regional Solidarity for Burma and Embraces the Work Ahead for Progressive Voice.”
