Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, parliamentarians from Europe and Asia, and members of the National Unity Government (NUG) of Myanmar have urged the global community to take stronger action to tackle the crisis triggered in Myanmar following last year’s coup d’état. Minister Abdullah hosted a meeting on September 19 (NY Time) focused on Myanmar at the Malaysian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, which is taking place this week. “There should be an inclusive and fair consultation with all stakeholders in Myanmar, including the NUG and NUCC. Then there should be a framework with a clear endgame, which includes a return to democracy in Myanmar,” Abdullah said. Also read: Bangladesh-Myanmar border tension: ASEAN envoys to relay Dhaka's concerns Abdullah is the only ASEAN minister who has publicly met with members of the NUG, the legitimate government in Myanmar, which represents the democratic aspirations of the country’s people.  The meeting was attended by NUG Minister for Human Rights, Aung Myo Min; NUG Minister of Communications, Information and Technology, as well as its spokesperson, Htin Linn Aung; permanent representative of Myanmar to the UN, Kyaw Moe Tun; as well as representatives of other Myanmar pro-democracy organizations, according to a media release received from New York on Tuesday.  “The Myanmar people deserve to have their true representatives at the table where regional decisions are being made,” said Htin Linn Aung. Also read: Tension at Bangladesh-Myanmar border: Govt plans to evacuate 300 families The meeting was attended by Heidi Hautala, Vice President of the European Parliament and Chair of the International Parliamentary Inquiry (IPI) into the global response to the crisis in Myanmar; Charles Santiago, Malaysian MP and Chairman of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights; Mercy Chriesty Barends, member of the Indonesian House of Representatives; and Tom Villarin, former congressman from the Philippines. Since the coup d’état on February 1, 2021, Myanmar has been plunged into a deep crisis, as the military junta led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has engaged in an all-out war against its population in order to cement its power.  A massive civil disobedience movement has demonstrated that the vast majority of the country’s population do not wish to live under military rule and has valiantly resisted the power grab.  Read BGB, Coast Guard asked to remain alert with “reinforcement”, if needed Meanwhile, international attention has largely shifted to crises elsewhere. “Nineteen months after the coup, the international allies of the junta have shown a commitment to supporting Min Aung Hlaing which surpasses that of those countries claiming to support the pro-democracy movement,” said Charles Santiago. “Simply put, the latter are not doing enough to help the Myanmar people, as countries like Russia or China actively support the military, engage the junta and give it the recognition it so keenly craves,” he added. “It is high time for those governments that claim to support democracy in Myanmar to act forcefully.” Read BNP urges global community to act against Myanmar's insolent activities In order to assess the global response to the crisis in Myanmar and offer recommendations on what international actors should do to support democracy and human rights in the country, APHR launched the International Parliamentary Inquiry on Myanmar in June.  Chaired by Heidi Hautala, Vice President of the European Parliament, the IPI Committee is formed by eight parliamentarians from seven countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. The IPI has held a total of six public oral hearings, as well as two special and three confidential oral hearings, with experts, diplomats, politicians, and activists from Myanmar and other countries.  Read Do more to cut Myanmar military's revenue, arms supply: UN to countries IPI committee members also conducted a fact-finding mission to the Thai-Myanmar border in August, where they met with over a dozen civil society organizations and other stakeholders.  On the occasion of the UN General Assembly, the IPI has sent a delegation to New York and Washington, in order to present its preliminary findings.  The IPI final report will be released in November. The IPI members are presenting a position paper to a variety a stakeholders in New York and Washington, in which they assert that the coup has failed in the face of widespread popular opposition.  Read UN experts seek more help for human rights defenders in push for accountability in Myanmar Myanmar has been plunged into a civil war between the military and the pro-democracy movement, which is bound to be long and protracted. “As the conflict in Myanmar remains undecided, and the coup is triggering a humanitarian crisis of an enormous scale, what international actors do, or fail to do, may tip the scale in favor of military dictatorship or democracy," said Heidi Hautala. "We urge the global community to scale up humanitarian aid, to increase the pressure on the junta through improved coordination on sanctions and diplomatic isolation. We further urge international actors to fully acknowledge the NUG as what it is, the legitimate government of Myanmar, and support it accordingly with funding, capacity building initiatives, and diplomatic recognition,” Heidi Hautala added. Read Bangladesh wants discussion to avert border tension with Myanmar: Foreign Secretary

Parliamentarians from Southeast Asia have urged the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to use their upcoming summit in Washington to increase pressure on the Myanmar military junta that has thrown the country into a state of chaos ever since its take-over in February last year. The leaders of ASEAN and the United States have declared that they intend to enhance their strategic partnership for the mutual benefit of the peoples of ASEAN and the United States, according to a message received here from Jakarta. In that spirit, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) advises that they should take concrete steps to address the inherent threat to peace, economic development and human security in Southeast Asia posed by the crisis in Myanmar. ASEAN and the United States are set to convene a special summit to celebrate four and a half decades of the ASEAN-U.S. Dialogue Relations, on May 12-13 in Washington D.C. This is the second special summit since 2016 and the first in person engagement for our leaders since 2017. “Let this 45th anniversary of US-ASEAN relations be the occasion for the  US and ASEAN governments to begin a new phase in their relations that truly benefits the people and puts human rights and the prevention of atrocities, in Myanmar and elsewhere, at the top of the agenda,” said Charles Santiago,  a Malaysian lawmaker, who is also APHR chairperson. They can no longer ignore the threat that the junta in Myanmar poses to the security of millions of people at the heart of Southeast Asia, Santiago added.  The current crisis is wholly and solely caused by the junta, led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, which overthrew the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi on 1 February 2021, according to APHR. The Myanmar population has valiantly resisted the coup and, in order to impose its rule on the country, the military has committed widespread atrocities. According to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, these may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Over the last year, Myanmar’s military has completely ignored the ASEAN’s Five Point Consensus on Myanmar, which was agreed on in April 2021 and was also supported by the US, APHR said. Violence continues unabated, there is no dialogue between the junta and forces resisting military rule, and humanitarian aid is not reaching the Myanmar people. The Special Summit provides the perfect opportunity for the allies to work on coordinated measures to make Min Aung Hlaing and his junta pay the price for their failure to abide by an agreement they claimed to accept, said the APHR. “Humanity is our common thread across the Pacific and across the world. We must stand together in the face of these atrocities, Asians and Americans, as we share the same concern for the people of Myanmar. Now is the time for ASEAN and the US to make their historic alliance truly meaningful to people in desperate need,” said Mercy Barends, an MP in Indonesia and an APHR Board Member. They also urged the US and ASEAN governments to publicly meet with Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG), which represents the democratically elected government and receives support from the majority of the Myanmar people. “We call on the United States and ASEAN to work together to urgently deliver the life-saving humanitarian aid that the Myanmar people need.” APHR said they stand ready to assist the US and ASEAN as they formulate and carry out their policies to address this crisis, and will remain vigilant to ensure that the steps taken by the US and ASEAN truly serve to support the Myanmar people’s aspirations for human rights, peace and democracy.

Cambodia’s foreign minister arrived Monday in Myanmar’s capital Naypyitaw on his mission as a special regional envoy seeking to facilitate peacemaking in the fellow Southeast Asian nation, which was plunged into an extended violent political crisis after the army seized power last year. Prak Sokhonn is representing ASEAN — the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — which last April reached a five-point consensus on Myanmar. It called for the immediate cessation of violence, a dialogue among all concerned parties, mediation by an ASEAN special envoy, provision of humanitarian aid through ASEAN channels, and a visit to Myanmar by the special envoy to meet all concerned parties. The ruling military council of Myanmar, which is one of ASEAN’s 10 members, has delayed implementation of its plan, even as the country has slipped into a situation that U.N. experts have characterized as a civil war. Neither the military nor its opponents have suggested mutually acceptable compromises that could stem the violence, much less resolve the political impasse over ruling the country. Soon after their arrival for their three-day visit, Prak Sokhonn and his party, including ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi, held a meeting with Myanmar's leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing and other top officials, during which they discussed implementation of the five-point plan, conditions for providing humanitarian assistance and cooperation with ASEAN, said a statement from Myanmar's Information Ministry. Also read: US to declare Rohingya repression in Myanmar a 'genocide' The statement, which described the meeting as a “first step,” said Min Aung Hlaing also presented his government's versions of the events leading to the army's takeover and the violence that followed it. Myanmar's reluctance to implement the actions urged in the consensus has caused a split among the members of ASEAN, which has ostracized Myanmar by blocking its leaders from attending major meetings of the regional grouping. Min Aung Hlaing was not invited to last October’s virtual meeting of ASEAN leaders because of the disagreement. That rebuke was issued shortly after Myanmar declined to let an ASEAN special envoy meet with its ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been in detention since the military took power in February 2021. The army ousted Suu Kyi's elected government and then cracked down on the widespread protests against its action. After security forces unleashed lethal force against peaceful demonstrators, some opponents of military rule took up arms. A statement issued last Friday by Cambodia’s foreign ministry said Prak Sokhonn’s first visit as ASEAN’s special envoy “will be aimed at creating a favorable condition leading to the end of violence as well as the utmost restraint by all parties,” along with distributing humanitarian assistance and encouraging political consultation or dialogue among all concerned parties. Prak Sakhonn became the ASEAN special envoy after Cambodia took over as this year’s chair for the regional grouping. Also read: Myanmar: UN report urges concerted effort by global community to hold military accountable Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen expressed interest in engaging more closely with Myanmar’s generals and in January this year became the first head of government to pay an official visit to Myanmar since the army seized power. In February, however, he expressed pessimism that the crisis there can be resolved anytime soon. According to Cambodian officials, Myanmar’s military have given permission for ASEAN’s envoy to meet with other members of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party. However, virtually all its major leaders are jailed, like Suu Kyi, or in hiding to escape arrest. The most important opposition force in Myanmar currently is the National Unity Government, a shadow civilian administration established largely by elected lawmakers from Suu Kyi’s party who were blocked from taking their seats by the army takeover. Prak Sokhonn said last month he believes he should meet with Myanmar’s National Unity Government even though the country’s military considers it a terrorist organization. All of its civilian leaders are in hiding or in exile. He said that if Myanmar’s military government is unwilling to talk directly with the National Unity Government, he could serve as a bridge between the contending parties. But he cautioned that this would have to be done in a way that did not create friction between the ASEAN envoy and Myanmar’s military government. Another major opposition group, the General Strike Coordination Body, issued a statement Monday saying its 36 member organizations condemned the ASEAN special envoy’s visit as an attempt to support the military council without fully recognizing the will of the people in the country. It pointed out that his visit did not include any contact with the National Unity Government, which had been among the suggestions ASEAN offered last year. The lack of a meeting with the shadow government amounted to ignoring the voices of the people of Myanmar and democratic forces, it charged.

  Representatives of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met with Myanmar’s junta leader on Friday, six weeks after an emergency regional summit on the coup in the country drew promises of progress toward a solution but produced no tangible results. State broadcaster MRTV showed Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing meeting with Brunei Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof and ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi, but provided only a broad outline of their discussions. Earlier this week, an Indonesian diplomat said the delegation’s purpose was to seek Myanmar’s approval of an ASEAN special envoy for the crisis, who is yet to be named. He said the choice of the envoy involved both sides, making progress slow. Friday’s meeting received a cool response from members of Myanmar’s opposition shadow government. The National Unity Government said at a rare online news conference that ASEAN should meet with them as well, not just the military. “Any discussions, any meeting about the future of the people of Myanmar must include the people of Myanmar, (their) voices must be heard,” said spokesperson Sa Sa. Also read: 100 days in power, Myanmar junta holds pretense of control The appointment of an ASEAN envoy was one of five points agreed at the regional summit in Jakarta in April, which Min Aung Hlaing attended over the objection of opponents who said the invitation legitimized his power grab. Shortly afterward, a spokesperson for the military government said it would only allow the envoy to visit after it had achieved security and stability in the country. The military ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, saying her party’s landslide victory in elections last November resulted from massive voter fraud. It has not produced credible evidence to back its claim. Security forces have brutally suppressed widespread popular protests against the military takeover, firing live ammunition into crowds and carrying out waves of arrests. As of Friday, 845 people have been killed in the crackdown, according to the independent Assistance Association of Political Prisoners. Also read: US sanctions Myanmar military and junta leaders for attacks U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric in New York highlighted the impact of violence on public health workers. He said there have been at least 212 reported attacks on patients, health workers, ambulances and health care facilities, resulting in at least 14 deaths and 51 injuries since the coup. “Our colleagues on the ground stress that hospitals are, and must remain, a place of sanctuary and unequivocal neutrality so that patients can seek care and health professionals can provide care safely and without fear,” he said. The Jakarta summit also reached an agreement to immediately end the violence and start a dialogue between the contending parties with the help of the special envoy. Brunei is taking the lead in negotiating with the Myanmar junta because it currently holds ASEAN’s rotating chairmanship. ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. In the online news conference, Sa Sa also said the number of people’s militias taking up arms against the military government is set to rise rapidly in response to what he called a “reign of terror.” “There will be so many more forces will appear in the coming months,” he said. “It will be out of control. That’s why we say to the international community to help us to stop this coup. We need stability in Myanmar.” In recent weeks, civilian armed groups have appeared in several regions of the country, often using homemade weapons or old hunting rifles to engage the army and police, with some success. Some groups of pro-democracy activists have fled to the jungles to receive combat training from battle-hardened ethnic armed groups who have been fighting for greater autonomy for decades.    

Myanmar government forces launched airstrikes against ethnic minority guerrillas in two areas of the country on Wednesday, local reports said. Fighting has been raging daily in northern Myanmar in territory controlled by the Kachin Independence Organization, representing the Kachin minority, and in the east by the Karen National Union, representing the Karen. Both groups have struck alliances with the popular movement opposing the military junta that seized power in the country in February after ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Generally non-violent marches against military rule continue in many cities and towns, despite the security forces’ use of lethal force to stop them. The Kachin and the Karen have been struggling for decades for greater autonomy from the central government and have their own well-armed and trained military units, whose help the protest movement has been seeking to counter the government’s armed might. Col. Naw Bu, a Kachin spokesman, said fighting against the junta’s forces intensified Wednesday, reported 74 Media, an online news service in Kachin state. Also read: ASEAN leaders demand Myanmar coup leaders end killings It quoted him as saying that since Tuesday, the government has used heavy artillery and fighter jets to attack a Kachin position at the foot of Alaw Bum mountain. The position had been a government outpost but was seized by the Kachin on March 25. Naw Bu said heavy fighting has been continuing in the area for five days, causing most civilians to flee. According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, clashes between the two sides have escalated since mid-March, with almost 50 armed confrontations. It said both sides have used mortar shelling. Details of the fighting in both the Kachin and Karen areas were not possible to independently verify. In eastern Myanmar, government aircraft continued to carry out airstrikes in Karen state on Wednesday, according to aid groups active in the area, a day after Karen guerrillas overran an army base on the banks of the Salween river dividing Myanmar and Thailand. Also read: Southeast Asian summit to address Myanmar’s post-coup crisis Both the Karen Peace Support Network and the Free Burma Rangers confirmed a total of six air attacks involving jets and helicopters. They said there were no known casualties but the Peace Support Network said about 300 villagers fled across the border. There also were air attacks on Tuesday just hours after the Karen seized the riverside base. The latest wave of airstrikes increased fears that more villagers will abandon their homes in vulnerable areas, with many likely to try to cross into Thailand. Fighting between the Karen and the Myanmar military has been intense since February. Myanmar jets have bombed and strafed Karen villages since March 27, and its army has deployed new battalions to the area in possible preparation for a large-scale offensive

Before each rainy season Lu Lu Aung and other farmers living in a camp for internally displaced people in Myanmar’s far northern Kachin state would return to the village they fled and plant crops that would help keep them fed for the coming year. But this year in the wake of February’s military coup, with the rains not far off, the farmers rarely step out of their makeshift homes and don’t dare leave their camp. They say it is simply too dangerous to risk running into soldiers from Myanmar’s army or their aligned militias. “We can’t go anywhere and can’t do anything since the coup,” Lu Lu Aung said. “Every night, we hear the sounds of jet fighters flying so close above our camp.” The military’s lethal crackdown on protesters in large central cities such as Yangon and Mandalay has received much of the attention since the coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government. But far away in Myanmar’s borderlands, Lu Lu Aung and millions of others who hail from Myanmar’s minority ethnic groups are facing increasing uncertainty and waning security as longstanding conflicts between the military and minority guerrilla armies flare anew. Also read: Freed Polish journalist urges pressure put on Myanmar junta It’s a situation that was thrust to the forefront over the past week as the military launched deadly airstrikes against ethnic Karen guerrillas in their homeland on the eastern border, displacing thousands and sending civilians fleeing into neighboring Thailand. Several of the rebel armies have threatened to join forces if the killing of civilians doesn’t stop, while a group made up of members of the deposed government has floated the idea of creating a new army that includes rebel groups. The U.N. special envoy for Myanmar, meanwhile, has warned the country faces the possibility of civil war. Ethnic minorities make up about 40% of Myanmar’s 52 million people, but the central government and the military leadership have long been dominated by the country’s Burman ethnic majority. Since independence from Britain in 1948, more than a dozen ethnic groups have been seeking greater autonomy, with some maintaining their own independent armies. That has put them at odds with Myanmar’s ultranationalist generals, who have long seen any ceding of territory — especially those in border areas that are often rich in natural resources — as tantamount to treason and have ruthlessly fought against the rebel armies with only occasional periods of ceasefire. Also read: Myanmar junta deepens violence with new air attacks The violence has led to accusations of abuses against all sides, such as arbitrary taxes on civilians and forced recruitment, and according to the United Nations has displaced some 239,000 people since 2011 alone. That doesn’t include the more than 800,000 minority Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh to escape a military campaign the U.N. has called ethnic cleansing. Since February anti-coup protests have taken place in every border state, and security forces have responded much as they have elsewhere with tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition. But residents and observers say the post-coup situation in geographically isolated borderlands has been made worse by increased skirmishes between the military and armed ethnic organizations jockeying for power and territory. Also read: Myanmar death toll mounts amid protests, military crackdown Lu Lu Aung, who hails from the Kachin ethnic group, said she participated in protests, but stopped as it was now too dangerous. She said Myanmar security forces and aligned militias recently occupied their old village where they planted crops and no one left the camp because they feared they would be forced into work for the army. “Our students can no longer continue the schooling and for the adults it’s so much difficult to find a job and make money,” she said. Humanitarian aid for civilians in the borderlands — already strained by the pandemic as well as the inherent difficulty outside groups face operating in many areas — has been hard it since the coup as well. Communications have been crippled, banks have closed and security has become increasingly uncertain, said the director of a Myanmar-based organization supporting displaced persons who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “There is no more humanitarian help and support,” she said. In eastern Karen State, where the airstrikes have displaced thousands, there are concerns that the arrival of rainy season could exacerbate a humanitarian situation already made difficult by reports that Thailand has sent back many of the civilians who fled. Thailand has said those who went back to Myanmar did so voluntarily. Yet there are parts of the country’s borderlands that have hardly been impacted by the coup. In Wa State, a region bordering China and Thailand that has its own government, army and ceasefire agreements with the Myanmar military, videos being shared online show life going on as usual, including the rollout of a coronavirus vaccination campaign. Near Bangladesh in coastal Rakhine State, where the Rohingya were driven from and where violent clashes with the Arakan Army group have been ongoing for years, the junta last month removed the group from its list of terrorist groups, raising hopes a lowering of hostilities. The Arakan Army, unlike a number of other armed groups, had not criticized the coup. The group, however, since released a statement that declared its right to defend its territory and civilians against military attacks, leading some to fear a fresh escalation in fighting. Other armed groups have issued similar statements. Some such as the Karen National Union have provided protection for civilians marching in anti-coup protests. Such actions have contributed to the calls for a “federal army” bringing together armed ethnic groups from across the country. But analysts says such a vision would be hard to achieve due to logistical challenges and political disagreements among the groups. “These groups are not in a position where they can provide the support against the Myanmar military needed in urban centers with large populations, or really too far outside their own regions,” said Ronan Lee, a visiting scholar at Queen Mary University of London’s International State Crime Initiative. Despite the uncertainty of what’s to come, some minority activists say they have been heartened since the coup by the increased focus on the role ethnic groups can take in Myanmar’s future. They also say there appears to be greater understanding — at least among anti-coup protesters — of the struggle minorities have faced for so long. “If there’s any silver lining in all of this, that’s it,” said one activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of fears for their safety.

The U.N. special envoy for Myanmar warned Wednesday that the country faces the possibility of civil war “at an unprecedented scale” and urged the U.N. Security Council to consider “potentially significant action” to reverse the Feb. 1 military coup and restore democracy. Christine Schraner Burgener didn’t specify what action she considered significant, but she painted a dire picture of the military crackdown and told the council in a closed briefing that Myanmar “is on the verge of spiraling into a failed state.” “This could happen under our watch,” she said in a virtual presentation obtained by The Associated Press, “and failure to prevent further escalation of atrocities will cost the world so much more in the longer term than investing now in prevention, especially by Myanmar’s neighbors and the wider region.” Schraner Burgener urged the council “to consider all available tools to take collective action” and do what the people of Myanmar deserve — “prevent a multidimensional catastrophe in the heart of Asia.  A proposed press statement from the council was not issued after the meeting because China, a close neighbor of Myanmar, asked for additional time to consider its contents, likely until Thursday, several council diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed. Also read: Freed Polish journalist urges pressure put on Myanmar junta Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun warned the council in remarks distributed by China’s U.N. Mission that “one-sided pressure and calling for sanctions or other coercive measures will only aggravate tension and confrontation and further complicate the situation, which is by no means constructive.” He urged all parties to find a solution through dialogue that de-escalates the situation and continues “to advance the democratic transition in Myanmar,” warning that if the country slides “into protracted turbulence, it will be a disaster for Myanmar and the region as a whole.” The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in Myanmar, which for five decades had languished under strict military rule that led to international isolation and sanctions. As the generals loosened their grip, culminating in Aung San Suu Kyi’s rise to leadership in 2015 elections, the international community responded by lifting most sanctions and pouring investment into the country. In the virtual meeting, Schraner Burgener denounced the killing and arrest of unarmed protesters seeking to restore democracy. She cited figures from Myanmar’s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners that as of Wednesday, some 2,729 people have been arrested, charged or sentenced since the coup and an estimated 536 have been killed. Also read: Myanmar junta deepens violence with new air attacks The Security Council adopted a presidential statement -- one step below a resolution -- on March 10 calling for a reversal of the coup, strongly condemning the violence against peaceful protesters and calling for “utmost restraint” by the military. It stressed the need to uphold “democratic institutions and processes” and called for the immediate release of detained government leaders including Suu Kyi and President Win Myint. The statement is weaker than the initial draft circulated by the United Kingdom, which would have condemned the coup and threatened “possible measures under the U.N. Charter” -- U.N. language for sanctions -- “should the situation deteriorate further.” Stressing the urgency of action, Schraner Burgener told council members she fears that serious international crimes and violations of international law by the military “will become bloodier as the commander-in-chief seems determined to solidify his unlawful grip on power by force.” Also read: Thailand denies forcing fleeing villagers back to Myanmar “Mediation requires dialogue, but Myanmar’s military has shut its doors to most of the world,” she said at the virtual meeting. “It appears the military would only engage when it feels they are able to contain the situation through repression and terror.” “If we wait only for when they are ready to talk,” Schraner Burgener warned that “a bloodbath is imminent.” The U.N. envoy called on those with access to the military, known as the Tatmadaw, to let them know the damage to Myanmar’s reputation and the threat it poses not only to its citizens but to the security of neighboring countries. “A robust international response requires a unified regional position, especially with neighboring countries leveraging their influence towards stability in Myanmar,” Schraner Burgener said, adding that she plans to visit the region, hopefully next week. Schraner Burgener said intensification of fighting in Kayin State has sent thousands fleeing to neighboring Thailand and Conflict in Kachin State with the Kachin Independence Army near the Chinese border intensified “to its highest point this year.” Armed ethnic groups on Myanmar’s eastern and western borders are also increasingly speaking out against “the brutality of the military,” she said. The opposition of ethnic armed groups to “the military’s cruelty ... (is) increasing the possibility of civil war at an unprecedented scale,” Schraner Burgener warned. “Already vulnerable groups requiring humanitarian assistance including ethnic minorities and the Rohingya people will suffer most,” she said, “but inevitably, the whole country is on the verge of spiraling into a failed state.” Democratically elected representatives to Myanmar’s National Assembly who formed a committee known by its initials CRPH sent a letter to Guterres and to Britain’s U.N. ambassador Wednesday urging the Security Council to impose “robust, targeted sanctions that freeze the assets of not only military leaders but also military enterprises and the junta’s major sources of revenue, such as the oil and gas sector.” CRPH also urged the council to impose an arms embargo against the military, facilitate humanitarian assistance including cross-border aid, refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court “to investigate and prosecute atrocity crimes committed by the military, including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity,” and consider whether there is a need to protect Myanmar’s people from such crimes. British Ambassador Barbara Woodward, who called for the council meeting, said afterward that “we will continue to discuss next steps with other council members” to prevent the military “from perpetuating this crisis.” “We want to consider all measures that are at our disposal,” she said, which include sanctions. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters before the council meeting that if the military don’t go back to their barracks and continue to attack civilians “we can’t just step back and allow this to happen.” “Then, we have to look at how we might do more,” she said. Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Dmitry Polyansky, told reporters Tuesday that all council members want the violence to stop and a restoration of dialogue and national unity. But he accused some countries and media outlets of “inciting the protesters to continue their protests,” which amounts to interfering in Myanmar’s internal affairs.   “Russia is not a big fan of sanctions” and “punitive measures,” Polyansky said, “We shouldn’t overstep this very thin line between trying to help and interfering into the internal affairs of sovereignty.”

In the jungles of southeast Myanmar, the army was shooting and otherwise tyrannizing civilians long before last month’s military coup.

Voicing concern over the Myanmar crisis, the UN chief on Monday issued a statement saying he was "appalled" by the reported killing over the weekend of dozens of protesters calling for the restoration of democracy, at the hands of the country's military.

Myanmar careened deeper into crisis, as police occupied hospitals and universities and reportedly arrested hundreds of people involved in protesting last month’s military seizure of power, while a coalition of labor unions called a strike for Monday.