In the global 21st century, the United States has received much criticism for its excessive use of force as the world’s most powerful power. Yet, in Myanmar, where American humanitarian aid and intervention is desired most, our government has pursued a policy of self-determination towards the Burmese people. Although a call to action had been repeatedly proposed to the UN Human Rights Council, the Biden administration had failed to provide the necessary humanitarian and military aid that properly addresses “genocide,” which the U.S. had confirmed is happening in Myanmar.
Around the time the Cold War drew to a close, the National League for Democracy (NLD) under Aung San Suu Kyi won a landslide victory after the military of Myanmar allowed for a general election. The military, with its dominant grip over Burmese politics and society since the 1962 coup, took back the power that Aung San Suu Kyi won as state counselor when she was elected on behalf of the NLD in 2015.
Ms. Suu Kyi’s multiple sentences of house arrest did not deter her passion for peaceful demonstration, inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. Her personal ideology and inspiring story starkly contrasts that of the juntas, the military power of Myanmar, as she even refused to see her dying son in the United Kingdom out of fear that she might not be let back into her country.
The Lady
Aung San Suu Kyi’s patriotism had propelled her to enormous popularity within the Buddhist majority of Myanmar. While she is a patriot, though, “The Lady,” as she is called in Myanmar, has had a history of prioritizing nationalism over the safety of minority groups. In the 2019 International Court of Justice hearing of the Myanmar military’s (Tatmadaw) abuse of the Muslim Rohingya minority, Suu Kyi personally defended the actions of the military. She testified that military operations happened in the Rakhine state, where the Rohingyas reside, but denied any form of genocide otherwise recognized by the international community, including the U.S. Department of State.
In fact, she even refused to use the term “Rohingya,” instead referring to the ethnic minority as “Bengalis,” implying that the Rohingya were illegal immigrants innately different from the native Burmese. Suu Kyi’s words are a blatant denial of genocide in the interests of the state, resembling that of Japanese denialism of war crimes or even denialism of the Holocaust.
However, despite being morally questionable, Suu Kyi did need to guarantee future Burmese support to maintain the possibility of democratization. The vast majority of Burmese Buddhists consider the Rohingya illegal immigrants, so Suu Kyi made a calculated move to prevent the alienation of the Burmese majority. And while the Tatmadaw, especially with the rise of the junta government, had enacted violence against its people, the vast majority of Burmese citizens in 2019 saw the military as a necessary, protective, and unifying force. If Suu Kyi were to accept international arbitration and decry Rohingya genocide in front of the ICJ, then that could possibly threaten the power of the military and ruin the balance of power between the civilian and military governments in a violent coup.
The Resistance
Nevertheless, starting in 2021, civilian militias and the Tatmadaw have been pitted in a fight more about human rights and democratization than nationalism. After the Juntas, officially the State Administration Council, seized power from Suu Kyi, claiming election fraud, major protests erupted throughout Myanmar. In a unified political front, Muslim minority groups as well as Buddhist protest leaders formed the National Unity Government (NUG). The continuing humanitarian abuses of the Juntas putting down protests only spurred on the NUG, as they formed their own military unit called the People’s Defense Force.
The Human Rights Council of the United Nations and the National Unity Government were for the first time, united in opposition against the Juntas. The People’s Defense Force is entirely committed to the fighting, as Jason Tower from the U.S. Institute of Peace reports that fighting is now happening “in townships that have not witnessed any form of fighting since Myanmar’s independence.” The civil war had engulfed not only regions where the Rohingya and other minorities reside, but also in major cities such as Yangon. As such, the NUG had moved “beyond her leadership” and now aims to create a representative body consisting of both the Buddhist majority and various Muslim minority groups.
Having been a champion of minority representation and resistance against the humanitarian violation of the Juntas, the United States government now shares identical values with the NUG. However, despite this alignment of morals, investing in humanitarian aid in Myanmar had not been the top priority of neither the Biden nor Trump administrations. The proximity of Myanmar to China means that if the United States does not collaborate with the NUG, the Chinese government will fill the power gap left in the absence of the U.S.
While resolving the conflict and violation of human rights would indirectly benefit the United States, the CCP could support the Juntas, hoping to establish a pro-Chinese dictatorship in Myanmar, similar to Belarus’s relationship with Russia. The installment of such a puppet government could expand Chinese influence in Southeast Asia. Because there is not much American public interest in the countries of Southeast Asia, Americans underestimate the magnitude of the region. Home to 696 million people, with most of these countries being corrupt autocracies, the democratization of Myanmar can kick start a democratic reform of the entire region.
In contrast to the $175 billion of aid that went towards Ukraine, the humanitarian crisis of Myanmar and Bangladesh combined had only received $2.2 billion. Indeed, the humanitarian aid given to Burma would be of relatively low cost to the U.S., but because of Trump’s “America First Policy” and the hands-off approach of Kurt Campbell, the “Asia Czar” of the Biden/Harris administration, proper funding for the BURMA Act introduced to Congress had not been gathered yet.
Given that the BURMA Act had already been introduced, the first ever Burma caucus had been established, and the costs of humanitarian aid would be relatively low, support for NUG funding is steadily increasing and does not seem to be split between party lines. The capability of providing additional billions for the NUG’s cause had been established, yet most Americans have just not been given enough exposure to vouch for the cause.
When geopolitically important to the United States, our government had gone out of its way to rewire the internal workings of foreign countries to ensure those states align with America’s endeavors. Myanmar, through the nationalist pragmatism of Suu Kyi and establishment of the NUG, had done all their work in aligning themselves with the United States, both morally and politically. Within our government, there simply remains the task of mustering the public support needed to justify giving aid to a defiant, yet desperate, people that fight on as the model of revolutionaries.
Written By: Tony Kim Edited By: Michael Cameron