Korea joins international call for end to humanitarian crisis in Myanmar

In this file photo, people take part in a demonstration against the Feb. 1 military coup, along a street in the town of Muse in Shan state, near the China-Myanmar border on Feb. 8, 2021. [AFP/YONHAP]

Korea joined the United States, European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and Britain in calling for an immediate end to Myanmar's protracted humanitarian crisis since a military coup three years ago.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the military regime’s ongoing atrocities and human rights violations, such as sexual and gender-based violence, and the restriction of fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, through peaceful protests and the media,” reads the statement issued by the foreign ministers on Thursday.

“We reiterate our call for the commander-in-chief and the military to change course, immediately ceasing violence against civilians, releasing all unjustly detained political prisoners, allowing full humanitarian access and creating space for inclusive dialogue with all stakeholders.”

Thursday marked the third anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar, which overthrew a democratically elected government.

Thousands have been jailed, tortured, and killed under the military regime, and airstrikes, shelling, and arson have destroyed homes, schools, hospitals, as well as places of worship, said the foreign ministerial statement.

“The military’s actions have fueled a growing humanitarian crisis with 2.6 million people displaced from their homes and more than 18 million people in need,” it said.

The foreign ministers also called on the Asean member states and the UN to address the crisis in a unified manner. The military generals in Myanmar dismissed Asean's calls to cease violence, including its five-point statement issued in April 2021. They have been barred from participating in any Asean meetings since August 2022.

“We call on the UN to strengthen its efforts on Myanmar, including via the timely appointment of a Special Envoy and a Resident Coordinator, and urge UN Member states to maintain their support to address urgent humanitarian needs in Myanmar,” reads the foreign ministerial statement.

The UN’s special envoy to Myanmar is vacant as of July last year after Noeleen Heyzer left the post. Heyzer was appointed six months after the coup in October 2021. Despite her ties to the military in Myanmar, the envoy was not able to make much progress in ending violence in the country in her 20-month tenure.

Aung San Suu Kyi, the former state counsellor of Myanmar, pre-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been under house arrest by the junta since the coup. She reportedly communicated with her family for the first time this week through a handwritten letter.

The junta was holding nearly 20,000 people in detention, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a local monitoring group.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]