I want to extend my gratitude to the Myanmar Hindu Union for inviting me to speak at this event. I take particular pride in events such as these which highlight the multiculturalism and pluricentralism inherent in the fabric of Myanmar. The fight we fight is not only against the military and their totalitarian ambitions, but against the erasure of Myanmar’s ethnic and religious minorities. Not long after the tyrant Ne Win took power in the 1960s, he began the military’s campaign of ethnic cleansing, and suppression of minorities – a policy they are continuing even as we speak.

The year after Ne Win’s seizure of power a mass exodus of ethnic Indians began. Within four years, 300,000 ethnic Indians would be denied the citizenship to which they were entitled by law, and would be pressured out of their homes, leaving the country, in a clear attempt to erase much of Myanmar’s Hindu population and heritage.

The military’s hatred and contempt for minorities is incomprehensible. Were they actually devout and dedicated to the study and pursuit of true religious teachings they would find that Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and all faiths which the Myanmar people follow, have as their core and guiding principle only love? Love of your neighbour, love of the world, love of compassion, love of peace. Myanmar is a nation of many faiths and these faiths make us stronger. In the great confluence of cultures and religions we find at every tun that we are united more than we are separated. We are similar more than we are different. There is unity in our diversity, and now, in these most trying of times for our nation, we must reaffirm our commitment to multiculturalism, to pluralism, to cooperation, to unity against the terror and destruction of the genocidal military.

People of all faiths must come together in a shared sense of humanity to pray for Myanmar. To pray for the victims of the military. Those who have lost their homes, their livelihoods, their crops. Who struggle day by day to survive and protect their families? We pray for them. Those who have fled to foreign lands where they are marginalised and discriminated against, living with no security and no certainty, we pray for them. Those who have been bombed, shot, raped, burned alive, and subjected to every unimaginable torture and brutality, we pray for them. Those whose resolve will not be broken, who have sacrificed everything they hold dear to fight against this abomination that sweeps
across our nation, the PDFs, LDFs, EAOs, the CDM, the defecting soldiers, and everyone who sets aside personal desire and comfort so that the innocent people of Myanmar might finally know peace, we will pray for them. And we will pray for victory. Swift and decisive. Every day our war is prolonged people die. We have already lost over 1,500 of our brothers and sisters to the military’s savagery, and nearly 9,000 more are suffering unjust prison sentences. We cannot afford to allow the military to continue their reign of terror. Myanmar is currently one of the greatest humanitarian disasters on Earth and yet international reaction was been slow and support for the democratic cause has been hamstrung at every turn. At a time when we see an outpouring of support for Ukraine in their struggle
against tyranny, warmly welcoming millions of Ukrainian refugees, and billions of dollars spent on defence, it is essential that the world know the true scale of the crisis in Myanmar. With even a fraction of that support we could end fascism and dictatorship in Myanmar for good, but the job falls to all of us. All people with humanity in their heart, all culture, all faiths, all identities must and together and spread the message, and demand more of the international community. If we combine our efforts, our humanity, and our passion, together we will end this horrendous war, and return Myanmar to her true glory – a safe haven for all our many peoples, cultures, and religions together in peace and prosperity. For this we should pray most of all. Thank you.

Sincerely,

H.E. Dr. Sasa
Union Minister of Ministry of International Cooperation
Spoke Person of Nation Unity Government
Former Special Envoy to United Nations