Thank you all for having me, and inviting me to share my insights and experiences. I would also like to thank Germany for hosting so many of our brothers and sisters. Germany knows first-hand the horrors of fascism and consequences of a militaristic overthrow of democracy. Crucially, Germany also knows victory over fascism, and is a shining beacon showing that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that we are not doomed to an endless cycle of faux-democracy and military dictatorships. A bright future, with lasting democracy and peace is possible. Myanmar can learn much from Germany, and we fervently hope Germany will also help Myanmar in her time of need.

Our nation is witnessing the darkest and most horrendous chapter of military rule. Make no mistake, the faux-democracy we enjoyed before the coup was nothing more than a token gesture by a military who continued to extort and abuse the nation of their own ends. Today we are embroiled in a nation-wide struggle for freedom. From the heart of the nation to every border, resistance, whether armed or peaceful, continues against the junta. This resistance, no matter how peaceful, it invariably met with violence. We now know, that in the earliest days of the coup, the military explicitly permitted the use of unwarranted and unjustifiable lethal force against protesting civilians. Indeed, it has been the military’s proven course of action to target civilian gatherings and villages, to target those who have no way to defend themselves, and brutalize and murder them out of spite and rage. The barbarity of the Tatmadaw cannot be underestimated.

I have for many months collected evidence, photographs, video, and witness statements attesting to the many crimes against humanity. I can speak from my own experience of the heart wrenching scenes that the Myanmar people have suffered for the last 420 days. The true scale of the nightmare cannot be expressed in mere words, and I would need much more time to even begin to paint the gruesome picture, so I will instead focus on what we can and should do to bring about lasting change.
Myanmar cannot heal until the murderous military regime is toppled. This is an absolute truth. the last 6 decades have proven that at every turn the military will undermine genuine progress to line its own pockets, and secure its primacy within the political economic and social structures of Myanmar. To achieve this, they are willing to spill rivers of blood. They well exterminate entire ethnic groups to create opportunities for themselves and deny their crimes without a shred of irony. The military is Myanmar’s only significant impediment to long-term stable peace and prosperity. Therefore, this conflict, which is already in its second year and has claimed over 1,500 lives, must be the final and ultimate context between the people and the oppressors who have kept them in chains for half a century.

To win this war we need support and we need funds. Unlike the military we cannot focus all of our attention on fighting. We must care for the sick, the wounded, the hungry, the IDPs, we must work harder than ever to secure vaccines to protect our people, we must establish a working administration from nothing but the willingness of good people. We are spread thin, and are resources are at their limits. We therefore must see a greater willingness from the international community to assist us. We now know that western nations are willing to spend vast sums on humanitarian crises like Ukraine. With a fraction of those funds, we could defeat the junta in a matter of months, not years. We could protect and heal our people and build a lasting democracy. I therefore urge everyone who is able, to lobby government around the world as hard as they can to support us in our fight. The Myanmar people will not give up the fight. A military victory is simply not a possible outcome. Pandora’s box has been opened and any government hoping for a pliant and corrupt military government to take power in the future should resign itself to the fact that that future exists only in the dreams of the generals, and in the propaganda, they spew forth. The truth is, Myanmar is headed towards either decades of struggle and destruction under a dwindling military commanded by aging and corrupt generals, or a stable, peaceful, prosperous democracy. At this point it is up to the international community to choose the world they want to help create.

Sincerely,

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