Today I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to the United States Government for announcing a new assistance fund of nearly $155 million to sustain critical efforts to support the brave Rohingya people who have been forced to flee Myanmar and live in refugee and IDP camps and host communities in Bangladesh, and other affected people in Myanmar.

I would also like to reiterate my sincere thanks to the People and Government of the United States of America for standing in solidarity and being a strong voice for the people of Myanmar and recognizing the NUG as a voice for the People of Myanmar. The United States has been a good friend and taken large steps to help end the cruel regime in Myanmar by issuing sanctions on the junta, many of its entities, and individuals connected with it. We are thankful that in our darkest hour, when the military junta is doing everything in their power to commit acts of terrorism against our brave people, the United States of America is standing with and generously supporting the brave people of Myanmar in many different ways. As the Union Minister of the Ministry of International Cooperation, and Spokesperson of the NUG, I sincerely welcome the statement below from U.S. Department of State Secretary Antony J. Blinken:

“At the launch of the 2021 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis, the United States announced nearly $155 million in new assistance to sustain critical efforts to support Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh and internally displaced Rohingya and other affected people in Burma. “Our assistance will help meet the immediate needs of the nearly 900,000 refugees in Bangladesh who fled from horrific violence in Burma’s Rakhine State, including women and children,” said U.S. Department of State Secretary Antony J. Blinken. FULL STATEMENT

We are thankful for this aid and urge the international communities to not cut aid to the brave people of Myanmar, but instead to increase help sent in every way possible. The junta is daily murdering innocent civilians and brave self-defenders, including women and children, and destroying and looting homes and supplies. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance for the International Communities to:

Increase cross-border aid, which is often the only way to reach the most vulnerable people in the many ethnic states.

Channel support to and through local, grassroots organizations, which have real knowledge about the needs on the ground. These groups have always been underfunded and are playing a crucial role right now in supporting activists fleeing central Myanmar to hide from the military in the jungle, as well as providing food and shelter for the increasing numbers of IDPs.

Support local grassroots organizations, Community Based Organizations, Civil Society Organizations, and local NGOs which are doing an amazing job on the ground right now even in these very difficult times.

The four most urgent categories of critically needed aid are the following:

Food Security – according to the WFP millions of Myanmar citizens will soon be without adequate food supplies, in addition to the already hundreds of thousands of refugees who do not have access to food and water supplies.

Health – due to the targeting of healthcare personnel, institutions, and organizations by the junta, and the mass amount of displacement and injuries caused by the junta’s lethal use of force against unarmed peaceful civilians, millions of people are now without access to even the most basic healthcare, and emergency medicines, supplies, and vaccinations are urgently needed nationwide.

Shelter – millions of people have been displaced by the junta’s discharging their battlefield weapons to the neighborhoods and to all ethnic States across the nation and many of these have been driven from their homes for participating in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) against the terrorist junta. Children, women and the elderly have not been exempt from this inhumane treatment, and they urgently need funds and supplies to build temporary shelters where they can be better protected.

Education – since Covid-19, and more recently the coup, millions of Myanmar children have gone nearly 16 months without any formal education, and with access to the internet being cut off for most people, there is a need of material education supplies, especially in remote regions so our brave children can continue their education.

Each state, region, township and city has its own coordination teams for each of the four areas mentioned above, and are linked together so that the CDM participants, IDPs and refugees can have access to food, water, medical care, shelter, and education until the end of this cruel reign of terror. We request the United States of America to communicate to its partners and allies around the world, and especially to our neighbors, to open their borders for humanitarian assistance and the unobstructed passage of relief supplies. We must leave no one behind.

Again, we appeal to the Government of the United States of America and the international communities to engage with the NUG as the sole legitimate representative and government of the people. It is vitally important that the USA officially recognizes the NUG as soon as possible in order to help end the junta’s reign of terror. The people of Myanmar made their choice perfectly clear on the 8th of November 2020, when they voted for those who are now leading the National Unity Government. They have voted to end the military dictatorship once and for all. Now is the time for the US, its allies and partners, and the international community to uphold the will of the people of Myanmar by recognizing the people’s democratically elected National Unity Government as the sole legitimate government representing the people and country of Myanmar.

We appeal to the United States of America and to the international communities to mobilize a strong alliance under US leadership to dry up the junta’s remaining revenue streams and cut off the junta’s access to international finance and weapons with which it continues to murder our people. The junta’s largest sources of income is from the revenue of Myanmar oil, gas, energy and State owned enterprises, and from the MOGE. These cash flows must be stopped from reaching the junta, otherwise billions of dollars will continue to pour into the coffers of these terrorist murderers. They know only how to buy weapons and kill the innocent people of Myanmar. We must not allow another war and genocide to break out on this continent.

H.E. Dr. Sasa
Union Minister of the Ministry of International Cooperation & Spokesperson of NUG