The Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) hosted an expert panel discussion on Thursday 26 May 2022 to discuss the theme “Building the New Myanmar from the Ground Up”.
An expert panel of esteemed community, state and national level Myanmar political and administrative representatives discussed the progress towards, and challenges of, building civilian political and administrative structures amid the junta-made Myanmar crisis, as well as considered how the international community can support the revolution.
Panelists
His Excellency Duwa Lashi La, Acting President of the National Unity Government of Myanmar
His Excellency Padoh Saw Taw Nee, Head of Foreign Affairs of the Karen National Union
Salai Ram Kulh Cung, Chair of the Central Executive Committee of the Chin National Front
Salai Tumi, First Secretary of the Mindat People’s Administrative Committee
Yanghee Lee, SAC-M founding member and former UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar (Moderator)
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Min Aung Hlaing’s attempted military coup on 1 February 2021 ignited a nationwide peoples’ revolution in Myanmar. In a little over a year, the revolution has made territorial gains and begun laying the foundations of a new federal democratic Myanmar. The National Unity Government (NUG) claims that almost half of Myanmar is now under the combined control of Ethnic Revolutionary Organisations (EROs) and newly established People’s Defence Forces (PDFs). In these areas, localised civilian administration structures are emerging to provide essential services including education, healthcare and judicial functions for their communities as well as lifesaving humanitarian assistance to the hundreds of thousands who are seeking refuge from the military junta’s attacks. These structures exist beside various long-established parallel administrations in ethnic states. At a national level, Myanmar’s democratic actors are beginning consultations, pursuant to the federal democratic charter, to develop a roadmap for Myanmar’s democratic future.
The junta’s campaign of terror is causing immense suffering across the country but with each act of junta violence, the Myanmar people grow more determined to see their revolution succeed. As such, any settlement advanced by the international community that compromises on the aims of the revolution is likely to be rejected. The path out of the junta-made crisis is through the civilian-led administrative and political structures already at work inside the country trying to save lives and build the democratic institutions of post-revolution Myanmar. But without urgent support from the international community, progress towards this future will come at even greater cost to the Myanmar people.