• Home
• /
• Opinion

Time for world to stop another genocide, says Myanmar envoy

Speaking on Connect the World with Becky Anderson, Sasa said it is “time for the world to prevent another genocide, another ethnic cleansing, another massacre”.

In an interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson, Myanmar’s special envoy to the United Nations, Doctor Sasa, urged the international community to respond to growing violence in the country.

Speaking on Connect the World with Becky Anderson, Sasa said it is “time for the world to prevent another genocide, another ethnic cleansing, another massacre”.

Sasa called on Russia and China to halt arm sales to the military junta, telling CNN: “If the world refuses to stop these military generals, then my country is going to face the greatest civil war that we have never seen before. That means the blood baths are real. It’s coming — more people will die.” Here are excerpts from the interview:

Becky Anderson: Doctor Sasa, special envoy representing Myanmar’s deposed civilian government to the United Nations joins me now from an undisclosed location. And sir, you are in an undisclosed location for your own safety. Your life, the lives of your colleagues in the now deposed government, are very much under threat. Thank you for joining us. What is your message to the world right now on behalf of that government?

Doctor Sasa: The international community must act now, before it’s too late. There is many more bloody days coming ahead. Many more bloody week coming ahead. Even many more bloody months coming ahead. How many dead bodies are necessary for the international community to take strong action against the military regime? We need sanctions, coordinated sanctions, targeted sanctions against the military regime. The world must cut off all finance accessed by this military regime. The more they get the money, they buy more weapons, they kill more people.

You have said that Russia and China, which has or have strong ties to the military junta, have the power to stop the violence in your country by halting all arms sales to the army. China and Russia hold veto power as permanent members of the security council, and they have blocked those measures. Is there any indication that these two countries are likely to change their position? And if they don’t, what happens?

Russia and China can make just one phone call to these military generals who are terrorising 54 million people in Myanmar. One phone call can stop these military generals, and of course, they must make the choice to stand with 54 million people of Myanmar or to remain with this handful of military generals. If they don’t like to stop these military generals killing the people of Myanmar, Russia and China risk future political suicide and relationship suicide. People of Myanmar will never forget what they have done today.

The military has tortured and detained thousands of civilians since the start of this coup. How bad are things likely to get? I want you to be really specific here. How bad are things likely to get if the international community doesn’t come up with a coordinated response? You know this place and the military better than most.

Military generals who are now killing, committing massacres across the country of Myanmar, is known for killing. They are guilty of crime against humanity, war crimes, ethnic cleansings. They have been doing that for the last 72 years, against ethnic nationalities of the country. If the world refuses to stop these military generals, then my country is going to face the greatest civil war that we have never seen before. That means the blood baths are real. It’s coming. More people will die, I am afraid. It is the time for the world to prevent another genocide, another ethnic cleansing, another massacre. So, the world has the power to stop it before it’s too late. Otherwise, more people are going to lose more lives on the guns of these military generals. They bought us weapons by stealing the money of the country of Myanmar. They stole the money from gas, money from timber, and all natural resources, now all the company that is working inside of Myanmar it is a time for them to stop giving the money to the generals, until these military generals stop killing the people, and release our leaders who are democratically elected. Otherwise, this is going to become real chaos. It’s bad for China. it’s bad for India. It will be bad for the whole ASEAN.

Doctor Sasa, how concerned are you by the involvement of the armed militia now, entering this conflict on the side of the protesters to all intents and purposes? These are groups that are armed, and they are potentially violent.

Our peaceful movement is stronger than their act of terrorism. We are determined to go for a nonviolence and peaceful movement, and we will defeat these military generals with our peaceful, not violent, movement. But again, we should not forget the people of Myanmar have the right to defend themselves. These killers, these military gunmen, they are going from door to door, house to house, village to village, city to city, state to state, killing the people.

Doctor Sasa, I do want to just push you on this point, though, because you say that this is an unarmed, nonviolent democracy protest, which it is. And we have seen that on the ground, but we have also seen the emergence of support for those demonstrators by armed militias. So, I have to press you on this point. Just how concerned are you that if this doesn’t stop now, that the international community cannot act with concerted action and help stop what’s going on in Myanmar now, that this becomes a much wider bloody conflict?

Becky, I am afraid, as I speak to you, I also have been speaking to all of the people on the ground. Every hour, I am on the phone with people on the ground. They just have no other choice. They just have no other choice, because the protector, who should be defending the people of Myanmar from any attack, are now being attackers to the people of Myanmar. That is going to be very, very bad for the country. I am afraid that this will blow up into civil war if international community does not stop (it). Now I am asking my people, please, please, don’t take any arms to protect yourself.

Also, but I don’t know how many days I can ask my people not to defend themselves. But it is the world who has failed to defend the people of Myanmar. We’re calling for our [inaudible] and our [inaudible] is not coming to us, so we’re asking the UN Security Council to come and protect the people of Myanmar who are now being attacked by the armed forces that should be protecting them.

That’s the international envoy for Myanmar’s deposed civilian government. You have been a spokesperson for the pro-democracy movement. Sir, somebody is trying to get a hold of you, so we’ll let you go, but we thank you for joining us. Extremely important to get your analysis and insight as to what’s going on the ground in Myanmar.

— CNN Connect the World