Military junta condemns recognition of shadow government

The Burmese military has criticized the United Nations for giving support to the National Unity Executive in exile. International organizations have not yet managed to raise even half of the funds that would be needed to tackle Myanmar's humanitarian crisis.

Yangon (AsiaNews) - Myanmar's military junta has criticized the United Nations and other international organizations for their support of the Government of National Unity (GNU) and its parliamentary committee (Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, CRPH). I

n the meantime, the UN has not been able to obtain the necessary funds to face the humanitarian emergency in the country, in a context in which the health and economic crisis overlaps with the clashes between the Burmese army and ethnic militias.

The military junta, led by General Min Aung Hlaing, took control of the country on February 1 in a coup d'état, ousting the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD). 

Since its formation in April, the shadow government, made up of exiled NLD parliamentarians, has lobbied the international community to be considered the only legitimate government in Myanmar. The European Parliament in recent days has voted to recognize the GNU and the CRPH, which the Tatmadaw (the Burmese army) has instead branded as terrorist organizations.

The military junta's foreign minister said that international recognition and the establishment of GNU offices abroad could encourage terrorism at home and hinder efforts to create a multi-party democracy in Myanmar.

In the past few weeks, the French Senate has voted unanimously to recognize the civilian government, and the GNU has opened representative offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the Czech Republic, Australia, and South Korea.

The GNU, which also enjoys broad support at home, in September called on the civilian population to rise up against the military junta. Since the call, clashes between the Tatmadaw and Myanmar's ethnic militias have escalated. 

Andrew Kirkwood, the UN's permanent coordinator for Myanmar, told the Financial Times that the international organization has managed to raise less than half of the 332 million euros needed to deal with emergencies in the country, where it is estimated that due to violence at least 215 thousand people are now displaced. The number of Burmese in need of humanitarian assistance has risen from 1 to 3 million as food and fuel prices have skyrocketed due to the post-Golpe economic crisis. 

On the other hand, the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar, formed by a group of independent experts, says the UN is "on the verge of another meltdown." "The U.N. in Myanmar needs an appropriate strategy to engage with the junta for what it is: an armed actor that employs terrorism, not a government," said the group, co-founded by Yanghee Lee, a former U.N. Special Rapporteur on Myanmar.