Myanmar citizens are more focused on daily survival than on personal development, said Ambassador U Kyaw Moe Tun during a speech at the United Nations.
At the UN meeting held on October 10, the Permanent Representative of Myanmar to the United Nations, U Kyaw Moe Tun stated that many young people, including those in the private sector, have to hide within the country or flee abroad due to the junta’s forced conscription. He also explained that economic decline, inflation, rising food prices, displacement, and homelessness have made daily survival a significant challenge for the people.
“Except for a handful of people connected to the military council, the entire population is prioritizing to escape hunger and death during these dark times. In the Sagaing Region, countless numbers of people go to bed not knowing what they’ll eat tomorrow. Ordinary citizens, knowing that only when the brutal military regime falls will they find peace, endure by all means. They’re enduring and supporting the revolution with all their strength, often forgetting their own struggles,” a political activist from Monywa told MPA.
Since the military coup, foreign investment in Myanmar has declined by 42% within a year, and according to a UNDP report, nearly half of Myanmar’s population will be living below the poverty line by 2023. The middle class, the backbone of the economy, is vanishing, and inequality is on the rise, according to the ambassador.
He also pointed out that the complete lack of the rule of law and rampant corruption have increased criminal activities: cross-border crime, online scams, human trafficking, and illegal drug trade. These illicit economies have exacerbated the situation. According to UNCTAD, illegal financial flows from drug trafficking alone amounted to $1.347 billion inside the country, posing a clear threat to regional peace, stability, and prosperity.
Following this, Ambassador U Kyaw Moe Tun called for urgent international support to eradicate illegal financial flows, corruption, money laundering, and tax evasion.
He also emphasized that Myanmar people are unequivocally rejecting every attempt of the military council to hold sham elections, urging the international community to take a similar stand against similar efforts.