China, Russia Rapped For Backing Violent Myanmar Junta

In his speech last week to open the UN General Assembly, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres bracketed Myanmar with Afghanistan and Ethiopia as nations where “peace and stability remain a distant dream,” Grant Peck reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: Chinese President Xi Jinping at the BRICS Summit

He declared unwavering support for the people of the turbulent, military-ruled Southeast Asia state “in their pursuit of democracy, peace, human rights and the rule of law.”

But the situation in Myanmar after the army’s seizure of power eight months ago has become an extended bloody conflict with ever-escalating violence. Yet the UN is unlikely to take any meaningful action against Myanmar’s new rulers because they have the support of China and Russia.

China and Russia are among the top arms suppliers to Myanmar, as well as ideologically sympathetic to its ruling military. Both are members of the Security Council, and would almost certainly veto any effort by the UN to impose a coordinated arms embargo or anything beyond an anodyne call for peace.

When Myanmar’s army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, it claimed with scant evidence that the general election her party won last November in a landslide was marred by massive voting fraud.

The takeover almost immediately sparked widespread street protests that security forces tried to crush. The pushback has left more than 1,100 people dead, according to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and right groups.

“The military’s iron grip on power faces resistance from large segments of the society. Weapons of war continue to be deployed in towns and cities to suppress opposition,” Bachelet said in a statement.

“These disturbing trends suggest the alarming possibility of an escalating civil war.”

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