Myanmar, explained.
Rescuer personnel in Mandalay following the earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale (Sai Aung Main/AFP via Getty Images)
Search, rescue and airstrikes seem a sadly predictable response by this cynical regime.
Subscribe to The Informer for monthly expert analysis, and to Events for advance notice of visiting world leaders and distinguished guests.
You may unsubscribe from Lowy Institute newsletters at any time. For information on our privacy practices and how to unsubscribe, see our Privacy Policy.
In the aftermath of Myanmar’s earthquake, reports emerge of the junta attacking its own peopleIn the aftermath of Myanmar’s earthquake, reports emerge of the junta attacking its own people
In a show of what appeared to be humble pie, Myanmar’s junta boss acknowledged that the scale of Friday’s earthquake would be beyond Myanmar’s capabilities and “invited” an international response to the country’s earthquake disaster. Was it sincere? Not at all.
An earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale ripped through Myanmar on 28 March at 12.50pm local time. The earthquake’s epicentre was Sagaing Region in central Myanmar, and in an area where some of Myanmar’s largest strongholds of resistance to the Myanmar military have been located since a military coup in 2021.
The devastation of the initial earthquake has been followed by a series of strong aftershocks that have hampered local search and rescue efforts while bringing fresh terror to survivors. The death toll is reported to have surpassed 1600, but that figure is likely to jump dramatically once more is known about the devastation wrought in regions outside metropolitan areas.
The first glimmer of the extent of catastrophe that was being faced by Myanmar people came from Mandalay. Even though phone lines were down, some were able to gain access to fibre optic networks and live stream videos of row after row of houses that had buckled on top of people’s heads. A video showed part of the city burning, another showed a monk running towards a wavering eight-floor monastery block – only for it to collapse in a massive rain of concrete boulders and dust. The monk is not seen again in the video. Other photos showed scene upon scene of makeshift casualty tents, injured and stunned people stumbling with broken bones or blood running from their faces. But Mandalay is not the worst hit region.
A damaged pagoda in Mandalay (Sai Aung Main/AFP via Getty Images)
Across the Ayerwaddy river from Mandalay are the Sagaing Hills. A small city renowned for its beautiful Buddhist temples and meditation centres, there has been virtually no news to emerge, even days after the initial quake. Beyond those hills is where one of the largest resistance strongholds is located – and it’s why so many Myanmar people are waiting in trepidation for news. As local relief efforts try to make their way to the worst affected areas, they are finding roads blocked not just because of the earthquake, but also by the military preventing them from accessing the region.
Since the February 2021 military coup in Myanmar, the junta has committed widespread and systematic abuses against the population including arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial killings and indiscriminate attacks on civilians that amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes. Sagaing has been at the centre of a centralised resistance movement and has been a focus of military attacks, including air attacks, which killed more than 160 civilians in what is likely a war crime.
Myanmar’s citizens have relied on each other for charity and grass roots support in the absence of meaningful, international humanitarian assistance throughout the aftermath of the coup.
Even as Min Aung Hlaing expressed his desire for international assistance, there were reports of military airstrikes occurring in Shan and Rakhine States almost immediately after the initial earthquake. On 29 March – a day after the quake – there were local media reports from Magway, Naung Cho and Kachin State of airstrikes on civilian targets. While international rescue teams reportedly arrived in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw, the Myanmar military was still attacking its own people.
The airstrikes in the wake of the earthquake are outrageous, yet there are also mind-numbingly cruel reports of curfews being enforced that prevent people conducting search and rescue operations for loved ones after 10pm. Added to this injustice are further reports that the military and their undercover security goons have started arresting young and able-bodied men, ostensibly to forcibly recruit them into the military. All this while soldiers casually hold aloft their automatic rifles, overseeing “security”, without lifting a finger to assist in any humanitarian assistance.
It's desperately clear Myanmar needs international assistance. For more than four years, Myanmar’s citizens have relied on each other for charity and grassroots support in the absence of meaningful, international humanitarian assistance throughout the aftermath of the coup. As always, locally-led organisations and ad hoc, grassroots initiatives are showing up as the first responders in the critical first 72 hours of the crisis.
So where is the international response? Reportedly, some search and rescue teams from China, Singapore and Malaysia have arrived in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw, where their movements will likely be heavily restricted and certainly not where they will be needed most. Aid has also reportedly arrived in Yangon and Naypyidaw from neighbouring countries, but it’s unclear to whom or how it will be distributed.
What is known however, is that there is a healthy dose of cynicism needed in dealing with Min Aung Hlaing’s invitation for help. His track record is dismal.
About the author
Manny Maung
Manny Maung, Research Associate at Humanitarian Policy Group, is an expert on human rights issues in Myanmar.
Topics
The most-pressing world events explained by Lowy Institute experts and global contributors, in your inbox, every Thursday.
You may unsubscribe from The Interpreter at any time. For information on our privacy practices and how to unsubscribe, see our Privacy Policy.
