U.N. Accuses Myanmar Junta of Limiting Aid to Earthquake Victims

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Friday that the military government of Myanmar is limiting aid to victims of last week’s devastating earthquake because the victims live in areas held by insurgent forces.

“Limitations of aid is part of a strategy to prevent aid getting to the populations it sees as not supporting its seizure of power back in 2021,” said James Rodehaver, head of OHCHR’s Myanmar team.

OHCHR also criticized the junta for continuing military operations against the rebels, including devastating airstrikes, in the aftermath of the earthquake. The U.N. agency counted 53 airstrikes since the magnitude 7.7 quake last Friday. 

Fourteen of those airstrikes were conducted after the junta ostensibly agreed to a temporary ceasefire on Wednesday. The U.N. said it received reports of eight more attacks on Friday.

“Air strikes are alarming, shocking and need to stop straight away — the focus needs to be on humanitarian recovery,” said U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani.

OHCHR said it was further troubled by reports the military “has continued its conscription drive,” yanking able-bodied young people away from rescue efforts to press them into military service.

According to the U.N. report, the military government is doing much less than it could to assist with relief efforts, even when it is not actively hindering them. The junta still insists on blocking Internet access and telecom networks to quake-ravaged areas held by opposition forces, making it difficult for rescue workers to coordinate their efforts.

“Thousands of political prisoners still remain arbitrarily detained in horrendous conditions. It is unclear what impact the earthquake had on their places of detention. They should be released immediately,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk added.

A BBC crew visited the Mandalay area on Wednesday and found collapsed buildings on nearly every street. Many of the structures that did not collapse entirely were unsafe to enter. 

“Myanmar’s military government has said it’s not allowing foreign journalists into the country after the quake, so we went in undercover. We had to operate carefully, because the country is riddled with informers and secret police who spy on their own people for the ruling military junta,” the BBC reporters said.

“Myanmar’s military government says 2,886 people have died so far, but so many collapse sites have still not even been reached by the authorities, that that count is unlikely to be accurate. We may never find out what the real death toll of the earthquake was,” the BBC said.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing made a rare trip outside Myanmar’s borders on Thursday to meet with Asian leaders in Bangkok, Thailand and appeal for more humanitarian aid. According to his state media, the military government leader hoped to discuss “the potential for cooperation” for “rescue, relief, and rehabilitation.”

Opposition leaders denounced the Thailand summit for allowing Min Aung Hlaing to participate, insisting he is not a legitimate representative of Myanmar. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has an outstanding warrant for his arrest for crimes against humanity.