Speech made by Zoya Phan, Programme Director at Burma Campaign UK, in the UK Parliament, 29 April 2025
It is an honour to be joining Lord Alton and Sai at this meeting, thank you APPG for International Freedom of Religion or Belief for inviting me to speak.
If I could sum up what is happening in Burma and how people feel in three words, it would be horror, hope and exhaustion.
The Burmese military began their latest coup in 2021, but even before the coup they never stopped the killing. Ethnic people in Burma have been attacked by the Burmese military for decades, where they commit war crimes and crimes against humanity. In ethnic states during a so-called peace process, conflict increased. In Rakhine State the Burmese military committed genocide against the Rohingya. They were allowed to get away with it, like they were allowed to get away with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
They thought they could get away with a coup as well, but they made a big mistake. People do not accept another coup. In Burma today, the Burmese military have never faced so much resistance. People resist every way they can. Some through peaceful protest, some through armed struggle, some through boycotts, like not buying products made by companies owned by the Burmese military.
The Burmese military try to supress resistance every way they can, turning powerful weapons against the population. They use jets, helicopters, drones and artilleries to bomb homes, schools, medical centres, plantations and religious sites. When I went back to my homeland in Kawthoolei, Karen area, I saw with my own eyes the devasting impact of Burmese military airstrikes that have resulted in a huge humanitarian crisis. The Burmese military is deliberately targeting civilian places to create a massive humanitarian crisis to soak up resources and energy from the community and the resistance.
The Burmese military imprison anyone who criticises them. Almost 30,000 people have been arrested since the coup, and 22,000 are still in jail. More than five million people have been forced to flee their homes, half the population is in poverty, there is fear and suffering. For many people, life in Burma is a nightmare, and the nightmare returns again and again.
But for the first time in decades, the Burmese military are struggling for their survival. Large areas have been freed from Burmese military occupation. New administrations are being set up to provide services to people. People dare to talk about a future Burma where there is no Burmese military, where people can have real freedom, democracy and human rights.
But there is exhaustion as well. People are giving everything they have, their time, their money, and their lives. When I was in Kawthoolei, I saw how young people were working so hard to resist military rule, to rebuild their lives, their community and their country.
And on top of the coup we have floods, landslides, earthquakes, and heatwaves. It is too much for our people. People say we are resilient. We have no other choice. For many minorities in Burma, this isn’t just a struggle for democracy and human rights, it is also a struggle for genuine freedom, and it is a struggle for the survival of our race, ethnicity and religious freedom.
After the coup there were regular new sanctions on sources of revenue and arms, there was pressure on countries still supplying arms, and we appreciate it. The British government must make new efforts to stop the Burmese military accessing funds, buying arms, or cut off the jet fuel they use to fly the planes dropping the bombs.
British aid and international aid to Burma save lives. Please don’t cut British aid to Burma. If you cut aid, it will make it a lot harder for our people to survive and to resist Burmese military rule.