Sasa and Sam Brownback
Around the world, conflicts, repression, and persecution continue to cause human suffering on a tragic scale. In the headlines are the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. But there is one crisis which has been largely ignored, and urgently needs attention: the one unfolding in Burma, or Myanmar.
Ever since the military coup on February 1, 2021, which overthrew the elected civilian government and established an illegal junta, Burma has spiraled into a severe humanitarian and political crisis, threatening the rights, freedoms, and lives of its diverse ethnic and religious communities.
Four years on, Burma is at a pivotal moment. The military regime is on the back foot, suffering significant losses of troops and territory as pro-democracy forces have pushed back. Thousands have defected from the regime, and it now controls less than 20 percent of the country's territory and only 33 percent of the population. There is a real possibility that it could collapse—but only if the international community acts to support democracy.
Burma's future hinges on the establishment of a genuine federal democracy. Federalism is essential for national reconciliation and sustainable peace. Only when the country's ethnic communities are given an equal stake in the country's future will there be any chance of peace after decades of civil war. Only a federal democracy that celebrates and protects Burma's diversity can put the country on the path to peace.
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