AMNA NAWAZ: It has been more than
10 months since Myanmar's military
seized power in a coup. Since
then,soldiers have fought with
urban protesters and rural militias
using violence activists call
brutal. They accuse the military
of killing more than 1,300 people
and detaining more than 11,000.
And, today, the United Nations called
for an investigation into a new massacre
that the U.S. described as barbaric.
Nick Schifrin reports.
NICK SCHIFRIN: In Eastern Myanmar,
a line of cars was trying to escape
nearby violence. But soldiers
torched the vehicles and burned
the 35 people who were hoping
to flee, possibly including two
staff of Save the Children, other
photographs of the Christmas Eve
massacre too horrific to show.
It's the second time in four
weeks soldiers are accused of
burning their enemies' bodies.
The junta that reseized power in
February has ruled through horror
and fear. It's helped spark
an exodus. On Christmas Day,
families in the southeast saved
only what they could carry and
fled to neighboring Thailand.
Thousands have become refugees to
escape military airpower, even if
they had to walk across rivers.
Myanmar's military ruled the
country for half-a-century
before civilian leader Aung San
Suu Kyi came to power in 2015.
Her National League of Democracy
Party easily won the 2020 election.
But on the February the 1st, when the
new Parliament was supposed to sit,
General Min Aung Hlaing declared
a state of emergency and
arrested Suu Kyi and hundreds
of pro-democracy activists.
Earlier this month, Suu Kyi was
sentenced to two years in prison.
That day, protesters took to the
streets in Myanmar's capital,
continuing their resistance to
military rule. All year, they
have demonstrated. A massive civil
disobedience movement has paralyzed
basic services. In response,
the military has turned urban
streets into battlegrounds.
But the resistance extends to
the countryside, where ethnic
militias attack army checkpoints.
For decades, ethnic minorities have fought
what they consider central authorities'
political persecution. Myanmar
has about 20 ethnic armed
groups in yellow that control
about a third of the country's
territory. The Christmas Eve
attack took place in Kayah State,
where the Karenni ethnic
army has been fighting the
military on and off for years.
But since the coup, urban civilians
have teamed up with ethnic militias,
united to resist military rule.
MAN (through translator): Everyone
came here with their resentment
and revolutionary spirit.
So, that is why they can only
focus on fighting for revolution.
NICK SCHIFRIN: To understand how
critical this moment is for Myanmar,
I'm joined by Priscilla Clapp, previously
chief of mission in Myanmar and is now
senior adviser to the U.S. Institute of
Peace, which was established by Congress.
Priscilla Clapp, welcome
back to the "NewsHour."
This attack was brutal, but we have seen
other attacks just as brutal over the
last few months from the military. Why?
PRISCILLA CLAPP, Former State
Department Official: The better part
of a year, in fact, many months.
They have run into very, very
serious popular opposition in
the country that they did not
expect when they took over in a coup on
February 1 in this past year. The original
demonstrations against the coup-makers
have turned into violent opposition.
And so the military is fighting
for its life now, and particularly
attacking areas of the country
where the resistance is the strongest. And
the area that they attacked on
Christmas Day is one of those.
NICK SCHIFRIN: And so you referred
to those original protesters,
the civil disobedience movement in the
cities. We have also got ethnic militias,
so-called. People's Defense
Forces as well are expanding.
How unprecedented is that widespread
resistance? What is the implication of it?
PRISCILLA CLAPP: It's quite
unprecedented. It has not happened before.
When there have been rebellions
against military rule, they have
been largely urban. They have
been in the form of protests,
in-the-street protests. They
have not really turned violent.
Separately, the army has been fighting
ethnic militias and armies for 70 years,
unsuccessfully. They haven't
won any battles against them.
In fact, during that time,
they have become more organized,
better funded, better armed,
and stronger control over their
territory. So the army is actually
in a losing battle overall over time.
And they are fighting for their life.
NICK SCHIFRIN: And so we have seen,
as you just said, these ethnic
militias confronting the army,
fighting the army, even grabbing
a little bit of self-governance
in their territories.
But could this go further than
self-governance? Is the very
state at risk of fracture?
PRISCILLA CLAPP: I believe it
is. That is a debatable point,
but it is going in that
direction, there is no question.
The area along the China border
where there are some very
strong armies and militias
and on the west along the Bangladesh
border, the Arakan Army, which
has taken over Rakhine State,
which used to be called Arakan,
is very strong. And they basically
beaten the military at their own
game there. And they have virtual
control over most of that state.
The military doesn't dare to
attack either of those areas,
because they know they would lose
NICK SCHIFRIN: As the military struggles
with those fights that you justified,
what is the moral inside the military?
Many soldiers are being asked
to fight where it's very cold.
There's some trench warfare.
And there's attempts to actually
get soldiers to defect. So what's
the morale inside the military?
PRISCILLA CLAPP: At the
lower level, the military is
suffering from very bad morale.
The people that are on the
front lines fighting are losing.
They're losing a lot of people.
They're getting killed themselves.
And there are many defections.
And the defectors are going
off into the People's Defense
Forces and fighting back against the
military and helping the People's
Defense Forces learn how to
fight. They're arming them with
their weapons and so forth.
So it's becoming a real civil war.
NICK SCHIFRIN: What do you think the
United States government should do?
There are experts I talk to
who say squeeze the military
sources of revenues more. That
is oil and gas. Pressure the U.N.
to support the opposition group,
the National Unity Government,
even declare what the military did
against the Rohingya a genocide.
Do you think those steps could help?
PRISCILLA CLAPP: All of those
steps are good steps, and --
but there are more as well.
And the U.S. government will be
coming up with a new strategy soon,
at the request of the Congress. So we
will see many more things happening.
I think -- I believe they
are looking very hard at how
to cut off some of the revenues
from oil and gas and other
things. It is not that simple.
So we have to be careful. But there
are ways of squeezing them. And that
is definitely the main thrust of
U.S. policy, is just to squeeze
the military more and more.
I believe that they should
be accused of genocide, but I
don't think it's just Rohingya.
It's not even ethnic cleansing anymore.
They're cleansing all -- they're going
after all ethnic groups,
including their own.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Finally, in
the brief time we have left,
let me just ask about the humanitarian
situation, that U.N. warns that half
of Myanmar's population could fall into
poverty, millions could face hunger.
How dire is the humanitarian crisis?
PRISCILLA CLAPP: Absolutely dire.
In fact, that has already
come to pass. I would say that
half or more of the population
is all already facing enormous hunger.
But part of the strategy of the opposition
is to destroy the economy. They're
willing to take this in hand
just to bring the army down.
And it is very difficult
to predict what the end
will be. But it's going to go on for
quite a long time, unfortunately.
And people will suffer badly.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Priscilla
Clapp, thank you very much.
PRISCILLA CLAPP: Thank you.