1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000 AMNA NAWAZ: It has been more than 10 months since Myanmar's military seized power in a coup. Since 2 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:10,280 then,soldiers have fought with urban protesters and rural militias using violence activists call 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:16,520 brutal. They accuse the military of killing more than 1,300 people and detaining more than 11,000. 4 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:22,080 And, today, the United Nations called for an investigation into a new massacre 5 00:00:22,080 --> 00:00:24,720 that the U.S. described as barbaric. 6 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:25,920 Nick Schifrin reports. 7 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:30,920 NICK SCHIFRIN: In Eastern Myanmar, a line of cars was trying to escape nearby violence. But soldiers 8 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:39,080 torched the vehicles and burned the 35 people who were hoping to flee, possibly including two 9 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:44,520 staff of Save the Children, other photographs of the Christmas Eve massacre too horrific to show. 10 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:51,440 It's the second time in four weeks soldiers are accused of burning their enemies' bodies. 11 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:55,280 The junta that reseized power in February has ruled through horror 12 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:59,680 and fear. It's helped spark an exodus. On Christmas Day, 13 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:03,920 families in the southeast saved only what they could carry and fled to neighboring Thailand. 14 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:09,880 Thousands have become refugees to escape military airpower, even if they had to walk across rivers. 15 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:16,114 Myanmar's military ruled the country for half-a-century before civilian leader Aung San 16 00:01:16,114 --> 00:01:21,114 Suu Kyi came to power in 2015. Her National League of Democracy Party easily won the 2020 election. 17 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,560 But on the February the 1st, when the new Parliament was supposed to sit, 18 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:31,440 General Min Aung Hlaing declared a state of emergency and arrested Suu Kyi and hundreds 19 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:36,440 of pro-democracy activists. Earlier this month, Suu Kyi was sentenced to two years in prison. 20 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:43,880 That day, protesters took to the streets in Myanmar's capital, continuing their resistance to 21 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:48,920 military rule. All year, they have demonstrated. A massive civil disobedience movement has paralyzed 22 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:55,400 basic services. In response, the military has turned urban streets into battlegrounds. 23 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:02,920 But the resistance extends to the countryside, where ethnic militias attack army checkpoints. 24 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:07,360 For decades, ethnic minorities have fought what they consider central authorities' 25 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:12,360 political persecution. Myanmar has about 20 ethnic armed groups in yellow that control 26 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:17,800 about a third of the country's territory. The Christmas Eve attack took place in Kayah State, 27 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:22,240 where the Karenni ethnic army has been fighting the military on and off for years. 28 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:27,600 But since the coup, urban civilians have teamed up with ethnic militias, 29 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:29,760 united to resist military rule. 30 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:34,760 MAN (through translator): Everyone came here with their resentment and revolutionary spirit. 31 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:38,720 So, that is why they can only focus on fighting for revolution. 32 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:42,560 NICK SCHIFRIN: To understand how critical this moment is for Myanmar, 33 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:47,520 I'm joined by Priscilla Clapp, previously chief of mission in Myanmar and is now 34 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:52,160 senior adviser to the U.S. Institute of Peace, which was established by Congress. 35 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:54,720 Priscilla Clapp, welcome back to the "NewsHour." 36 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:57,360 This attack was brutal, but we have seen 37 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:01,760 other attacks just as brutal over the last few months from the military. Why? 38 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:05,840 PRISCILLA CLAPP, Former State Department Official: The better part of a year, in fact, many months. 39 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:11,400 They have run into very, very serious popular opposition in the country that they did not 40 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:16,680 expect when they took over in a coup on February 1 in this past year. The original 41 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:23,240 demonstrations against the coup-makers have turned into violent opposition. 42 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:28,520 And so the military is fighting for its life now, and particularly attacking areas of the country 43 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:32,640 where the resistance is the strongest. And 44 00:03:32,640 --> 00:03:36,240 the area that they attacked on Christmas Day is one of those. 45 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:40,560 NICK SCHIFRIN: And so you referred to those original protesters, 46 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:45,200 the civil disobedience movement in the cities. We have also got ethnic militias, 47 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:49,680 so-called. People's Defense Forces as well are expanding. 48 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:54,160 How unprecedented is that widespread resistance? What is the implication of it? 49 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:57,600 PRISCILLA CLAPP: It's quite unprecedented. It has not happened before. 50 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:02,600 When there have been rebellions against military rule, they have been largely urban. They have 51 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:08,760 been in the form of protests, in-the-street protests. They have not really turned violent. 52 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:16,120 Separately, the army has been fighting ethnic militias and armies for 70 years, 53 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:22,880 unsuccessfully. They haven't won any battles against them. In fact, during that time, 54 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:27,880 they have become more organized, better funded, better armed, and stronger control over their 55 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:35,000 territory. So the army is actually in a losing battle overall over time. 56 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:36,720 And they are fighting for their life. 57 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:41,720 NICK SCHIFRIN: And so we have seen, as you just said, these ethnic militias confronting the army, 58 00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:48,280 fighting the army, even grabbing a little bit of self-governance in their territories. 59 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:53,800 But could this go further than self-governance? Is the very state at risk of fracture? 60 00:04:55,840 --> 00:04:59,360 PRISCILLA CLAPP: I believe it is. That is a debatable point, 61 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:02,400 but it is going in that direction, there is no question. 62 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:07,400 The area along the China border where there are some very strong armies and militias 63 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:14,360 and on the west along the Bangladesh border, the Arakan Army, which has taken over Rakhine State, 64 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:20,160 which used to be called Arakan, is very strong. And they basically 65 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:25,160 beaten the military at their own game there. And they have virtual control over most of that state. 66 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:31,680 The military doesn't dare to attack either of those areas, because they know they would lose 67 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:33,920 NICK SCHIFRIN: As the military struggles 68 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:38,880 with those fights that you justified, what is the moral inside the military? 69 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:43,360 Many soldiers are being asked to fight where it's very cold. There's some trench warfare. 70 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:48,320 And there's attempts to actually get soldiers to defect. So what's the morale inside the military? 71 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:52,800 PRISCILLA CLAPP: At the lower level, the military is suffering from very bad morale. 72 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:58,840 The people that are on the front lines fighting are losing. They're losing a lot of people. 73 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:03,200 They're getting killed themselves. And there are many defections. And the defectors are going 74 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:08,200 off into the People's Defense Forces and fighting back against the military and helping the People's 75 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:14,120 Defense Forces learn how to fight. They're arming them with their weapons and so forth. 76 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:18,000 So it's becoming a real civil war. 77 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:20,720 NICK SCHIFRIN: What do you think the United States government should do? 78 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:25,720 There are experts I talk to who say squeeze the military sources of revenues more. That 79 00:06:26,272 --> 00:06:31,272 is oil and gas. Pressure the U.N. to support the opposition group, the National Unity Government, 80 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:34,880 even declare what the military did against the Rohingya a genocide. 81 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:36,320 Do you think those steps could help? 82 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:40,960 PRISCILLA CLAPP: All of those steps are good steps, and -- but there are more as well. 83 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:45,600 And the U.S. government will be coming up with a new strategy soon, 84 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:50,600 at the request of the Congress. So we will see many more things happening. 85 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:55,120 I think -- I believe they are looking very hard at how 86 00:06:55,120 --> 00:07:00,120 to cut off some of the revenues from oil and gas and other things. It is not that simple. 87 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:05,440 So we have to be careful. But there are ways of squeezing them. And that 88 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:10,440 is definitely the main thrust of U.S. policy, is just to squeeze the military more and more. 89 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:17,720 I believe that they should be accused of genocide, but I don't think it's just Rohingya. 90 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:21,360 It's not even ethnic cleansing anymore. They're cleansing all -- they're going 91 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:23,920 after all ethnic groups, including their own. 92 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:26,000 NICK SCHIFRIN: Finally, in the brief time we have left, 93 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:30,080 let me just ask about the humanitarian situation, that U.N. warns that half 94 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:34,320 of Myanmar's population could fall into poverty, millions could face hunger. 95 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:36,400 How dire is the humanitarian crisis? 96 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:38,080 PRISCILLA CLAPP: Absolutely dire. 97 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:42,720 In fact, that has already come to pass. I would say that half or more of the population 98 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:47,720 is all already facing enormous hunger. But part of the strategy of the opposition 99 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:53,800 is to destroy the economy. They're willing to take this in hand just to bring the army down. 100 00:07:56,640 --> 00:07:58,960 And it is very difficult to predict what the end 101 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:03,960 will be. But it's going to go on for quite a long time, unfortunately. And people will suffer badly. 102 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:07,600 NICK SCHIFRIN: Priscilla Clapp, thank you very much. 103 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:11,840 PRISCILLA CLAPP: Thank you.