By Ko Myo / MPA
Myanmar has reached a “critical tipping point” where the country faces the prospect of losing an entire generation to conflict and instability, the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations has warned.
Speaking at UN headquarters in New York, Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun delivered a stark assessment of the deteriorating situation since the 2021 military coup. He stated that the people of Myanmar have already endured years of lost potential and are now watching their future crumble.
The warning comes amid reports of a mass exodus of young people. A former political prisoner, who was incarcerated in Mandalay during the 1990s, told the MPA that the contrast between the democratic transition period and the current reality is devastating.
“Under the NLD government, the country was moving forward. Now, it’s not just falling apart; we are truly losing a generation,” the source said.
“Many young people have been forced to choose the path of armed resistance, leaving classrooms for the jungle. Others are being forcibly conscripted into the military or are fleeing abroad. It is a tragic situation.”
Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun also highlighted the global security implications of Myanmar’s collapse in the rule of law. He warned that the country has become a breeding ground for transnational crime, threatening regional and international stability.
According to the ambassador, the security vacuum has allowed cyber-scam networks, drug production, and human trafficking operations to flourish unchecked along the country’s borders.
The envoy painted a grim picture of the humanitarian landscape, noting that citizens are facing a severe survival crisis. He described a rapid depletion of human resources and the reversal of developmental gains, with mass displacement becoming the norm due to military atrocities.
In a direct criticism of the global response, Kyaw Moe Tun stated that the United Nations and the international community have so far “failed” the people of Myanmar, urging for more concrete action to halt the country’s spiral into chaos.
