At least 14 people, including 12 children, were killed in a brutal helicopter attack on a school in the fiercely contested state of Sagaing in Myanmar last Friday. Not for the first time since the February 2021 coup, the Myanmar military has violated international law and children’s rights.
In response, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) posted a message of condolences on Twitter. It said: “While many details remain unclear, UNICEF extends its condolences to the parents and families who have lost their children. […] Schools need to be safe. Children must never be attacked.”
The condolence message received angry reactions and was attacked by Myanmar activists and organizations such as Justice for Myanmar. The accusation: the UN did not name the perpetrators – the Myanmar military – and would therefore fail to protect the children.
The organization Save the Children, which has also called on all sides to protect schools and children (SAC means “State Administrative Council”, ie the military government), has been attacked in a similar way for days.
It must be said that the illegal helicopter attack is undoubtedly the responsibility of the military. At the same time, the state-controlled Myanma Alinn newspaper reported that resistance fighters from the People’s Defense Forces were hiding in the village. That doesn’t justify the attack by the military, but it does support UNICEF’s statement: Many details are still unclear.
It is clear that children must be protected and it is right that UNICEF Everyone parties to the conflict to do so. Recently, the “Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack” (GCPEA) has shown in a report that educational institutions are being illegally used for military purposes by both the military and the resistance.
Blanket UN bashing
It is not the first time that the United Nations and others have been caught in the crossfire of activists. When UN Special Envoy Noeleen Heyzer visited Myanmar in August 2022 and met coup initiator Min Aung Hlaing there (cover photo), Heyzer and the UN were accused of wasting their time and giving the coup leaders unnecessary legitimacy.
In a statement, the special representative felt compelled to point to a diplomatic matter of course: “The engagement of the UN in no way confers legitimacy.”
In a post for the “Democratic Voice of Burma” argues the activist Paul Greening, who worked as a consultant for NGOs in Myanmar, against direct involvement of the UN in the country. His argument: This causes more damage than it helps. The UN emphasizes that it is not political, but in a case like Myanmar, everything is political, including humanitarian aid.
That’s not wrong. But it is also true: Humanitarian aid is not exclusively politically. If a starving child gets rice and doesn’t starve, that’s good; even if the military has previously politicized the rice delivery or exploited pictures of a UN representative for propaganda purposes.
Between the lines
So is the United Nations, is the UNICEF Children’s Fund really the right target for the activists’ wrath?
I mean no. In the massive humanitarian crisis that is affecting Myanmar, any help, any humanitarian engagement that can alleviate the suffering of the people should be welcomed. If you want to be active in all parts of the country and not just in the border regions, you have to come to terms with the military. However, some aid organizations are now not only afraid of the ruthless brutality of the military, but also of hostility from the resistance. They rightly fear getting caught between the fronts.
But it is unhelpful to demand that everyone and everyone commit to revolution and condemn the military. The revolution dreamed of by the majority in the country can only succeed if there is room for humanitarian aid. But if hatred of the military and the desire for its destruction outweighs the protection of children, no matter who endangers them, it will only increase the suffering of the country’s people.
