Myanmar faces ‘untold’ suffering due to US aid ‘betrayal’: UN expert

GENEVA: The UN´s special rapporteur on Myanmar on Monday lambasted the US foreign aid cuts as a shameful act of betrayal that would cause untold suffering and death in the war-ravaged country.

Tom Andrews, a former US congressman, tore into the swingeing cuts, saying they were politically-motivated, based on distortions, and being carried out in the worst possible manner.

He urged the 47 countries on the UN Human Rights Council to take a joint stand and speak up as a matter of conscience. “The sudden, chaotic withdrawal of support, principally by the government of the United States, is already having a crushing impact on the people of Myanmar,” Andrews told a press conference.

“Questions about the efficiency and effectiveness of aide programmes can and should be addressed, as should concerns about burden-sharing.

“But this is not about either. It is about making politically-motivated and demonstrably false declarations about corruption, waste and abuse that will cause immense suffering and cost untold numbers of lives.

“It is about betrayal. This is shameful.” Myanmar´s ruling junta seized power in coup on February 1, 2021 that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi´s elected government, ending a 10-year experiment with democracy and plunging the southeast Asian nation into bloody turmoil and a humanitarian crisis. Myanmar has been rocked by fighting between numerous ethnic rebel groups and the army. The civil war has displaced more than 3.5 million people, according to the UN.