In March 2024, the American government allocated $121 million to fund initiatives in Burma to assist in relief efforts related to the civil war. The State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act made this funding available for the 2024 financial year. The funding comes three years after a military coup or junta disrupted peace and transition from a dictatorial to democratic governance.
While policy experts and researchers report the trouble in Burma began with the coup, others believe it started in 2021. Another group attributed the situation to independence from British Colonial Rule in 1948. Burma’s borderlands have become the location of battles between military authority (under a parliamentary system) and militias simply wanting to rule themselves and freedom.
After a military coup in 1962, it ruled over Burma until 2011. During that time, the country broke out in unrest related to pro-democracy protests in 1988, resulting in elections in 1990. However, the military ignored the results. In 2007, Buddhist monks protested for political change. By 2011, the Burmese government started working toward reforms. Burma achieved stability until the 2021 coup. It ended stability with the military revoking shared power with the civilian government.
Burma has remained fractured since the junta in 2021, with various factions forming to fight the military governing authority. The resistance groups, comprised of pro-democratic militias, local defense forces, and ethnic minorities, fight the junta and themselves, complicating existing problems.
The country consists of over 20 ethnic minority groups, such as the National Unity Government, formed by ousted politicians and democracy advocates who found safety in ethnic rebel-controlled areas. Professionals, educators, and entertainers who escaped junta strongholds in the city formed the People’s Defense Forces (PDF). It also formed 200 sub-groups. Ethnic militias have trained PDF members who now fight across the country.
An April 2024 New York Times article pointed out that the resistance gained traction, primarily through PDF advances. The PDF rebels have managed to recover the country’s border region, which includes a significant trading town. The rebels have also attacked the nation’s premier military academy, and attacks have occurred in sensitive places such as Naypyidaw, a bunkered capital city junta generals built earlier in 2024.
The advances signal a turning point in the ongoing conflict, with the Burmese military reinstating the draft to find new recruits. However, the fatalities have overshadowed these advances. Since the 2021 coup, the battle has culminated in 50,000 deaths, with at least 8,000 civilian casualties. Therefore, the funding will arrive at an opportune time. 21Wilberforce and the Burma Advocacy Groups mobilized more than 5,000 people from the Burmese diaspora and 11,000 other concerned citizens.
Its mobilization effort has resulted in sending letters to support the funding appropriation. They also contacted a coalition of pastors in Texas, who wrote to their representative, Rep. Kay Granger, the Chair of the Appropriations Committee.
The groups believe the funding will protect civilians against military attack and provide humanitarian aid. It will also go toward investigating acts of genocide and possible military war crimes and toward preventing these crimes. The funding will also support ex-military who deserted the junta. Finally, it provides government and local services to residents outside of Burmese control.
