iDemonstrators stage a protest against the military coup in front of riot policemen in Yangon, Myanmar Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021. Tens of thousands of demonstrators flooded the streets of Myanmar’s biggest city Wednesday, in one of largest protests yet of a coup, despite warnings from a U.N. human rights expert that recent troop movements could indicate the military was planning a violent crackdown. (AP Photo)
Current and former refugees from Myanmar welcome the political pressure bearing down on the nation’s military since it staged a coup against a democratically elected government Feb. 1.
But much more pressure is needed, they say.
Eh Nay Thaw
“I am very disturbed by how much the international community refuses to pay attention to what is going on in the ethnic territories of Burma,” said Eh Nay Thaw, a Louisville, Ky., resident and Burma-rights activist who attends Crescent Hill Baptist Church.
His and others’ concern is for the safety of ethnic and religious minorities currently undergoing brutal military assaults in rural territories overlooked by foreign governments and media.