« Any progress made in land rights and environmental conservation over the past decade will be in peril under the rule of a military with a long history of natural resource plunder.

The military’s seizure of power on February 1 has made ethnic nationalities fearful for our lands and forests. For those of us who belong to indigenous minority groups, our land is our life, providing us with sanctuary, safety, shelter and food, but past decades of military rule have seen our forests destroyed, our land exploited and our people terrorised.

Our ancestors protected the forests, just as the forests protected us. We have fought revolutions from these forests, and have sheltered in them while fleeing brutal Tatmadaw attacks. Our forests are recognised as some of the most biodiverse in the world, harbouring healthy populations of endangered species like tigers, pangolins and tapirs. Once again, they’ve become refuges for hundreds of activists, politicians and dissidents fleeing the brutal military repression of recent weeks. »

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Source : Esther Wah, Frontier