McConnell Statement on Burma Earthquakes and On-Going Repression

Washington, D.C.
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U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released the following statement today regarding humanitarian aid to the Burmese people and pressure on the junta:
“This weekend’s earthquakes in Burma have heaped new tragedy on a people already beset by grinding hardship. For most of Burma’s independent history, its people have struggled under the jackboot of a totalitarian junta. The search for survivors of these latest disasters adds a new and bitter challenge to the task of unwinding the current military coup.
“The people of Burma have displayed tremendous resilience and commitment to democracy since the 2021 coup. Unprecedented cooperation among Burma’s ethnic groups and pro-democracy movement have put the junta on the back foot. The Tatmadaw’s decision to drop bombs on impacted villages instead of sending urgent material assistance will go down among its most callous offenses.
“To the extent that emergency aid from abroad is reaching the hardest-hit areas around Mandalay, the absence of robust and coordinated American participation will not go unnoticed. Neither will the major and visible role played as of now by the PRC, especially if Beijing continues to enable the Junta’s war against Burma’s people. With U.S. networks of humanitarian workers and regional experts in tatters, pledges of assistance to the people of Burma will be less efficient and less effective.
“As I have repeatedly urged administrations of both parties for years before this weekend’s events, the United States and its allies must apply urgent and concerted pressure on the military to cease its slaughter and restore power to the people of Burma.”