Youth groups jointly call for end of Myanmar military dictatorship and construction of a federal democracy

Mizzima

On International Youth Day, 15 youth organizations in Myanmar issued a joint statement calling for the recognition of youth voices and their meaningful participation, and urging cooperation to end the military dictatorship once and for all and build a federal democratic union.

The joint statement, released on 12 August, urged: “Let us fight the evil system with the collective strength of the oppressed youth and march together toward a federal democratic future.”

The joint statement was co-issued by 15 youth organizations, including the Lisu Youth Council (LYC), Students and Youth Congress of Burma (SYCB), National Youth Congress (NYC), the Youth Affairs Department of the Interim Karenni State Executive Council (DoYA), and the Union of Karenni State Youth (UKSY).

The statement said that just as student youth in Myanmar have historically opposed injustices and participated in nation-building, they have also been resisting and revolting against the 2021 military coup in various ways. Youth are actively participating in various sectors to build a future federal democratic union based on national equality, federalism, democracy, and human rights, the groups said.

Following the coup, young people have faced the loss of educational freedom and employment opportunities, forced conscription including being press-ganged or used as porters restrictions on access to information and communication, and physical and psychological trauma, the youth groups said. Political and military conflict, along with the expansion of the drug trade, have worsened survival and security conditions for youth, they added, leading to forced migration both internally and abroad, as well as human trafficking.

The statement urged domestic and international revolutionary forces and organizations to collaborate on solutions to issues affecting youth, including forced conscription, educational disruption, and lack of employment opportunities. It also called on revolutionary forces to refrain from forcibly recruiting youth and to resolve inter-group conflicts through dialogue, negotiation, and partnership.

The youth groups said that since young people are a vital force in nation-building, their voices, perspectives, and meaningful participation must be recognized. They said armed organizations must be under democratic civilian oversight, and expressed support for ending military dictatorship and building a federal democratic union based on democracy, human rights, national equality, and self-determination. The groups declared opposition to any form of dictatorship and pledged to cooperate with democratic and revolutionary forces and alliances genuinely fighting to permanently end military dictatorship.

The statement called on leading revolutionary groups to strengthen political leadership based on public trust, transparency, and accountability, and to cooperate with mutual recognition. It urged them to resolve differences and conflicts through dialogue and negotiation rather than violence, and to guarantee meaningful youth participation in building the future federal democratic union. Armed and security organizations were urged to respect human rights and international humanitarian law, prioritize minimizing civilian casualties, and refrain from forcibly conscripting youth.

Interim administrative bodies, local administrative mechanisms, and local leaders were urged to establish transparent and accountable governance systems based on public participation, and to effectively enforce the rule of law and public services. The statement also called on them to carry out taxation and financial management transparently, strengthen grievance and feedback mechanisms for the public, and implement rehabilitation programs for youth affected during the revolutionary period. Civil society organizations and media were urged to conduct awareness activities to reduce ethnic conflict, hate speech, misinformation, and discrimination, and to promote digital literacy, peace, and human rights education.

The United Nations, ASEAN, democratic nations, and the international community were requested to scale up political, diplomatic, humanitarian, and development support to forces striving to dismantle military dictatorship once and for all, transition to federal democracy, and achieve peace, freedom, and justice in Myanmar.