Since the military seized control of Myanmar in February 2021, there have been large-scale protests, mass arrests, armed resistance and killings.
Security is deteriorating rapidly across the Southeast Asian country as the fighting between the military and opposition forces intensifies. Amid the chaos, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get information from the country, particularly as the military junta has cracked down on independent media.
To get a better sense of what is happening on the ground, The Japan Times spoke with Tom Andrews, the U.N. special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar. Andrews served as general secretary of the Nobel Peace Laureate Campaign for Aung San Suu Kyi and the People of Burma in 2001 and was a consultant for the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma and the Euro-Burma Network. His answers have been edited for brevity.