The United Nations has released a damning report, accusing the Myanmar army of killing over 700 civilians in the past six months. This is not a typo. That is roughly four bodies a day. The junta, which seized power in a 2021 coup, continues to sow chaos while the rest of the world tuts and sanctions ineffective trinkets. The report, issued by the UN Human Rights Office, details extrajudicial killings, aerial bombardments, and the burning of villages. It is a grim ledger of blood and fire.
Let us look at the numbers. Seven hundred is a large round figure. It is the sort of number that politicians bandy about to signal outrage. But behind each digit is a life, a family, a future erased. The UN’s investigators claim the military’s tactics amount to war crimes. No surprise there. The junta has been consistent in its brutality since it overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s government. The question is: what does the global financial system make of this?
Markets, dear reader, are not sentimental. They react to risk. Myanmar is a small economy, a fraction of the world’s GDP. Its currency, the kyat, has been in freefall. Capital flight is a chronic condition. Foreign direct investment has dried up to a trickle. The junta prints money to pay its bills, stoking inflation. The local population suffers, but the generals do not care. They have their gold and their Swiss accounts.
The West has imposed sanctions, but they are porous. China and Russia provide diplomatic cover. The junta sells precious stones and timber to whoever will buy. The bottom line? Myanmar is a humanitarian disaster but a financial footnote. The market’s indifference is the cruelest verdict of all.
Central banks in the region, particularly the Bank of Thailand, have to manage the spillover. Refugees, smuggling, and instability are bad for business. But the real action is elsewhere. Investors are focused on inflation in the United States, gilt yields in the UK, and the eurozone’s energy crisis. Myanmar is a sideshow.
The UN report will prompt the usual condemnations. Perhaps a few more targeted sanctions. The junta will shrug. They have heard it all before. Meanwhile, the bodies pile up. The tragedy of Myanmar is that it is a predictable tragedy. The market priced it in long ago.
