Myanmar law students are reporting for JURIST on challenges to the rule of law in their country under the military junta that deposed the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February. For privacy and security reasons we are withholding this law student’s name and institutional affiliation. The text has only been lightly edited to respect the author’s voice.

Usage of air attack against unarmed civilians is the worst. We have said this repeatedly, but our words seem to be falling on deaf ears and we have no choice but to keep urging the UN to flag such areas as no-fly zones for the safety of displaced individuals who are fleeing the war.

While it is true that the National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG) declared a defensive war against the juntas and the NUG People’s Defense Force fights the juntas, the juntas continue to deliberately target unarmed civilians. We demand concrete action from the international community, and by that we mean something that amounts to more than just statements.

The killing and burning of the 35 civilians, that included a child, in Kayah is indeed an inhumane act. However, this is hardly the first time the juntas exercised this method of violent cleansing during the course of a conflict. It happens repeatedly, and no person or law is stopping the juntas from committing such crimes against humanity.

I am broken-hearted by these repetitive incidents and worried that these kinds of developments will just become routine and ordinary news pieces sent from Myanmar. What if well-meaning people have become numb to such inhumane acts and have abstained themselves from taking any action to stop them with a sense of urgency.

To be clear, similar incidents have occurred and the number of dead continues to rise. This is not just about those 35 dead civilians and these continuous acts of violence are proof that insufficient action has been taken by the international community to save Myanmar.