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HomeOpinionA Q&A with Miemie Winn Byrd on President Trump's executive order

A Q&A with Miemie Winn Byrd on President Trump’s executive order

Miemie Winn Byrd, a retired U.S. Army officer and professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, spoke to DVB about President Donald Trump’s executive order freezing funding for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for 90 days pending its alignment with Trump’s “America First” policy. This order has affected medical care and assistance going to 100,000 Myanmar refugees living in nine camps along Thailand’s border.

DVB: How does President Trump’s executive order affect Myanmar?

MWB: Compared to other regions [and countries] like Gaza and Ukraine, support for Myanmar refugees is relatively limited. But I understand there could be hardships [faced] since some refugees depend on [assistance]. But I don’t think it can have much impact on the resistance [to the 2021 military coup] because about 70 percent of it is organic. Yes, this could create some inconvenience. But I believe it won’t stop the resistance.

DVB: The funding freeze will last 90 days. What do you think will happen afterwards?

MWB: We’ll just have to wait and see because this administration is unique in its way of doing things. [U.S.] Secretary of State Marco Rubio is savvy about international relations, so I believe that he understands the situation. Foreign assistance is a tool in [U.S.] foreign relations, so I don’t think they will cut all of the aid. Let’s just wait and see.

DVB: What about the BURMA Act? How does this freeze affect it?

MWB: It’s interesting. The Biden administration was very slow in implementing it. Marco Rubio was one of its architects, so he knew this [BURMA] Act was necessary. I believe he will be more active in implementing it. The downside is uncertainties in funding given the freeze on foreign aid. But I think implementing the clauses of the [BURMA] Act that don’t cost money will be quicker than before. 

DVB: USAID funds some media outlets [in exile]. This freeze cuts their source of funding. Will there be further consequences?

MWB: They will need to demonstrate how the funding contributes to the U.S. national interest. This administration’s slogan is “America First” so its assistance to others must demonstrably support the U.S. national interest. If not, they’ll find it hard to get further funding. 

DVB: What about other sectors?

MWB: It’s the same. The fund recipients must be able to explain how they can contribute to the U.S. interest and security or their programs will be cut.

DVB: What does the new Trump administration in the U.S. mean for Myanmar?

China has become more aggressive, so the Myanmar diaspora in the U.S. needs to lobby the U.S. government more so that it will understand the relationship between Myanmar and China. And it will be more interested in Myanmar’s affairs even more than the Biden administration was. I think this administration will be sterner in its approach to China. Judging by all this, Myanmar will receive more attention, in my opinion. 

DVB: Is there anything you would like to add?

MWB: I just wanted to say that you must do what you have to do. If you rely on other countries, you’ll be at their mercy. This resistance [to the 2021 military coup] is self-made, compared to Ukraine and Gaza, it won’t be affected by this funding freeze much. Despite some inconveniences, it’ll keep going on. 

Watch the DVB TV News interview with Miemie Winn Byrd here: “US အထောက်အပံ့တွေရပ်သွားလည်း တော်လှန်ရေး ရပ်သွားမှာမဟုတ်ဘူး” – DVB Interview – YouTube

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