Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon has reported that the military Junta in Myanmar is “trying to intimidate the whole population.”

In an interview with Vatican News, the cardinal said that the regime hopes to overcome resistance by “the atrocities and intimidation that the military is carrying out.” He said that more than 2,100 people have been killed in a brutal campaign of repression, and 15,000 jailed. Meanwhile, he reported, “Fifty percent of our people are in poverty and at least 8 million of them are in dire need for food security and there are millions displaced.”