EU Slaps Burma’s Junta With Fresh Sanctions Amid Surge in Violence

Soldiers stand next to military vehicles as people gather to protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Burma, on Feb. 15, 2021. Stringer/Reuters

The European Union on Monday issued a fresh set of sanctions targeting Burma’s high-ranking officials and entities, the EU’s sixth sanctions in the two years since the nation’s 2021 military coup that drew international condemnation.

This round of sanctions targets nine individuals and seven enterprises that the EU claims are responsible for the violence escalation and grave human rights violations in Burma, also known as Myanmar.

The sanctioned individuals include energy minister Myo Myint Oo, high-ranking military officers, and businessmen supplying the junta regime with arms and dual-use goods.

The EU also sanctioned officials from the Yangon region involved in the execution of four democracy activists last July, as well as officials from Kachin State who oversaw “air strikes, massacres, raids, arson, and the use of human shields” committed by the military.

The new sanctions also target departments in the Ministry of Defense, including a state-owned enterprise under its jurisdiction, as well as private companies that supply the military with fuel, arms, and funds.

“Those responsible for the coup, as well as the perpetrators of violence and gross human rights violations, should be held accountable,” the EU said in a statement. “All hostilities must stop immediately.”

With the latest sanctions, the EU has sanctioned a total of 93 individuals and 18 entities since the military coup that deposed the democratically-elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb, 1, 2021.

Those sanctioned will be subject to an asset freeze in the EU and a travel ban, which blocks them from entering or transiting through EU territory. No European transactions can be made with them as well.

The EU said it would maintain its arms embargo and export restrictions on equipment for monitoring communications and dual-use goods. The Union also halted military training and cooperation with Burma.

Australia Imposes First Sanctions on Burma

Several Western countries have hit the Burmese military and its businesses with sanctions due to its suppression of anti-coup protesters and the prosecution of Aung San Suu Kyi. Earlier this month, Australia imposed its first sanctions against Burma’s military junta.

The Pacific nation’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Tim Watts said the targeted sanctions would focus on individuals responsible for the “egregious human rights abuses” and entities that enabled the repression of the Burmese people.

Riot police officers detain a demonstrator during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Burma, on March 19, 2021. Stringer/Reuters

This includes 16 members of the country’s military regime’s governing State Administration Council (SAC), who the Australian government regards as key individuals responsible for the coup d’état, as well as two Burmese military-controlled entities, Myanmar Economic Public Holdings Ltd (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC).

“Over the past two years, Australia, ASEAN, and international partners have repeatedly called on the Myanmar regime to engage in constructive dialogue and find a peaceful and durable resolution to the ongoing crisis,” Wong and Watts said.

“Despite these calls, the regime has continued its anti-democratic actions against the people of Myanmar, including violence and recent steps targeting opposition voices,” they added.

The ministers also called for the junta to restore democracy and hold credible elections in the country.

“Australia will continue to closely monitor the regime’s actions. We will be looking to see improvements for people on the ground and moves towards the restoration of democracy, including credible elections,” they said.

Abuses Amount to ‘Crimes Against Humanity’

Human Rights Watch said the junta’s systematic abuses “amount to crimes against humanity, which include murder, torture, wrongful imprisonment,” citing the findings of other rights organizations.

Over 1,100 civilians have been killed by the military, and more than a quarter million people have been displaced since the military took power, according to the United Nations.

More than 8,000 people were arbitrarily detained, and dozens of them were tortured to death.

Escaping villagers from the Karen State are pictured in an unidentified location in this picture obtained from social media, on March 28, 2021. Karen Teacher Working Group via Reuters

“Unfortunately, we are very likely on the eve of yet another catastrophe, including a significant loss of innocent life and an even greater number of human rights violations,” U.N. special rapporteur on Burma, Thomas H. Andrews, said on Oct, 22, 2021.

Andrews said the junta has been moving “tens of thousands of troops, heavy weaponry, and other military assets” into the north and northwest regions of Burma, presumably in preparation for offensive operations against local defense forces.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said the junta has shown “a flagrant disregard for human life” by launching airstrikes on populated areas and deliberately targeting civilians.

Many civilians have been shot in the head, burned to death, arbitrarily arrested, tortured, or used as human shields in Burma, Bachelet said in a March 2022 report.

The report detailed the torture endured by detainees during interrogations, including suspension from ceilings, forced standing for extended periods of time, electrocution, drug injection, sexual violence, and forcing Muslim detainees to ingest pork.

“The appalling breadth and scale of violations of international law suffered by the people of Myanmar demand a firm, unified, and resolute international response,” Bachelet remarked.

Victoria Kelly-Clark contributed to this report.