Brussels (Brussels Morning), Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, announced Monday that sanctions were imminent against persons connected with the Myanmar coup, DW reports. He spoke prior to the meeting of EU foreign ministers.
Commenting on the intensifying crackdown on protesters in Myanmar, Borrell revealed that the EU intended to impose “sanctions against 11 persons involved in the coup and the repression of the demonstrators”.
Germany’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Heiko Maas, stated that EU sanctions against those responsible for the bloodshed in Myanmar were unavoidable since the number of murders had “reached an unbearable extent”.
Maas stressed that the bloc would target only those responsible for violence. “We don’t intend to punish the people of Myanmar but those who blatantly violate human rights”, he said. He also observed that the bloc is still pushing for dialogue and a peaceful solution.
Names to be revealed once move ok’d
The names of the 11 individuals being cited are to be revealed once the bloc greenlights the sanctions.
The move will be the EU’s strongest condemnation to date of the violence in Myanmar which thus far has resulted in at least 250 fatalities.
UN special rapporteur Tom Andrews called on the international community to limit the junta leaders’ access to resources, as he emphasised the importance of imposing sanctions in response to the crackdown.
“The world must respond by cutting their access to money and weapons”, he declared.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the violent crackdown by authorities in Myanmar and called for a “firm, unified international response“, according to his spokesman.
While initial measures would not target military-run businesses, EU diplomats indicated that some businesses would probably be targeted in the coming weeks and would likely include the MyanmarEconomic Holdings Limited and the Myanmar Economic Corporation.
Other human rights violators to be sanctioned
In addition to targeting individuals and entities in Myanmar, the EU is expected to impose sanctions against four Chinese individuals and one entity over their involvement in atrocities committed against the Uighur minority in Xinjiang Province.
Also, according to unnamed diplomatic sources, the bloc will target individuals and entities in Eritrea, Libya, North Korea, Russia and South Sudan over human rights abuses.