Sanctions could target top officials or businesses linked
to country’s military.
By SIMON MARKS
Several EU countries are considering expanding sanctions
against Myanmar in the wake of calls from the United Nations for senior military officials from
the country to be investigated for genocide against the Rohingya population. PDF:
https://lnkd.in/giBvsSt
The EU has already placed sanctions https://lnkd.in/g7-R6Hb
— including a travel ban and asset freezes — on seven senior officials accused of committing
serious human rights abuses against the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority.
https://lnkd.in/gsaWZd8
But mounting evidence of human rights violations —
coupled with the sentencing of two Reuters journalists to seven years in jail
over their investigation into the killing of Rohingya villagers in Rakhine
State — has sparked fresh calls for extra sanctions, three EU officials briefed
on the discussions told POLITICO.
So far this year, more than 11,000 Rohingya have fled
Myanmar for Bangladesh. And ever since a military crackdown took place in the
country in August last year 700,000 members of the Muslim minority have escaped
Rakhine state in the north.
Members of the Rohingya minority will travel to Brussels
Monday to push EU countries and the European Commission to implement punitive
measures against businesses linked to Myanmar’s military.
“The genocide is not over, it’s continuing” — Kyaw Win, executive director of the Burma Human Rights Network
One option is to enforce sanctions on businesses
operating under the umbrella of The Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd. and
Myanmar Economic Corp., two sprawling holding companies with investments in
precious gems, copper, gold, clothing, cement and MyTel, one of the country’s
largest telecoms companies.
Countries such as the U.K., Germany and the Netherlands
have so far held back from applying sanctions of this nature against Myanmar
for fear of undermining the economy, two EU officials briefed on the
discussions said.
“At this stage we do not support financial or trade
sanctions as we believe it will disrupt the financial system and could harm
economic development across the country,” said one diplomat.
Another option, which could stand alone or be coupled
with economic sanctions, is to implement asset freezes and travel bans on the
country’s top officials — Senior Genreral Min Aung Hlaing, the
commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s military, and General Soe Win, his deputy.
“The European Union has already taken measures against
seven individuals responsible for or associated with serious human rights
violations in Rakhine State and will continue to monitor the situation and keep
its decision under constant review,” a Commission spokesperson said.
“As with any decision concerning EU sanctions, a decision
would have to be taken by unanimity among the EU member states in the
[European] Council.”
Still, momentum is now building among some countries to
revisit the current sanctions. Last week, Britain’s foreign secretary Jeremy
Hunt told MPs that he would rally countries at the U.N. to bring members of
Myanmar’s military to justice at the International Criminal Court. And a
spokesperson for the German Foreign Office also said this week in reaction to
the jailing of the Reuters journalists that it was “examining the way forward with
our partners.”
The EU is expected to propose a resolution on the human
rights situation in Myanmar at a U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva this
coming week. Commission and External Action Service (EEAS) officials also
recently received experts from the U.N. Independent International Fact-Finding
Mission on Myanmar, following a report that found serious allegations of crimes committed under
international law warranting investigation and prosecution. https://lnkd.in/g9BNM_2
The government in Myanmar, meanwhile, has rejected all
accusations levied against it and maintains it has pursued a legitimate
counter-insurgency operation after coming under attack by Rohingya militants
last year.
Kyaw Win, executive director of the Burma Human Rights
Network, said the failure of the EU to impose new sanctions — including those
against businesses linked to the military — would only increase the likelihood
of more Rohingya being killed.
“The genocide is not over, it’s continuing,” he said in a
phone interview from London. “Every day we delay, it’s causing someone’s life
in Burma.” He added there are still 500,000 Rohingya left inside Myanmar who
are at risk.
Placing sanctions on The Union of Myanmar Economic
Holdings Ltd. and Myanmar Economic Corp would act as the biggest deterrent to
date in stopping the persecution of the Rohingya, according to Win.
“The Burma fact-finding mission had released a summary
report. We have the summary and are examining that,” said an EU diplomat
briefed on the discussions surrounding new sanctions on Myanmar. “The report
includes a recommendation on further sanctions and we are now considering our
response to it.”