European Interest

Rohingya and Muslims urge EU to act on UN call to sanction military-linked businesses in Myanmar

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS AUNG NAING SOE (VOA)
Myanmar police officers stand on guard outside a courtroom in Insein Township during of Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo's trial.

The UN Fact Finding Mission last week issued a statement urging the international community to financially isolate Myanmar’s military for its involvement in the genocidal campaign against the Rohingya people. It made clear that the Government of Myanmar had made no movement towards genuinely resolving the crisis.
Rohingya and Muslim groups from Myanmar reacted to the statement of the UN Fact Mission.
Three leading Rohingya political activists called on the EU to act on UN call to sanction military-linked businesses in Myanmar.
Nurul Islam, who is the Chairman of the Arakan Rohingya National Organisation, Tun Khin, the President of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK and Kyaw Win, Executive Director of the Burma Human Rights Network, said in a related declaration that: “As a group of Rohingya leaders from inside the country, as well as from across the Rohingya and Burmese Muslim diaspora, we fully support the UN Fact Finding Mission’s call for restrictive economic and political measures against the Myanmar military and military-owned companies. While we saw encouraging steps from the European Union last year in supporting the need to explore new sanctions against entities in Myanmar, the clear lack of good faith by the regime towards the Rohingya must now pave the way for renewed international pressure. This includes the EU continuing to show leadership through instigating additional sanctions against the military, its most senior leadership, and the military-owned companies which have fuelled the genocidal campaign against the Rohingya and the atrocities which continue to this day. The UN Security Council must also put in place an arms embargo to cut off the flow of weapons”.
“The UN Fact Finding Mission’s statement makes clear there can be no excuse for any country to maintain ties with the brutal Tatmadaw military. And international pressure on the military and military-owned companies would be a strong demonstration of resolve to help stem the ongoing crisis facing the Rohingya and other minorities,” the three political activists added.

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