Burma Campaign UK today welcomed new sanctions announced by the British government, which target three more members of the military. Canada and the USA are also applying these new sanctions.
The announcement is available here.
The new sanctions have been announced on the eve of the first anniversary of the attempted coup. In the past year, more than 1,500 people have been killed, almost 12,000 people arrested and well over 300,000 people forced to flee their homes.
“The Burmese military are using ever more brutal and desperate tactics to try to cling on to power, but have not been able to consolidate their attempted coup,” said Anna Roberts, Executive Director of Burma Campaign UK. “The British government is doing exactly the right thing, systematically identifying and sanctioning companies and individuals which are financing and arming the military. However, they need to speed up the pace of new sanctions. It is vital to maximise pressure now while the military are more vulnerable.”
The USA has also announced new sanctions, most of which have already been applied by the UK. These sanctions include military bodies involved in defence procurement, on Tay Za, a business crony who assists the military with the supply of arms, and KT Group, a Burmese conglomerate also linked to supplying equipment to the military. The announcement is here.
“There is still a lot more the UK, USA, Canada and others can do to cut the supply of money and arms to the military,” said Anna Roberts. “More resources need to be given to increasing the pace and scope of targeted sanctions.”