Burma Campaign UK today welcomed the passing of a European Parliament Resolution on Thursday, which called on the European Union to impose sanctions on the supply of aviation fuel to the Burmese military. The calls were made in a new Resolution condemning the back-door ban on 40 political parties in Burma.
The Resolution is available here.
Almost daily airstrikes by the Burmese military over the past two years have killed and injured thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands of people, creating a humanitarian crisis. As Burmese military jets use commercial aviation fuel and have taken fuel intended for civilian use, only a complete ban on the supply of aviation fuel to Burma will help reduce airstrikes.
Reports by Amnesty International and Global Witness have exposed the role of European companies in the supply chain delivering aviation fuel to Burma.
The European Parliament Resolution also calls for targeted sanctions on sources of revenue to the Burmese military, including No2 Mining Enterprise and the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank.
Other demands include supporting a referral of Burma to the International Criminal Court, and for the EU and member states to increase funding for Rohingya refugees.
The European Parliament also condemns Russia and China \”for their political, economic and military backing of Myanmar’s junta\”.
The European Parliament Resolution is not binding but increases pressure on the European Union to impose sanctions on the delivery of aviation fuel to Burma, and to speed up the slow pace of the implementation of sanctions on sources of revenue to the Burmese military.
“The European Parliament has called on the European Union to do more to stop the flow of aviation fuel and revenue to the Burmese military, and the European Union must now listen and act”, said Anna Roberts, Executive Director of Burma Campaign UK. “There is much more the European Union can do to reduce the capacity of the Burmese military to keep bombing and killing the people of Burma.”
More Information:
Myanmar: Investigation reveals aviation fuel supply chain linked to war crimes
Myanmar: New shipments of aviation fuel revealed despite the military’s war crimes