Geneva, Switzerland
Reuters
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned on Monday the execution of four democracy activists by Myanmar’s ruling military, a UN spokesperson said.
“The Secretary-General reiterates his call for the immediate release of all arbitrarily detained prisoners, including President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi,” deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a statement.
The spokesperson added that the UN chief opposes the death penalty “in all circumstances”.
People protest in the wake of executions, in Yangon, Myanmar, on 25th July, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. PICTURE: Lu Nge Khit/via Reuters
Meanwhile, a United Nations human rights expert on Monday called on countries to take steps against Myanmar’s junta through economic sanctions and an arms embargo following the execution of four democracy activists.
Asked in an interview what should be done in response, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar Tom Andrews said: “There are a number of options and what we need to see is the international community start to seize them.”
“The first option, the best option, is for the UN Security Council to convene to pass a strong resolution of not only condemnation, but clear strategic action, sanctions, economic sanctions and arms embargo” and refer the case to the International Criminal Court, he added in the same interview from Washington.
He called for more support for the humanitarian response, which was just 10 per cent funded, and more coordinated engagement with the shadow government in Myanmar the National Unity Government, which is leading efforts to undermine the junta.
Officials at Myanmar’s embassy in Washington and its diplomatic mission in Geneva did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Andrews’ remarks. The junta has previously defended the death sentences as justified and used in many countries.
Andrews also voiced concerns about further executions, saying “at least 140 people” had been sentenced to death.
“And so there is every indication that the military junta intends to continue to carry out executions of those on death row, as it continues to bomb villages and detain innocent people throughout the country,” he said.
Myanmar’s authorities have previously said they only use force when necessary to counter national security threats.
Sentenced to death in secretive trials in January and April, the four men executed were accused of helping a civilian resistance movement that has fought the military since last year’s coup and bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.
“I think it’s a demonstration to all of us that there are no limits to the depths of depravity of this military junta,” Andrews said.
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Meanwhile, the United States on Monday said there can be no “business as usual” with Myanmar’s ruling military following its execution of four democracy activists, adding that all options were on the table as it considered further measures to punish the junta.
Speaking at a regular press briefing, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price called on countries to ban sales of military equipment to Myanmar and refrain from any action that would lend the junta any international credibility.
Asked if the Biden administration was considering sanctions on Myanmar’s gas industry, a sector that was spared in previous rounds of US sanctions, Price said that in their discussions of further measures, all options were on the table.
“With these horrific atrocities that the junta has carried out, there can be no business as usual with this regime,” Price said.
No country has the potential to influence Myanmar’s trajectory more so than China, Price said, while also calling on the regional ASEAN grouping of countries to maintain precedent of barring junta representatives from regional meetings.
– With SIMON LEWIS, HUMEYRA PAMUK and KANISHKA SINGH
