Media Release from Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
 For immediate release: 17th March 2021
 
Death Toll Rises as the International Community Fails to Act in Myanmar
 
Since the military coup at the beginning of February 2021, at least 193 peaceful protesters were murdered as part of a terror campaign by the military to force the people of Myanmar to accept military rule. “With violence escalating against the people of Myanmar our question is, how many more dead bodies will there be on the streets of Myanmar before we see a strong response from the international community?” said Tun Khin, President of BROUK. The international community must urgently and jointly act to stop the Myanmar military from brutally killing more people in Myanmar.
 
Some countries have taken nominal action against the Myanmar military. The USA has done more than any other country, but they have stopped short of sanctioning military-linked companies, including the main military conglomerates Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited and Myanmar Economic Corporation. The UK has imposed visa bans on a handful of military leaders, but have not sanctioned any military companies. The EU and Korea have imposed arms embargos, and the EU is set to expand sanctions soon. However, overall, this international response to the military violence has been weak.
 
The international community has so far failed to utilize the many avenues available to weaken the military and protect Myanmar people. “It is a betrayal by the international community to allow the military to continue killing civilians day after day,” said Tun Khin.
 
Failure to address genocide and crimes against humanity against Rohingya by the military has contributed to an increasing sense of impunity for the generals in Myanmar, who have been emboldened to seize power from the elected government. Inaction now by the international community will contribute to growing impunity and will enable the military to continue human rights abuses against the people of Myanmar. This impunity has and will continue to endanger regional stability as periodic violence will continue to rock Myanmar. To secure a stable future for the Southeast Asia region it is in the interest of the international community, particularly ASEAN, to ensure that this environment of impunity and military rule ends now. “We Rohingya have faced mass killings in 2017, and the international community failed to respond. We are seeing that same failure now in response to the massacre of Burmese protesters, said Tun Khin.”
 
BROUK is calling on the international community to act. There is a need for targeted economic sanctions, global travel bans, and asset freezes on 1) the leadership of the Myanmar military; 2) all members of the cabinet and State Administrative Council who are current or former officers in the military; 3) the military business conglomerates Myanmar Economic Holding Limited (MEHL), Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), and these entities’ subsidiaries; and 4) all directors and officers of these conglomerates and these entities’ subsidiaries who are former or current military officers. Additionally, we are calling for 5) Sanctions on the timber and gems industries; 6) oil and gas revenue payments, and 7) we call for a global arms embargo on Myanmar.
 
We stand with the people of Myanmar who bravely continue to resist in the face of death, imprisonment, and torture.
 
For more information, please contact Tun Khin +44 (0)7888714866.