After Washington, the EU on Thursday announced its support for the imposition of an international arms embargo on Burma and declared itself ready to toughen its sanctions, following a massacre blamed on the military in in which two members of the NGO Save the Children were killed. “Faced with escalating violence, additional preventive actions are needed at the international level, including an arms embargo», Indicated the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell. Brussels is already blocking sales of arms and equipment that could be used for internal repression.
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The NGO Save the Children said earlier this week that two of its employees were killed on December 24 in an attack “committed by the Burmese military in Kayah stateIn eastern Burma, which has killed at least 35, including women and children. In the aftermath of the massacre, the United States, which has long restricted arms sales to the Burmese military regime, on Tuesday renewed its call for an international arms embargo on Burma. “Targeting civilians and humanitarian professionals is unacceptable, it is a flagrant violation of human rights and international law (…) The EU stands ready to impose additional sanctions against the military regime“, Also indicated Josep Borrell.
Since the February 1 coup and the repression that followed, which plunged the country into chaos, Brussels has blacklisted nearly 30 people and six entities, sanctioning them with a ban on entry into the country. ‘EU and an asset freeze. Brussels also decided to continue blocking financial aid going directly to the government and to freeze any EU aid that could be seen as legitimizing the junta, providing only strictly humanitarian aid to Burma.