Few calls for sanctions on Burma
Despite international outrage over Rohingya crisis, analysts say it’s unlikely UN will act
HONG KONG— Despite international condemnation of Burma’s campaign of violence against the Rohingya people, there have been few calls for a return to the sort of sanctions that were long a feature of the country’s relationship with the West.
After a Rohingya militant group attacked police outposts last month, Burma’s military, along with vigilante groups, launched a crackdown in the western state of Rakhine, triggering a refugee crisis that has sent more than 400,000 Rohingya fleeing to neighbouring Bangladesh.
On Monday, Boris Johnson, Britain’s foreign secretary, led a discussion of the Rohingya crisis among foreign ministers attending the UN General Assembly. Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto head of Burma’s government, last week decided not to attend the General Assembly.
Johnson called the violence a “stain” on Burma’s reputation and urged action from Suu Kyi.
“It is vital that Aung San Suu Kyi and the civilian government make clear these abuses must stop,” Johnson said in a statement.
The British statement said the meeting urged Burma to implement recommendations of a commission led by former UN chief Kofi Annan calling for economic development and social justice to counter deadly violence between Buddhists and the Rohingya.
But despite the criticism, analysts say the United Nations is unlikely to act against Burma. Burma’s government has said it was working with Russia and China to block any efforts to punish it over the crackdown in Rakhine state.
The Security Council did condemn the violence last week, its first such unified statement on Burma in nine years. But China blocked an effort by Egypt to add language calling for Rohingya refugees to be guaranteed the right to return to Burma from Bangladesh, Agence France-Presse reported. The government of Burma, a majority-Buddhist country, does not recognize the Rohingya, most of whom are Muslim, as citizens.
With regional powers vying to gain influence in Burma, China’s government sees potential benefit in backing Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy, while she faces international criticism, said Yun Sun, a scholar at the Stimson Center in Washington.
“This is basically an opportunity for China and a vulnerability of Aung San Suu Kyi,” she said. “The Chinese government says the Rohingya issue doesn’t affect us and by supporting Aung San Suu Kyi we don’t lose anything.”
China, like Russia, holds veto power in the UN Security Council as a permanent member, meaning it can block any efforts to sanction Burma. On Monday, Human Rights Watch called for targeted sanctions against Burma’s military. It also called for new restrictions on the sale of arms to the country.
For decades, Burma was one of the world’s most isolated countries, with the U.S. and other Western countries enforcing sanctions against its military-led government. But as the military has gradually released some of its political control, the country’s interaction with the rest of the world has grown dramatically.