U.S. CALLS UPON OTHERS TO SLAP SANCTIONS ON MYANMAR’S COUP LEADERS

GENEVA/YANGON: The United States on Friday called for other UN member states to join it in holding Myanmar coup leaders to account, including through targeted sanctions such as those it imposed on Thursday.

“We ask all Council members to join the United States and others to... join us in promoting accountability for those responsible for the coup, including through targeted sanctions,” Mark Cassayre, US chargé d’affaires at the US mission to the UN in Geneva, said.

The statement is Washington’s first address on a human rights issue at a formal session of the body since the Trump administration quit it in June 2018.

On the ground, supporters of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi clashed with police on Friday as hundreds of thousands joined nationwide pro-democracy demonstrations in defiance of the junta’s call to halt mass gatherings. Mostly peaceful protests erupted around the southeast Asian country in the biggest mass demonstrations so far against last week’s military coup, a day after Washington slapped sanctions on the generals who led the takeover.

Facebook, meanwhile, said it will significantly reduce the distribution of content from profiles and pages run by the Myanmar military, treating it as a source of misinformation in the wake of the February 1 coup that deposed the elected government.

While US social networks have been reluctant to pick sides in political disputes, Facebook is taking direct steps to stop distribution of the military’s narrative. The company is curbing the reach of its information team and spokesperson Zaw Min Tun.