UK, Canada sanction Myanmar’s generals
The UK and Canada slapped sanctions on Myanmar generals on Thursday, as railway workers continued to strike despite a police rampage the previous night and anti-coup protests spread across the country.
Canada imposed sanctions on nine military officials while Britain targeted three.
“We, alongside our international allies will hold the Myanmar military to account for their violations of human rights and pursue justice for the Myanmar people,” British foreign minister Dominic Raab said.
“We work alongside our international partners who call for the restoration of the democratically-elected government,” Canadian foreign minister Marc Garneau said, calling for release of detainees.
The US had imposed new sanctions on the Myanmar military last week and urged other UN members to follow suit.
After a meeting of the so-called Quad on Thursday, Japanese foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi said he had agreed with his US, Indian and Australian counterparts that democracy must be restored quickly in Myanmar.
Three-quarters of the country’s civil servants are on strike, all private banks are closed and the protests have weakened the economy significantly, said Tom Andrews, the independent UN rights expert on Myanmar.
On Thursday, a group called Myanmar Hackers disrupted government websites including the Central Bank, the Myanmar military’s propaganda page, state-run broadcaster MRTV, the Port Authority, and the Food and Drug Administration to protest the toppling of Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government.
The military junta has issued arrest warrants against six celebrities for encouraging strikes that have paralysed many government offices in protests against this month’s coup, with total arrests since then now nearing 500.