TE24 International Desk:
A senior US official called on China to do more to rein in Myanmar’s military, saying “it cannot be business as usual with the junta”, as the killings drew widespread international condemnation.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a briefing: “Arguably, no country is more likely to influence the course of Burma’s next move than the PRC [People’s Republic of China]”, noting that the junta “has not faced the level of economic and in some cases diplomatic pressure that we Want to see”, reports The Guardian. Price noted that there are already deep discussions with China and India on how to bring Myanmar back on the road to democracy.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who met with Myanmar activists in Bangkok this month, expressed confidence that the killings would not derail the country’s democracy movement. Blinken, using Myanmar’s former name, said in a statement, “The regime’s sham trials and these executions are a ruthless attempt to extinguish democracy; these actions will never dampen the spirit of the brave people of Burma.
Myanmar’s military declined to comment on the executions. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Beijing “always upholds the policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries”. The executions of four prisoners, including former Aung San Suu Kyi party members and prominent democracy activists, could increase the death toll as Myanmar carries out executions for the first time in decades. Anxiety is growing. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners of Burma (AAPP), 76 prisoners, including two children, have been executed since the coup last February. Another 41 were executed in absentia.
Global criticism continued to focus on what could have been done to prevent further atrocities. A joint statement by the European Union, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States called the killing a “condemnation of violence” that also indicated the administration’s disregard for human rights and norms. of the law.” is ..
UN Special Rapporteur Thomas Andrews called for a strong international response, saying he was “outraged and devastated” by the executions. “Widespread systematic killings of protesters, indiscriminate attacks on entire villages, and executions of opposition leaders now require a swift and decisive response by UN member states,” he said. Myanmar’s junta on Tuesday condemned the execution of four prisoners by international prosecutors, saying they “deserved many executions.”
