BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The first EU diplomat said on Sunday that Russia and China were preventing a united international response to the military coup in Myanmar and that the EU could provide more economic incentives if democracy returned to the country.
“It is no surprise that Russia and China are blocking UN Security Council attempts, such as imposing an arms embargo,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a blog post.
“Myanmar’s geopolitical competition will make it very difficult to find a common ground,” said Borrell, speaking on behalf of the 27 EU member states. “But we have a duty to try.”
Security forces have killed more than 700 unarmed protesters, including 46 children, since the army took power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in a February 1 coup, according to a detainee aid activist. Policies (AAPP) group.
Among them were 82 people killed in the town of Bago, near Yangon, on Friday, which AAPP called a “killing camp”.
“People are watching in horror, while the military is using violence against its own people,” Borrell said.
China and Russia have both ties to the armed forces in Myanmar, being the first and second largest arms supplier to the country, respectively.
The UN Security Council last week called for the release of Suu Kyi and others detained by the military, but stopped condemning the coup.
The EU is preparing new sanctions on individuals and companies owned by the Myanmar army. The March bloc agreed on a first set of sanctions for 11 people linked to the coup, including the army’s commander-in-chief.
While the EU’s economic leverage in the country is relatively small, Borrell said the EU could offer increased economic ties with Myanmar if democracy is restored. It could include more trade and investment in sustainable development, he said.
EU foreign direct investment in Myanmar totaled $ 700 million in 2019, compared to $ 19 billion in China.
The army says it staged the coup because the November elections won by Suu Kyi’s party were rigged. The Electoral Commission rejected the statement.
In Myanmar, protest groups are calling for a boycott of the Thingyan water festival this week, one of the most important holidays of the year, due to the murders.
“(With) Thingyan approaching, we mourn the loss of life in Bago and around the country where regime forces used weapons of war against civilians,” the US Embassy in Yangon said on Twitter.
“The regime has the capacity to resolve the crisis and must begin by ending violence and attacks.”
Reporting by Kate Abnett; additional reporting by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Edited by John Chalmers, Barbara Lewis, William Maclean