Myanmar: The European Union has imposed asset freezes and travel bans on 16 individuals and entities in Myanmar, including the energy minister, businessmen, and high-ranking officers, over “grave” violations of human rights inside the country.

The sanctions list also includes Yangon politicians and administrators accused of being involved in the executions of four pro-democracy activists in July 2022, as well as oversaw massacres, air raids, and the use of civilians as human shields during military operations in Myanmar’s northern Kachin state.

“Those responsible for the coup, as well as the perpetrators of violence and gross human rights violations, should be held accountable,” the EU remarked in the statement.

Furthermore, the EU condemned rights violations, including sexual violence and the persecution of civil society workers, human rights activists, journalists, and civilians, including air raids on schools and hospitals, carried out by the country since the military seized power on February 1, 2021.

Myanmar’s Energy Minister, Mr. Myo Myint Oo, armed forces chief-of-staff General Maung Maung Aye, navy chief Admiral Mr. Moe Aung, and the heads of three firms that provide weapons to the military were all sanctioned on the list.

Major General Ko Ko Maung, the regional military commander in Kachin state, was also named by the EU as responsible for serious rights violations for overseeing “air strikes, massacres, raids, arson, and the use of human shields committed by the military in Kachin.”

“During his tenure as Military Judge, numerous members of the opposition were sentenced to death and prison terms. He is therefore responsible for serious human rights violations since the 2021 coup,” the EU statement observed.

“The EU reiterates its call for increased international preventive action, including an arms embargo in order to cease the sale and transfer of arms and equipment, as they facilitate the military’s atrocities,” the statement further added.

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