WASHINGTON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – After the execution of four pro-democracy activists by the military junta, the US has pushed China to exert further pressure on Myanmar.
Ned Price, a spokesman for the State Department, asserted that China had the most potential to influence Myanmar.
“We are calling on countries around the world to do more. We will be doing more as well,” he said.
However, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry claimed that China did not meddle in the internal affairs of other nations.
Zhao Lijian responded that Myanmar should use its laws and constitution to settle disputes when questioned about the executions.
Price urged all nations to forbid the sale of military equipment to Myanmar, also known as Burma, and to “refrain from lending the regime any degree of international credibility.” He claimed that there could be “no business as usual” with the junta administration there.
He claimed that the US was looking at “all options” to stop the regime from receiving revenue.
Among those put to death were activist Kyaw Min Yu, often known as Ko Jimmy, and former lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw.
Following an army-led coup last year, the activists were detained and charged with “terror acts.” In an unfair trial conducted behind closed doors, they were given the death penalty.
In June, Phyo Zeya Thaw and Ko Jimmy were both unsuccessful in their appeals against their sentences.
Very little is known about the two other activists, Aung Thura Zaw and Hla Myo Aung. For the murder of a woman who was allegedly an informer for the junta, they received a death sentence.
Rights group Amnesty, has issued a warning that 100 more people in the nation have received death sentences after being found guilty in similar trials.
The world community has harshly condemned the executions.
They were described as reprehensible acts of violence that further highlight the regime’s disdain for human rights and the rule of law in a joint statement by the EU, the US, the UK, South Korea, Norway, Japan, New Zealand, Canada and Australia.Â
Additionally, they demanded that the junta administration adhere to an agreement reached with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)Â that required it to seek peace through discussion.
Scott Marciel, a former US ambassador to Myanmar, told the BBC that the Asean plan had been “dead on arrival” the previous year and that nations that support Myanmar’s democracy movement should take further action.
It continues coming up and being emphasised as a solution, but it isn’t, he claimed.
The executions have been denounced by Asean itself, UN human rights director Michelle Bachelet, and rights organisations.
According to Ms. Bachelet, this terrible and regressive action was a continuation of the military’s continuous oppressive campaign against its own people.
