Global Courant 2023-04-28 15:03:47
TOKYO — Japan should impose sanctions on Myanmar, just as it has on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, a United Nations expert said Thursday.
Mr Thomas Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, also urged Japan to immediately end a training program for Myanmar troops, warning it would tarnish the image of the country’s military.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military overthrew the government of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, sparking fighting in parts of the country and bringing the economy to a standstill.
At least 170 people were killed in an air raid on a village in a resistance zone in April, according to the media and locals.
“The human rights situation in Myanmar is appalling and getting worse,” Andrews told reporters in Tokyo at the end of a visit to Japanese officials and businesses.
“I urge Japan to consider joining all other G-7 (Group of Seven) countries in imposing targeted economic sanctions on the Myanmar military and its main sources of revenue, just as it is doing if response to the crisis in Ukraine,” he said. .
Sanctions against the junta “would weaken its ability to attack its people,” he added, accusing the military of “barbarism and oppression.”
Japan halted new aid projects after the coup, although existing programs were not affected.
The defense ministry said in September it would not allow new recruits into a program that trains Myanmar military personnel.
But Mr Andrews criticized the decision to allow soldiers already in the program to complete their training.
“They will receive combat training and learn how to be effective soldiers and commanders” and will return “to an army responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes,” he said.
“As long as the Defense Ministry continues to train Myanmar soldiers, Japan’s self-defense forces will be linked to a ruthless military regime.”
