Statement by members of the European Burma Network

Burma Coup – Europe Must Sanction Military Companies

The European Burma Network (EBN) unequivocally condemns the military coup in Burma, and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Aung San Suu Kyi, government ministers, regional chief ministers, pro-democracy activists and all other civilians arrested during the coup.

We urge the Commander-in-Chief and the military to respect the results of the 8 November elections instead of manufacturing a crisis as a pretext for a coup.

We call on the military to reverse the state of emergency and restore the democratically-elected civilian-led government.

We urge the international community to respond to the coup with robust action.

We welcome the statements by the United States Secretary of State, the European Union and the British Prime Minister, among others. However, strong rhetoric is not enough and must be accompanied by meaningful action.

We urge the European Union and others in the international community to make it clear to the Burmese army that unless it reverses the coup and respects the will of the people of Burma expressed in the elections, the first action taken will be robust, targeted sanctions against military enterprises and military assets.

The coup marks the reversal of a decade of political reform in Burma. While many grave human rights concerns continued during the past five years of civilian-led democratically-elected government, these events risk plunging the country back to the era of repressive direct military rule which we hoped was a feature of the past. The international community must not allow this outrage to stand.