Junta in Burma | Hit where it hurts

The sanctions against the junta which took power a year ago in Burma are largely insufficient. But things are starting to change. Too quietly, in the eyes of the defenders of Burmese democracy. What can the international community do to put more pressure on the junta?

Agnes Gruda
The Press

Punishments

The Burmese army derives around $1 billion in annual revenue from the exploitation of the country’s gas resources, Human Rights Watch said in an appeal published on January 25.

However, two companies, TotalEnergies and Chevron, have just announced their withdrawal from Burma, as a protest against the brutality of the military regime in power.

This gesture should be followed by a common international action striking the Burmese energy sector, pleads Human Rights Watch.

It should be noted that gas revenues from taxes and other fees paid by the private sector are collected in dollars by banks controlled by the army or the “Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise”, or MOGO, which comes under the army too.

“The United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Japan and other concerned governments should take a common position to impose sanctions on all natural gas revenues,” HRW wrote.

So far, the UN Security Council has been “hopelessly divided on the issue of sanctions”, says Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch.

“The Russians and the Chinese do not even agree to impose an embargo on the sale of arms to Burma,” he laments.

By going through direct sanctions on the gas sector, we would affect a sensitive sector and we would deprive the junta of a large part of its income.

The diplomatic slap

At the end of October, the countries of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, held a meeting… without inviting the Burmese generals. The military regime got the message and quickly set about releasing political prisoners.

This amnesty was short-lived, according to HRW. But it exposes one of the junta’s weak points: its thirst for international recognition.

Calvin, a Burmese student living in Vancouver close to the civil disobedience movement in Burma, goes further. “If you really want to hurt the junta, you have to ignore it, not recognize its legitimacy and collaborate directly with the government of national unity” – the entity that works in the shadows, in parallel with the current state institutions . This is what a large part of the Burmese population already does…

Humanitarian aid

To help the Burmese, we must also act on the humanitarian front. Burma is sinking into an increasingly acute crisis. The Burmese have difficulty accessing their cash, due to the closure of banks. Inflation is galloping. And the growing violence, including in some ethnic states, such as Kayah and Sagaing, is pushing people to flee towns and villages in these areas.

Already, more than 400,000 Burmese have had to leave their homes, and this number has jumped by 27% in the month of December alone, Save the Children is alarmed.

Three million Burmese need humanitarian aid, the UN said in November.

“People are desperate, they need help, we must give humanitarian assistance to Burma,” pleads Mimi, 25, a Burmese living in Canada who is worried about her many uncles, aunts and cousins ​​left behind.