UK government accused of ‘falling short’ in response to Myanmar military takeover

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab threatens suspension of ‘indirect support’ to south-east Asian state

(REUTERS)

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has been accused of falling short in his response to the coup in Myanmar, after the UK government announced no new sanctions on the country’s military.

Foreign Office minister Nigel Adams told the House of Commons that sanctions were already in place against individuals including the military’s commander-in-chief and his deputy, who he described as “the architects of this current crisis”.

But Labour said that the UK should go further, taking action against the south-east Asian country’s armed forces and their business interests, extending arms embargo and offering formal backing to a case of genocide against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice.

In a statement to the Commons, Mr Adams said that the UK was reviewing all indirect aid support provided to Myanmar via international organisations, with a view to suspending it.

He repeated calls for the military to release Aung San Suu Kyi and restore power to her administration, which was democratically re-elected in November last year, and for the National Assembly to be peacefully reconvened.

The UK is demanding that a scheduled phone call between Mr Raab and Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been in detention since the military takeover in the early hours of Monday, should go ahead as planned this week.


“It’s important that our response holds the military accountable,” said Mr Adams. “We will continue to support the people of Myanmar.”


But shadow foreign affairs spokesman Stephen Kinnock responded: “This statement falls far short of what we need and what we expect.

“Nothing on sanctions. Nothing on the ICJ. The people of Myanmar need a stronger response.”

Mr Kinnock said: “This military coup is a flagrant breach of the constitution of Myanmar and it must be condemned in the strongest terms. The army’s claims of vote fraud are utterly spurious, this is a naked power grab.

“Experts in Myanmar are clear that the tacit support of China, combined with the rest of the world turning a blind eye, has given the military the confidence to enact this coup, based on the assumption that the international backlash will be negligible and lethargic.

“The UK and the wider international community must act swiftly and effectively to prove the military wrong on this. The government must move from warm words of condemnation to tangible action.”