By DPA
Bangkok : Amnesty International called Monday on the United Nations Security Council to impose a comprehensive and mandatory arms embargo on Myanmar in the aftermath of a brutal crackdown on peaceful protests in the country.
“An unambiguous message must be sent urgently to Myanmar military leaders that their brutal crackdown on peaceful protestors and escalating deployment of excessive force will not be tolerated or fuelled by any member of the international community,” said Irene Khan, secretary general of Amnesty International.
Amnesty also called on China, India, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine and all South-East Asian nations to prohibit involvement of their agencies, companies and nationals in the direct and indirect supply of military and security equipment, munitions and expertise, including transfers claimed to be “non-lethal”, to Myanmar.
“It is unacceptable for states to continue to supply arms to a government that is already responsible for persistent serious violations of human rights and which now resorts to violence against peaceful demonstrators,” Khan said in a statement made available in Bangkok.
The European Union and the US imposed embargoes on the direct and indirect supply of military items to Myanmar in 1988 and 1993, but many countries continue to supply the ruling junta with arms and military equipment despite its well-earned reputation for using guns against its own people.
Since 1988, China has supplied Myanmar’s army with a wide range of military equipment, including tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery pieces such as howitzers, anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft guns and jet aircraft, Amnesty said.
In January, India promised to give a “favorable response” to Myanmar’s request for military equipment, and in April, military forces from India and Myanmar conducted joint military exercises.
The Russian Federation has reported to the United Nations that it exported 100 large calibre artillery systems to Myanmar during 2006. Russia also exported 10 combat aircraft in 2002 and four combat aircraft in 2001, and the Russian MiG military aircraft company had a representative office in Myanmar in October 2006, Amnesty said, citing published sources.
Between 2004 and 2006, Serbia supplied Myanmar with weapons and munitions, and in April 2004, the Ukrainian state-owned arms company, UkrpetsExport, agreed to a 10-year contract to supply 1,000 armoured personnel carriers to be assembled in Myanmar as part of a deal worth reportedly in excess of 500 million dollars.