LONDON — Dominic Raab, UK Foreign Secretary, on Sept. 2, announced new Myanmar sanctions, saying these sanctions target a key business associate of the military junta for providing financial support and arms to the military.
“Raab announced new sanctions against Myanmar businessman U. Tay Za and his business empire Htoo Group,” the UK government said in a statement.
Htoo Group of Companies, of which U. Tay Za is the founder and chairman, is an extensive business network operating across the region, contributing funds to the 2017 Rohingya clearance operations in Rakhine.
U. Tay Za is associated with the military through his extensive links with the former and current junta regimes and has provided support for serious human rights violations in assisting the military in procuring arms.
“These sanctions make clear that the UK will take concrete measures to limit the junta’s access to finance and economic resources, including by targeting business networks associated with the military regime,” said the UK government.
“The military junta has shown no signs of halting its brutal attack on the people of Myanmar,” Raab said.
On Feb. 1, the Myanmar military overthrew the civilian government in Myanmar. It declared a year-long state of emergency, which was later extended until August 2023.
Along with our partners, the UK will continue to restrict the junta’s access to finance and the supply of arms used to kill innocents, including children, and target those who support the junta’s actions, the statement said.
Enforced with immediate effect, sanctions will freeze all UK assets held by Htoo Group and U. Tay Za and ban the business tycoon from entering the UK. Sanctions will also block others from providing funds or economic resources to both those designated.
“These sanctions follow recent efforts to ensure that the supply of arms to Myanmar is halted and follow on from the Communiqué the UK secured at the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers’ Meeting, that committed members to prevent the supply of arms and technical assistance to the military. In addition, on Jun 18, the UK worked with partners to deliver a UN General Assembly Resolution which urged member states to prevent the flow of arms to Myanmar,” said the UK government in the statement.
The UK had hosted the first in-person meeting of G7 foreign and development ministers over two years at Covid-19-secure talks in central London from May 3-5.
Under the UK’s presidency, the G7 calls for a return to democracy, an end to the violence, and the immediate adoption of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ 5-point consensus, including the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.
(With inputs from ANI)
Edited by Saptak Datta and Ritaban Misra
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