Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Condemning the coup in Myanmar: G7 Foreign Ministers' statement

The G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, are united in condemning the coup in Myanmar.

“We are deeply concerned by the detention of political leaders and civil society activists, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, and targeting of the media. We call upon the military to immediately end the state of emergency, restore power to the democratically-elected government, to release all those unjustly detained and to respect human rights and the rule of law. The November election results must be respected and Parliament should be convened at the earliest opportunity.

“The military’s restrictions on information flows are deeply concerning. Civilians, including civil society and the media, must not be subject to reprisals in any form. We also call for unrestricted humanitarian access to support the most vulnerable.

“G7 Foreign Ministers recall their 2019 communique in which we restated our commitment to Myanmar’s democratic transition, peace and accountability for human rights violations and abuses.

“We stand with the people of Myanmar who want to see a democratic future.”

Agathon Associates has followed developments in U.S. trade with Myanmar, also called Burma, for many years.

In 2013 the U.S. lifted the ban on imports from Burma, and in 2016 extended GSP benefits to Burma (GSP, or Generalized System of Preferences, is a program that provides for duty-free entry for certain articles from developing nations.

More information about Burma is available at this Congression Research Service report.

No comments:

Post a Comment