On Wednesday 3 February, the G7 foreign ministers (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America) and Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, condemned the coup d'état in Myanmar.
In a joint statement, they said they were “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. They are also concerned about the military’s restrictions on information flows.
“Civilians, including civil society and the media, must not be subjected to reprisals in any form”, said the G7. They also called for unrestricted humanitarian access.
They also stated: “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”. They added that the results of the November elections must be respected and Parliament convened “at the earliest opportunity”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)