The Council of the EU adopted on Monday 19 April sanctions against 10 Burmese officials and two conglomerates controlled by the Burmese army, the Myanmar Economic Holdings Public Company Limited (MEHL) and the Myanmar Economic Corporation Limited (MEC).
These conglomerates have subsidiaries and related businesses in various sectors of the economy, including banking, insurance, construction, trade, transport, mining, gem extraction, manufacturing and tourism. They are owned and controlled by the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw), and generate revenue for it.
The Minister of Information, U Chit Naing, is subject to the restrictive measures, as the EU Council considers him “responsible for junta propaganda and spreading disinformation through state media that are not reporting accurately”. Nine members of the State Administrative Council are also sanctioned because decisions of the Council undermine democracy and the Rule of law.
The sanctions include an asset freeze and travel ban in the EU and a ban on EU citizens and companies making funds available to sanctioned individuals and entities.
These measures were taken in response to the military coup of 1 February 2021 and the subsequent military and police crackdown on peaceful protesters.
On 22 March, the EU had already adopted sanctions against 11 Burmese officials for the same reasons (see EUROPE 12683/3).
Thirty-five individuals and two companies are now subject to EU restrictive measures. The EU has also put in place, among other things, an embargo on arms and equipment that could be used for internal repression in Myanmar, withholds financial aid directly to the government, and freezes all aid to government agencies that could be seen as legitimising the junta.
See the decision: https://bit.ly/3xbaBx4 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)