EU Extends Myanmar Sanctions by Another Year Over Rights Violations

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Council of the European Union extended its sanctions against Myanmar on Monday for another year over continued rights violations in the country and repression against the Muslim Rohingya minority, according to an official statement published on the EU website.

"On 29 April, the Council prolonged the restrictive measures in place on Myanmar/Burma for one year, until 30 April 2020 … The legal acts were adopted by the Council by written procedure," the statement said.

According to the statement, the sanctions included an embargo on arms that "can be used for internal repression" and dual-use goods, as well as ban on military training and military cooperation with the Myanmar Armed Forces.

Among the restrictions are also personal sanctions against 14 individuals, including senior officials, for serious human rights violations against the Rohingya people.

The European Union first introduced arms embargo against Myanmar back in 1990. Later, it suspended any defense cooperation with the country, halted any aid other than strictly humanitarian assistance and adopted visa bans on members of the military ruling the country.

READ MORE: Time Not Ripe for Rohingyas to Return to Myanmar — Angelina Jolie

After clashes broke out between government forces and the Rohingya in the state of Rakhine back in 2016, Myanmar's military has been also accused of committing atrocities against this Muslim minority. The government deployed police and military units to the region, accusing the insurgents of attacking security posts in Rakhine in 2017. The Rohingyas have been forced to flee their homes for fear of persecution. Over 700,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh since August 2017.