Western countries step up pressure on Myanmar junta as protests go on

A general strike shut businesses in the Southeast Asian country on Monday as huge crowds gathered peacefully despite a warning from authorities that confrontation could get people killed.

U.N. Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews said millions had marched in a “breathtaking” turnout, despite the junta’s threat.

 “The generals are losing their power to intimidate and with it, their power. It is past time for them to stand down, as the people of Myanmar stand up,” Andrews said on Twitter.

More protests are planned for Tuesday.

Overnight, EU governments showed support for those seeking to reverse the Feb. 1 coup and the release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

 “We are not prepared to stand by and watch,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in Brussels, adding that sanctions could follow if diplomacy failed.

The European Union is considering sanctions that would target businesses owned by the army, but the bloc ruled out any curtailing of its trade preferences to avoid hurting poor workers.

Myanmar’s security forces have shown more restraint since the coup than in earlier confrontations with those pushing for democracy in almost half a century of direct military rule.

Even so, three protesters have been killed - two shot dead in the second city of Mandalay on Saturday, and a woman who died on Friday after being shot more than a week earlier in the capital, Naypyitaw.

The army has said one policeman died of injuries sustained during the protests. It has accused protesters of provoking violence.

Military-run Myawaddy News reported that junta chief General Min Aung Hlaing had said the military was following a democratic path and, referring to rubber bullets, that it wanted to use minimal force.

The army seized power after alleging fraud in Nov. 8 elections in which Suu Kyi’s party trounced a pro-military party, detaining her and much of the party leadership. The electoral commission dismissed the fraud complaints.

U.S. TARGETS TWO GENERALS

In Naypyitaw, where the military is headquartered, police with a water cannon truck and a fleet of other vehicles broke up a procession of chanting protesters on Monday.

Videos showed protesters being chased and manhandled by security forces and a rights group said dozens had reportedly been detained there.

Overall, 684 people had been arrested, charged or sentenced since the coup, the group said.

The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on two members of the junta - Lieutenant General Moe Myint Tun and General Maung Maung Kyaw - and warned it could take more action.

The administration of President Joe Biden has previously imposed sanctions on the acting president of Myanmar and several military officers, as well as three companies in the jade and gems sector.

 “The military must reverse its actions and urgently restore the democratically elected government,” the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said.

Britain, Germany and Japan have also condemned the violence in Myanmar and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the military to stop repression.

Myanmar has denounced interference in its affairs.

END