Artikels/Articles Myanmar: Financial sanctions must be imposed on junta proxies
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The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and UNI Global Union, which represents working people in the finance sector, have released the names of 23 people with close connections to the Myanmar military junta who should be subject to financial sanctions to avoid coup leaders, already subject to financial sanctions, using them as proxies.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and UNI Global Union, which represents working people in the finance sector, have released the names of 23 people with close connections to the Myanmar military junta who should be subject to financial sanctions to avoid coup leaders, already subject to financial sanctions, using them as proxies.
Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary, said: “These people are being used by the generals to evade financial sanctions placed on them by the US and other countries. They too should be subjected to watertight sanctions to plug the leaks. Governments have a responsibility to act, and banks and other financial groups, including credit card companies, should close off credit and access to money for the murderous thugs that control the junta.
“We are also calling on payment clearance services such as SWIFT to block payments to and from the coup leaders and their associates. Corporate complicity in the murder of innocent people and the pillaging of a nation by the military is unacceptable.”
Responsibility to act
The world union bodies are also calling on banks to sever ties with banks controlled or part-controlled by the junta, including Myawaddy Bank, Innwa Bank, Myanmar Citizens Bank, and Construction, Infrastructure and Housing Development (CHID) Bank.
Christy Hoffman, UNI Global Union General Secretary, said: “As the number of young and peaceful protestors killed by Myanmar’s military junta grows, it becomes even more imperative that all companies with ties to Myanmar — including banks — accept their responsibility to help bring this unacceptable violence to an end.
“Financial sanctions imposed against the military’s top generals are one important step, but not enough. We must choke off the access to money and credit for those in their inner circle, the leaders of the coup and those who stand to benefit from its violence.”
