Toughly worded European Parliament resolution on Myanmar names Serbia, Russia and China as co-responsible for crimes that took place in that country after the military junta seized power.

Serbia, Russia, China, Condemned for Selling Arms to Myanmar Junta

A plane that delivered Serbian rockets to Myanmar, with images of the cargo being unloaded in Yangon. Photo: Facebook.com

The European Parliament on Thursday adopted a resolution condemned China, Russia and Serbia for selling arms to the military junta in Myanmar – a subject investigated in depth in February by BIRN and its partners.

The shipments went ahead despite a requirement that the government not sell arms if there is a clear risk they may be used to violate human rights.

The resolution calls the three countries “directly responsible for the atrocities committed with those arms”.

The resolution clearly names the offending countries, stating: “Whereas the military junta is receiving fighter jets and armoured vehicles from China and Russia; whereas these have been used against the civilian population since the coup last year; whereas Serbia has authorised rockets and artillery for export to the Myanmar military …”

BIRN, in collaboration with Myanmar Witness, the Center for Investigative Journalism in Serbia, CINS and Lighthouse Reports, on the basis of open source images, videos and documents, recently published an investigation proving that Serbia exported millions of euros worth of rockets to Myanmar in 2021, days after a military coup over threw the elected government, while giving four more arms export licences in next few months.

According to documents of the Serbian trade ministry, Serbia exported 2,524 80 mm unguided rockets to Myanmar in two shipments, in January 2021 and in February.

The entire order was worth 4.75 million euros and was exported by Belgrade-based Jugoimport SDPR, a state-owned intermediary in the import and export of defence-related equipment.

The first shipment of 880 rockets was executed on January 23, a week before the Myanmar military seized control following a general election won in a landslide by the NLD party of Aung San Suu Kyi. The second shipment, of 1,644 rockets, came with Myanmar in the grip of a coup and fast descending into violence.

Ignoring widespread reports of violence, killings, and human rights abuses, Serbia allowed the arms shipments to go ahead, despite a requirement that the government revoke any arms export permit should conditions in the destination country change and there be a risk that the arms might be used to violate human rights.

BIRN, Myanmar Witness, Lighthouse Report and CINS were unable to verify whether Serbian arms have been used in the fighting that followed the military coup.

However, unguided rockets of the same type were used in air strikes on civilian areas of the town of Loikaw, capital of the eastern Kayah state, in January this year.

In March 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution expressing deep concern at the threat to human rights in Myanmar from unregulated or illicit arms transfers.

In June 2021, with the military in Myanmar seeking to crush mass protests, the United Nations General Assembly called on all member states “to prevent the flow of arms into Myanmar”.

Serbia was among 119 of 193 member states to vote in favour of the non-binding resolution, though it had already issued at least four more arms export licences for Myanmar, two in March, one in April and one in June. It is unclear whether the shipments went ahead.

UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Tom Andrews in February this year also noted China, Russia and Serbia as the main countries sending arms to the junta.

Source link: balkaninsight.com