Myanmar: The US has urged China to pressure Myanmar after the military regime executed four democracy activists. State Department spokesman Ned Price said China could affect Myanmar more than any other country.
“We are calling on countries around the world to do more. We will do even better,” he said.
But the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said that China did not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. Asked about the execution, Zhao Lijian said Myanmar should use its laws and constitution to resolve differences.
Mr Price said there could be “no business as usual” with the junta regime in Myanmar, also known as Burma. He called on all countries to ban the sale of military equipment to the country and “avoid international lending credibility to the regime to any extent”.
Activist Kyaw Min Yu, Ko Jimmy, and former lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw were executed.
The activists were arrested after an army-led coup last year and accused of committing “terror acts”. They have been sentenced to death in a closed-door trial that rights groups criticised as unjust.
Phyo Zeya Thaw and Ko Jimmy lost their appeals against their sentences in June.
Less is known about the two other activists – Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw. They were sentenced to death for killing a woman who was an alleged informer for the junta. Rights group Amnesty has warned that 100 more people in the country have been sentenced to death after being convicted in similar proceedings.
The international community has roundly criticised the executions.
In a joint statement, the EU, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, the UK and the US called them “reprehensible acts of violence that further exemplify the regime’s disregard for human rights and the rule of law”.
They also called for the junta regime to fulfil its obligation to seek peace through dialogue under an agreement negotiated with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
However, former US ambassador to Myanmar Scott Marciel told the BBC that the Asean plan had been “dead on arrival” last year and that countries sympathetic to Myanmar’s democracy should do more.