Australia and New Zealand on Tuesday condemned the execution of four prisoners in Myanmar (formerly Burma), including pro-democracy activists.
“Australia is clear and consistent in support for human rights around the world. We are actively considering sanctions against members of the military regime in Myanmar,” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement.
New Zealand counterpart Nanaia Mahuta also condemned the executions of Burmese and reiterated her opposition to the February 2021 military coup, calling on the military junta to end “the ongoing violence against civilians.”
Myanmar carries out first executions in over 30 years
The initiative was condemned by several countriesincluding France, the United States, and Canada, as well as the United Nations and hundreds of local and international non-governmental organizations.
THE the last execution in Burma took place in 1988under the former military junta that ruled the country from 1962 to 2011, according to Amnesty International.
Since the military uprising, 113 people have been sentenced to death in a country that had not repealed the sentence, but where those convicted saw their sentences changed to prison sentences, following the traditional pardons granted by the authorities on special dates.
The coup plunged the country into a deep political, social and economic crisis, and unleashed a spiral of violence with new civilian militias.
More than 2,000 civilians died as a result of a brutal repression by the police and military, who fired on peaceful and unarmed demonstrators, according to data compiled by the Association for Aid to Political Prisoners, which does not count deaths during clashes between the armed forces or deaths linked to the military regime.
Source: Observadora
