London | The G7 foreign ministers and the head of European diplomacy “strongly” condemned on Tuesday the violence committed by the Burmese security forces against the demonstrators opposed to the military coup, calling on them to “the greatest restraint”.
“We, the Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the High Representative of the European Union, condemn firmly committed by the Burmese security forces against peaceful demonstrations, ”they said in a statement.
“The use of live ammunition against unarmed people is unacceptable”, they added, calling on the army and the police to “the greatest restraint” and to “respect human rights”.
Since the military coup on February 1, the Burmese authorities have continued to intensify the use of force to weaken the pro-democracy mobilization, resorting to rubber bullets, tear gas, guns and guns. water and even sometimes with live ammunition against demonstrators.
The measures taken by the junta, which is targeted by international sanctions, did not deter protesters from taking to the streets, and hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated on Monday to again denounce the military coup.
Nightly internet cuts, ordered by the junta, raise fears that the authorities will take advantage of them to carry out mass arrests.
So far, three protesters have been killed, as a man who was patrolling to avoid arrests in his neighborhood in the economic capital Yangon was shot dead.
“We condemn the intimidation and the oppression of those who oppose the coup,” stressed the G7 ministers, also saying they were “concerned” by “the repression of freedom of expression”, in particular the internet cuts.
They once again condemned the coup and called for the “unconditional” release of those “arbitrarily” detained, including the de facto head of the Burmese government, Aung San Suu Kyi.