G7 Condemnations, Sanctions: Myanmar junta under renewed pressure

Myanmar's military leaders came under renewed pressure yesterday as the world's wealthiest nations condemned the junta for responding to anti-coup demonstrators "with violence", a rebuke coming on the heels of tightened sanctions from Washington and Brussels.

Authorities have gradually ratcheted up their use of force against a massive and largely peaceful civil disobedience campaign demanding the return of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Three anti-coup protesters have been killed in demonstrations so far, while a man patrolling his Yangon neighbourhood against night arrests was also shot dead on the weekend.

"Use of live ammunition against unarmed people is unacceptable," the foreign ministers of the G7 group of rich democracies -- comprising Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, the United States together with the EU -- said in a statement yesterday. 

"Anyone responding to peaceful protests with violence must be held to account," they said, calling for Myanmar security forces to "exercise utmost restraint and respect human rights and international law".

The sharp condemnation comes after the overnight blacklisting of another two members of the regime by the United States -- air force chief Maung Maung Kyaw and fellow junta member Moe Myint Tun -- after Washington announced targeted sanctions against other top generals earlier this month.

"We will not hesitate to take further action against those who perpetrate violence and suppress the will of the people," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

Hours earlier, the European Union also approved sanctions targeting Myanmar's military and their economic interests, with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell saying financial support to government reform programmes was being "withheld".

Protesters continued staging rallies across Myanmar, though commercial hub Yangon saw much smaller numbers massing at key junctions yesterday, holding impromptu concerts.

"The military has always won using weapons and I don't like that at all," said protester Chan Mya. "We hate that and we'll keep protesting and expressing what we feel in peaceful ways."

In the northern Kachin city of Myitkyina -- which has seen bursts of violence from authorities -- protesters rode their motorbikes across town waving the Myanmar flag and flashing a three-finger salute, a symbol of resistance.

Mandalay saw a more sombre crowd at the funeral of Thet Naing Win, a 37-year-old man shot and killed Saturday when security forces opened fire into a crowd of anti-coup protesters.

"I beg for all to help see that my husband's case is ruled with justice," said his widow Thidar Hnin, adding that she wants to see "the dictator dethroned".

HUNDREDS ARRESTED

More than 680 people have been arrested since the February 1 coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group, with nearly all still behind bars.

Overnight internet shutdowns have also become routine, fanning fears of anti-coup protester arrests during the blackouts.

In recent weeks, the Myanmar military has deployed tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets against protesters, with isolated incidents of the use of live rounds.

They have also stepped up the presence of security forces in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city.

The crackdown has failed to quell weeks of massive street demonstrations, joined by large numbers of striking civil servants, bank staff and healthcare workers.

Meanwhile, Malaysia yesterday deported more than 1,000 Myanmar detainees back to their strife-torn homeland just weeks after a coup, despite a court order halting the repatriation and a storm of criticism, reports AFP.

The migrants, whom activists say include vulnerable asylum seekers, departed on three Myanmar navy ships from a Malaysian military base after arriving on packed trucks and buses under police escort.

The United States, the United Nations and rights groups had criticised the plan, while hours before the deportation a Kuala Lumpur court ordered it be temporarily halted to allow a legal challenge.

Activists were set to argue it should not go ahead as Malaysia would breach its international duties by deporting vulnerable people, and the Myanmar military's seizure of power put them at even greater risk.

But the vessels later set sail carrying 1,086 detainees, with authorities giving no explanation as to why the court order had been ignored.

Amnesty International, one of the groups that had brought the legal challenge, said pushing ahead with the repatriation in defiance of the ruling was "inhumane and devastating".