After the military coup in Myanmar of 1 February 2021, “thousand of refugees fled the country to Thailand” or India, fleeing the new military junta’s repression. On top of that, more than one million Rohingya are still living in refugee camps in Bangladesh, whose government has announced plans to forcibly reallocate 100.000 Rohingya refugees to the remote island of Bhashan Char, where independent human rights monitoring could be difficult.
Point 16 of the European Parliament’s motion on Myanmar of 11 February 2021 “recalls that Myanmar must fulfil its obligations and commitments in relation to democratic principles and human rights, which are an essential component of the EBA scheme”.
This new human rights crisis is exacerbated with the current COVID-19 global pandemic, with over 142 thousand cases and more than 3200 deaths.
1) Has the Commission considered to aid Myanmar’s neighbouring countries that welcome Burmese refugees?
2) Has the Commission demanded the Bangladeshi government not to forcibly reallocate Rohingya refugees?
3) Has the Commission considered temporarily lifting or halting the EBA scheme with Myanmar?
4) Besides sanctioning 11 junta members and halting all EU development funding to Myanmar, what other measures is the Commission considering in order to stop the current repression and hold its authors accountable in Myanmar?
