Can Sanctions Work in Myanmar?
Sanctions and mass boycotts have hurt the junta and driven investors away. Could stronger steps actually bring about regime change?
May 21, 2021
Anti-coup protesters flash the three-finger salute during a demonstration in Yangon, Myanmar, Friday, May 14, 2021.
Credit: AP Photo
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More than 100 days after the February coup in Myanmar, and with no sign of action from a divided U.N. Security Council, international sanctions and boycott campaigns have assumed an ever greater importance in denying any legitimacy to the new military junta.
Western governments responding to global outrage at the mounting bloodshed have expanded sanctions to target the vast labyrinth of the Myanmar military’s economic assets, which are based on two conglomerates: Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC).
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By Ellen Lomonico
This interview was conducted on January 18, prior to the military coup d’état in Myanmar on February 1, 2021. Since then, we have been in contact with the three Burmese Prize winners Ka Hsaw Wa (1999), Myint Zaw (2015), and Paul Sein Twa (2020) and are monitoring their safety.
Smiling and exuding boundless energy, Ka Hsaw Wa (Myanmar, 1999) logged on to our video conferencing call. His upbeat personality marked a sharp contrast to the pain and suffering he would share with us later personal experiences on the Thai-Burmese border that would launch his lifelong career as an environmental and human rights advocate.