Myanmar executions: US urges China to condemn Myanmar
The US has urged China to increase pressure on Myanmar following the military junta’s execution of four democracy activists.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said China could influence Myanmar more than any other country.
“We are calling on countries around the world to do more. We will be doing more as well,” he said.
But a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said China did not interfere in other countries’ internal affairs.
Asked about the executions, Zhao Lijian said Myanmar should use its laws and constitution to resolve differences.
Mr Price said there could be “no business as usual” with the junta regime in Myanmar, also known as Burma, and called on all countries to ban sales of military equipment to the country and “refrain from lending the regime any degree of international credibility”.
He said the US was considering “all options” to cut off the regime’s revenue.
Activist Kyaw Min Yu, better known as Ko Jimmy, and former lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw were among those executed.
The activists were arrested after an army-led coup last year and accused of committing “terror acts”. They were sentenced to death in a closed-door trial that rights groups criticised as being unjust.
Both Phyo Zeya Thaw and Ko Jimmy lost their appeals against their sentences in June.
Agencies