Dear Foreign Minister Simon Coveney,

We write to you today to express the concerns of Irish citizens and Burmese citizens residing in Ireland for the people of Myanmar. Specifically, this correspondence regarding the EU Foreign Affairs Council on the 22nd of March. In short, I am appealing to you to address the military coup not solely by the imposition of sanctions on individual military leaders, but also by the imposition of targeted sanctions on military-owned companies, specifically companies belonging to the two military conglomerates - Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) and Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL). In this letter, I will express what the Global Movement for Myanmar Democracy urges you to advocate for on behalf of the people of Ireland at the meeting on the 22nd of March.

On February 1, 2021, the military junta of Myanmar staged a coup, detaining key leaders of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party. This was immediately followed by the military junta censoring the press, shutting down the Internet, closing banks, cutting off global communication, and announcing a state of emergency. As it stands, the people of Myanmar have been unlawfully thrust under the rule of a dangerous dictatorship that opposes the will of the people. Peaceful protestors in Myanmar have been met with coordinated, violent attacks by the military junta and the junta has shown its willingness to escalate the violence; scores of people have been killed by the military since the coup; thousands of people have been arbitrarily arrested and detained in relation to their participation in protests or engagement in political activity.

Further help from the European Union besides condemning the coup and expressing solidarity with the people of Myanmar in the fight for democracy is needed. Personal sanctions on military leaders cannot suffice, for symbolically important though they are, their impact on the military as a whole is minor. The military, with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing as head, has complete authority over Myanmar’s two military conglomerates - Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) and Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL), as well as various other companies that have allowed for the military to be economically independent, and furthermore to continue its human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law.

This is why I implore you today to advocate:
1. for the implementation of targeted sanctions against all military-affiliated companies.
2. the European Union to launch a diplomatic effort aimed at building a coalition of countries imposing arms embargoes.
3. the European Union to refer the situation in Burma to the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute atrocities committed since the coup on 1 February and those committed against ethnic groups in years prior.