French energy giant Total will not halt gas production in coup-hit Myanmar, its chief said Sunday, despite growing calls for foreign companies to sever ties with the junta as it escalates a brutal crackdown on dissent.
Chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said Total had a duty to stay the course because gas it produces supplies electricity to millions in Yangon as well as western Thailand.
The international community at every level should be motivated into effective action by the leadership shown by people throughout Myanmar every day, said Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights on Myanmar in a recent webinar.
‘I am hopeful because of the people of Myanmar. I have never seen such bravery, tenacity, creativity, such unity in opposition, focus and courage. That above all, gives hope.’
Tens of thousands of Myanmar workers have gone on strike over the past two months, hoping that economic paralysis will force the hand of the wealthy generals who ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.
Bank employees, doctors, engineers, customs officers, dockers, railway staff and textile workers have all downed tools as part of a civil disobedience movement.
Some striking workers are among the 550 people killed in the military's crackdown on anti-coup protests, while many others have been arrested or gone missing.
Two Australians who were detained in Myanmar late last month have been released and have left Yangon, Canberra's foreign affairs department said Monday.
Business consultants Matthew O'Kane and Christa Avery, a dual Canadian-Australian citizen, were put under house arrest after trying to leave the country on a relief flight in March.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said Australian officials had "provided consular assistance" to the couple during their detention and release.
Anti-coup demonstrators in Myanmar decorated boiled eggs on Sunday, as Pope Francis in his Easter message expressed solidarity with the country's youth.
Myanmar has been gripped by turmoil since a February 1 coup ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and derailed the country's tentative transition to democracy.
Security forces have sought to quell a mass uprising with lethal force and the death toll reached 564 as of late Sunday, according to local monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
Over 450 civil society groups of Myanmar came out with a public statement condemning China’s position at the UN Security Council (UNSC), failing to take action against the Myanmar military rulers after they killed and injured hundreds of civilians protesting against the coup.
The UK medical regulator said Saturday that out of 30 people who suffered blood clots after receiving the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, seven have died.
The British acknowledgement of deaths comes as several European countries have paused the use of the AstraZeneca jab over a potential link to blood clots.
The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said in a statement that "Out of the 30 reports up to and including 24 March, sadly 7 have died."
A rebel group has accused Myanmar's military of deploying "excessive force", saying on Saturday that continuous air strikes have displaced more than 12,000 unarmed civilians, including children.
Late last month, the ethnic armed group Karen National Union (KNU) seized a military base in eastern Kayin state, killing 10 army officers. The junta retaliated with air strikes.
The Philippines will extend a coronavirus lockdown of more than 24 million people, an official said Saturday, as it deploys tents and health workers to overwhelmed hospitals in the capital where cases are surging.
People in Metro Manila -- the national capital region -- and four neighbouring provinces will have to stay home for another week unless they are essential workers, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.
Ten of Myanmar's major rebel groups threw their support behind the country's anti-coup movement on Saturday, fanning fears that a broader conflict could erupt in a country plagued for decades by on-and-off fighting between the military and the ethnic armies.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from power on February 1, triggering an uprising that the junta has sought to quell with deadly crackdowns.