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EU Approves Sanctions over China, Myanmar Abuses

AFP

   BRUSSELS - EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday approved
   sanctions over abuses in China, Myanmar and Russia, as the bloc expands
   measures targeting global rights breaches.

   The 27 nations are due to place four Chinese officials and one
   state-run entity on a blacklist over Beijing's crackdown on the Uighur
   minority after ambassadors gave the go-ahead last week.

   The highly symbolic move -- reported by EU diplomats and expected to be
   formally unveiled in the EU's official journal later Monday -- is the
   first time Brussels has hit Beijing over human rights abuses since it
   imposed an arms embargo in 1989 after Tiananmen Square.

   China's foreign ministry has warned that Beijing will "react with a
   firm hand" against any punishment over its actions in the western
   Xinjiang region.

   The measures are part of a package of human rights sanctions targeting
   a dozen people that also includes individuals in Russia, North Korea,
   Eritrea, South Sudan and Libya, diplomats said.

   "This is a very important step which shows how committed we are,"
   Slovak Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok said.

   The mechanism -- designed to make it easier for the bloc to target
   rights abusers -- was launched this month with sanctions on four
   Russian officials over the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

   Diplomats said the fresh sanctions on Russia will target individuals
   behind abuses in the country's Chechnya region, which is ruled with an
   iron-fist by Kremlin loyalist Ramzan Kadyrov.

   The EU will also slap asset freezes and visa bans on 11 officials of
   Myanmar's junta over the military coup last month and crackdown on
   demonstrators.

   "What we see there in terms of excesses of violence is absolutely
   unacceptable," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said.

   "That is why we will not be able to avoid imposing sanctions."

   Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted civilian leader
   Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, triggering a mass uprising that
   security forces have sought to crush with a campaign of violence and
   fear.

   Diplomats have said businesses tied to the military will likely be
   placed under sanctions in the coming weeks.
   People stage a protest in support of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democracy
   Party, or HDP, in Istanbul, in Istanbul, March 18, 2021. The European
   Union voiced concerns over the "backsliding of rights" in Turkey.

   Turkey ties

   Turkey will feature prominently at the meeting as member states debate
   efforts to improve ties after a spike in tensions last year over the
   eastern Mediterranean.

   Brussels has welcomed steps by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
   to reduce tensions by restarting talks with Greece over their disputed
   maritime border.

   But there remain major concerns, including over domestic freedoms after
   moves to ban a key opposition party and Erdogan's decision to leave a
   global treaty to prevent violence against women.

   EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has drawn up a report outlining
   the bloc's options to be discussed by leaders at a video conference
   this week.

   Warming ties have seen efforts to impose sanctions agreed on in
   December over Turkish drilling off Cyprus put on the back burner for
   fear of derailing the rapprochement.

   "There are different signals from Turkey," Maas said.

   "We will continue to try to remain in dialogue, but also to use this
   dialogue to address the issues where we believe that Turkey is sending
   out the wrong signals."