by ARNA | May 4, 2025 | Press Release
The Arakan Rohingya National Alliance (ARNA) extends its deep appreciation to the European Union for its recent decision to renew restrictive measures against Myanmar’s military junta until April 30, 2026. This crucial step reinforces the EU’s consistent commitment to justice, democracy, and human rights for all people of Myanmar, including the long-persecuted and stateless Rohingya population.
According to the Council of the European Union, the updated sanctions regime targets 106 individuals and 22 entities responsible for undermining democratic governance and committing serious human rights violations. These measures include asset freezes, travel bans, and prohibitions on financial or economic support to the designated persons and entities. The EU also continues to enforce a comprehensive arms embargo, along with restrictions on dual-use goods, and bans on all forms of military training and cooperation with the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw).
ARNA commends the European Union’s principled stance and its ongoing support for the people of Myanmar in their collective struggle for democratic governance, accountability, and lasting peace. The EU’s decision to suspend and freeze financial assistance that could benefit or legitimize the military junta is a critical measure that targets perpetrators while shielding the broader civilian population.
However, ARNA underscores the urgent need to broaden the scope of international sanctions to include other armed actors complicit in crimes against the Rohingya, most notably the Arakan Army (AA). While Tatmadaw initiated the final genocidal campaign in 2017, the Arakan Army has increasingly replicated and perpetuated similar patterns of persecution in areas under its control in Rakhine State, including extortion, arbitrary detention, forced conscription, and violent attacks on Rohingya civilians.
Recent reports confirm that the Arakan Army is now actively engaged in systematic abuses that reinforce the segregation and subjugation of the Rohingya people and contribute to an environment of fear and statelessness. These acts are not isolated or incidental; they are part of a sustained strategy to exclude and erase the Rohingya from the political and territorial fabric of Rakhine State.
We therefore call upon the European Union, and the wider international community, to immediately recognize the Arakan Army as a co-perpetrator in the ongoing genocide of the Rohingya and to impose targeted sanctions against its leadership and military infrastructure. Impunity must not be allowed to shift from one ethnic armed group to another.
ARNA further urges the international community to redouble its efforts to hold all violators accountable Tatmadaw and Arakan Army alike since the military coup of February 1, 2021. The Rohingya people have suffered decades of structural discrimination, mass violence, and displacement, compounded now by new waves of abuse from non-state actors exploiting power vacuums in Rakhine. The European Union’s renewed sanctions send a powerful message, but further action is essential. The world must stand firmly against impunity and in solidarity with victims of oppression, regardless of whether the perpetrators wear military uniforms or insurgent insignia.
ARNA reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the protection, dignity, and rights of the Rohingya people. We continue to call for sustained international pressure on all armed actors in Myanmar to end human rights abuses, to release all political prisoners, and to engage in a genuine, inclusive dialogue aimed at achieving a democratic, federal, and multi-ethnic future for all peoples of Myanmar.
For further inquiries, please contact:
secretariat@thearna.org
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