WASHINGTON: The United Nations has called for 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 over any other country, as per BBC reports. "We are calling on countries around the world to do more. We will be doing more as well," he said.
Ned Price said there could be "no business as usual" with the junta regime in Myanmar and urged all countries to ban sales of military equipment to the country and "desist from lending the regime any degree of international credibility". He said the US was considering "all options" to cut off the regime's revenue, as per reports.
But Zhao Lijian, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Beijing did not interfere in other countries' internal affairs. Activist Kyaw Min Yu 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.
Less is known about the two other activists, Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw. They were sentenced to death for killing a woman who was an alleged informer for the junta.
Myanmar military executes four democracy activists
Myanmar uses the death penalty to execute pro-democracy activists