India may face heat of US sanctions on Myanmar

Tribune News Service

Advertisement

New Delhi, March 30

The impact of US sanctions on two Myanmar military companies may be lapping Indian shores after Australian human rights lawyers claimed that the Adani Group is financially involved with one of the companies.

The US sanctioned Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) last week as it was “a vital financial lifeline’’ for the military junta which has overthrown the elected government and killed over100 unarmed protesters last Saturday itself.

Though the lawyers claim the Adani Group is paying about Rs 2,500 crore to MEC, the Adani group sees it differently.

The Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ) and the Justice For Myanmar (JFM) group say the documents reveal that the amount was provided to MEC which “stands credibly accused and is being investigated at the ICC and ICJ for crimes against humanity’’.

The intention is to pressurise Canberra into dumping its investment in Adani Ports, which also owns North Queensland operations linked to the Carmichael coal mine. These Australian lawyers and activists also want sovereign wealth funds and pension funds to stop investing in the Adani group on ethical grounds.

But an Adani Ports spokesperson said the Yangon International Terminal project was an independent container terminal with no joint venture partners. Adani Ports was watching the situation in Myanmar “carefully and will engage with the relevant authorities and stakeholders to seek their advice on the way forward,’’ said the spokesperson.

Last month, the Adani Group had denied it had engaged with Myanmar’s generals over the approval of its port. A UN fact-finding mission in 2019 had warned foreign companies against doing business with MEC and specifically named Adani Ports as one of them.