Soldiers stand guard on a blockaded road to Myanmar’s parliament in Naypyidaw on February 1, 2021.STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images/FILE
AFP
The United States announced fresh sanctions Wednesday taking aim at entities and individuals with links to Myanmar’s military regime, shortly after the junta extended a state of emergency and further delayed elections.
The Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since a February 2021 coup, which ended a ten-year experiment with democracy and sparked mass protests and a crackdown on dissent.
Three years after the coup, the junta is struggling to crush widespread armed opposition to its rule and on Wednesday extended a state of emergency by six months.
In a statement, the US Treasury Department said it was imposing sanctions on two entities “closely associated with Burma’s military regime” and four individuals.
They include the Shwe Byain Phyu Group of Companies and shipping firm Myanma Five Star Line Company Limited.
“Over the past three years, the military has continuously used violence and terror to oppress the people of Burma and deny them the ability to freely choose their own leaders,” said the Treasury, using Myanmar’s former name.
To carry out attacks in civilian areas, Myanmar’s military “has relied on a broad network of companies and individuals” for support, the statement added.
“Today’s action emphasizes our commitment to deprive Burma’s military regime of the resources it needs to conduct its attacks against its own people,” said Treasury under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence Brian Nelson.
In a separate statement, the US State Department added: “We reiterate our call for the military to change course and create space for meaningful and inclusive dialogue toward a future democratic Burma.”
Myanmar’s military declared a state of emergency when it ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in February 2021, citing unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud in the 2020 elections that her party won in a landslide.
It has extended the state of emergency multiple times afterward, delaying fresh elections it promised to hold.
More than 4,400 people have been killed in the military’s crackdown on dissent and over 25,000 arrested, according to a local monitoring group.
AFP
