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US to Imposition More Sanctions on Myanmar’s Junta. PHOTO/Reuters
YANGOON – United States of America (US) to announce further sanctions against entities inside Myanmar in the coming days. This was revealed by a senior official at the US State Department, Wednesday (22/3/2023).
Speaking to reporters in Jakarta, US State Department adviser Derek Chollet said the sanctions would make it harder for the Myanmar junta to generate revenue to buy weapons.
“We are committed to increasing the pressure on the junta and making it harder for them to generate revenue, which fuels its war machine,” Chollet said. He added that Myanmar “is heading towards a failed state in the heart of Southeast Asia”.
Myanmar’s military overthrew the elected government in 2021 and has since led a crackdown on dissent, plunging the country into chaos.
The US and other Western countries have announced a series of sanctions targeting junta members, military government agencies and military-run companies seeking to curb their ability to raise money.
“To date, the US has imposed sanctions on 80 people and more than 30 entities in Myanmar,” Chollet said. He also said that in order to see a solution to the Myanmar conflict, Russia must stop supplying military equipment to the junta.
“One way that could happen is if the junta is no longer able to import weapons and we will make very big steps in that direction if Russia stops supplying Myanmar with weapons,” he said.
Chollet asked the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to exclude political representation of Myanmar’s military rulers from all of its meetings
“The regime needs to fully understand that as long as it continues to exact brutal campaigns against their own people, they will pay the price – and that will include further isolation within the international community,” he added.
ASEAN currently barred junta leaders from high-level meetings, but has refused to impose sanctions and ruled out expelling Myanmar from the 10-member regional bloc.
(esn)
