WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) – The United States and its allies imposed further sanctions on Myanmar on Tuesday, marking the two-year anniversary of the military crackdown on industry officials and members, among others.
Washington has imposed sanctions on the Union Election Commission, mining enterprises and energy officials, among others, according to a statement from the Treasury Department. Details of the decision were first reported by Reuters.
It marks the first time that the United States has targeted Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) officials under the current Myanmar sanctions program, a Treasury spokesman said.
Canada, Australia and Britain have also announced sanctions.
Myanmar’s supreme leaders took over in February 2021 after a five-year period of quasi-civilian political power sharing created by the military, which led to a decade of unprecedented change.
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Myanmar is in chaos after the incident, with the resistance movement fighting the military on multiple fronts after a bloody crackdown on opponents that saw Western sanctions re-imposed.
Today, the US sanctions target the director and deputy director of managing MOGE, which is one of the largest revenue-generating enterprises of the state, according to the Treasury.
Human rights advocates have called for MOGE sanctions, but Washington has so far held back.
He was also appointed by Washington as the Union Minister of Energy, who told the Treasury that the government of Myanmar is designed to compete in the international and domestic energy sector and manages the state’s assets involved in the production and export of oil and gas.
Mining Enterprise No 1 and Mining Enterprise No 2, both public enterprises, as well as the Union Election Commission, also published Washington sanctions.
RULES OF CHOICE
On Friday, Junia announced tough demands for the parties to contest the elections scheduled for August, including a massive increase in their membership, a move that could sideline military opponents and strengthen its hold on power.
The election would subvert the will of the people if military aggressors continue to use force, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement.
“Many key political figures have announced their refusal to participate in these elections, which will be neither inclusive nor representative and which will almost certainly result in a major massacre,” he said.
The rules favor the Union of Solidarity and Development Party, a military representative backed by former leaders, which was won by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party in 2015 and 2020.
Thousands of NLD members have been arrested or imprisoned, including Suu Kyi, and many more are in ambushes.
The NLD described the election in November of this year as “phoney” and said it would be rejected. The election was also dismissed as an image by Western governments.
Washington is also targeting former and current Myanmar military officials, the Treasury said, accusing the air force of continuing airstrikes using Russian-made aircraft against pro-democracy forces that have killed civilians.
Canada has banned the six individuals targeted and the export, sale, supply or use of fuel in commercial aviation activities. Australian members of the United Union and the military run the company.
The United Kingdom has designated two companies and two men to assist Myanmar’s air force with refueling planes to carry out bombing campaigns against its citizens.
John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, said the United States has not matched Tuesday’s actions with stronger sanctions imposed by the European Union, especially when it comes to gas revenues and natural gas banks that continue to extract foreign payments. part
“As a result, the bills taken so far did not impose enough financial pain on the party to force it to change its behavior,” Sifton said in a statement.
Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Simon Lewis and Susan Heavey in Washington and Sachin Ravikumar in London; Editing by Nick Macfie and Grant McCool
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