The United States has imposed sanctions on Myanmar leaders following a coup earlier this month that toppled the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, the Biden administration has announced.
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday approved an executive order for new sanctions on those responsible for the coup, while in a statement issued on Thursday, the US Treasury Department said it had frozen all US-based assets of 10 current and retired top-ranking individuals.
“These sanctions specifically target those who played a leading role in the overthrow of Burma’s democratically elected government. The sanctions are not directed at the people of Burma,” the statement reads.
Biden has called the coup “a direct assault on Burma’s transition to democracy and the rule of law.”
Myanmar’s military seized power and declared a state of emergency for one year on February 1. The EU condemned “in the strongest terms” the military coup, stating that “it is an unacceptable attempt to forcibly overturn the will of the people of Myanmar.”
“We also call upon them to immediately end the state of emergency, restore the civilian government, to open the newly-elected Parliament, and to proceed with the subsequent appointments of the President, Vice-Presidents and of the new government,” reads a statement by the Union’s External Action Service (EEAS).
On Thursday, MEPs called on Europe’s leaders to sanction Myanmar’s military leadership, by issuing a non-binding resolution urging the restoration of civilian rule, while the bloc’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said that more sanctions on individuals and on businesses owned by the military were on the table.