SEOUL, South Korea (PA) – A growing number of governments tighten diplomatic ties with Myanmar and increase economic pressure on its military following last week’s coup that wiped out fragile democratic progress in the Southeast Asian nation oppressed for a long time.
President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he was issuing an executive order that would prevent Myanmar generals from accessing $ 1 billion in assets in the United States and promised more measures.
The United States has been among the many Western governments that have lifted the most sanctions in the past decade to encourage democratic transition, while Myanmar’s military leaders have taken gradual steps toward civilian rule – changes that have proved temporary with the removal of the elected government. with the detentions of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and others.
One of the strongest reactions came from New Zealand, which suspended any high-level military and political contact with the country and pledged to block any aid that could go to its military government or benefit its leaders. He also banned the travel of new military leaders from Myanmar.
“We do not recognize the legitimacy of the military-led government and call on the military to immediately release all detained political leaders and restore civilian rule,” Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said on Tuesday.
In Washington, Biden said his actions were aimed at freezing US assets that benefit military leaders in Myanmar, while maintaining support for health care programs, civil society groups and other areas. The United States has already imposed sanctions on military leaders in Myanmar for killing and persecuting Rohingya Muslim minorities.
To date, there has been no change in the level of US diplomatic representation in Myanmar, where Thomas Vajda continues as ambassador.
In Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said European foreign ministers would meet on February 22 to review the bloc’s 27-nation relations with Myanmar and explore ways to increase economic pressure. Its options could include sanctions targeting individuals and businesses owned by the Myanmar army, as well as reductions in development assistance.
Since 2014, the EU has granted Myanmar almost 700 million euros (850 million dollars). Borrell said the EU’s special system for granting the least developed countries duty-free and quota-free access to all products except weapons and ammunition could also be re-evaluated.
“We must now develop a strong response to this unacceptable takeover of power, which reverses 10 years of democratic transition,” he said, adding that the review will examine “how closely we work with the government and its institutions from a legal point of view.” , financial and technical perspective, as well as the impact on beneficiaries. ”
The UN Human Rights Council, a 47-member body based in Geneva, scheduled a special session on Friday to consider the human rights implications of the Myanmar crisis.
Human rights lawyers have called on governments to take tougher action, while avoiding sanctions that would affect ordinary Myanmar citizens.
“President Biden’s announcement of a freeze on assets and an executive order opening the door for further targeted sanctions on the Myanmar army are important and welcome steps,” Daniel Sullivan, chief human rights lawyer for International Refugees, said in a statement.
“But the United States can and must do much more to censor the blatant behavior of the military and to recognize the real threat posed by Myanmar’s takeover,” he said.
It is unclear whether Myanmar’s neighbors will unite to take meaningful action.
The leaders of Malaysia and Indonesia have asked the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to convene a special meeting to discuss Myanmar, a member state. But ASEAN has long operated on a principle of non-interference in the other’s business, and its decisions are made by consensus, which means it would take a single member, possibly even Myanmar, to block any movement it makes. considers hostile.
Following the coup, Brunei, the current president of ASEAN, issued a statement calling for “continued dialogue, reconciliation and return to normalcy in accordance with the will and interests of the people of Myanmar.”
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a retired general who took power himself in a military coup in 2014, told reporters on Wednesday that he had received a letter from Myanmar’s junta leader Min Aung Hlaing asking for Thailand’s support. for “democracy in Myanmar. “The letter was not disclosed to the press.
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Associated Press writers Nick Perry of Wellington, New Zealand, Lorne Cook of Brussels, Jim Gomez of Manila, Philippines, Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul of Bangkok and Matthew Lee of Washington contributed to the report.