Military trucks with soldiers inside are parked behind police in Mandalay, Myanmar, on Feb. 19, 2021.Aung-Shine/The Associated Press
The United States, Britain and Canada on Monday imposed new sanctions targeting Myanmar’s junta, increasing pressure on the military in the latest in a series of punitive actions since it took power in a Feb. 1 coup.
The U.S. targeted the governing State Administrative Council and 13 officials, the move freezing any U.S. assets of those listed and generally bars Americans from dealing with them.
Canada said it imposed additional sanctions on individuals and entities tied to the Myanmar armed forces, while Britain announced sanctions against state-owned enterprise Myanmar Gems Enterprise which was included in previous U.S. sanctions.
The Southeast Asian country has been in crisis since the military seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government, with near daily protests and a crackdown by the junta in which hundreds of people have been killed.
Western countries have led condemnation of the junta and applied limited sanctions. The junta’s allegations of irregularities in an election won by Ms. Suu Kyi’s party in November were rejected by the electoral commission.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the junta had made no attempt to restore Myanmar’s path to democracy, and called on all countries to consider measures such as arms embargoes and ending commercial co-operation with military-owned entities.
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