Worthy Christian News > World News > U.S. Threatens Myanmar With Sanctions Over Coup

U.S. Threatens Myanmar With Sanctions Over Coup

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent

(Worthy News) – U.S. President Joe Biden said Monday he was considering reimposing sanctions against Myanmar after the military seized power in a coup.

Myanmar’s army detained the Asian nation’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and other elected officials. The military defended the move accusing Suu Kyi’s party of fraud over its recent landslide election win.

In a statement, President Biden condemned the coup and detention. He said, “force should never seek to overrule the will of the people or attempt to erase the outcome of a credible election.”

His remarks came hours after Christian rights activists expressed concerns that Myanmar, also known as Burma, will “return to the dark days of isolation.”

The coup was “a desperate step backward for Burma,” said Benedict Rogers, senior analyst of advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), which is often working in the region.

Rogers, who also wrote three books on Burma, told Worthy News that CSW had urged all sides to “engage in meaningful dialogue, peaceful talks, and negotiation.”

RELEASE DEMANDS

The official, who knows the nation well, said his group has called “for the immediate and unconditional release of all those detained.”

In adoption, he said, CSW wants to see “the complete lifting of restrictions on telephone and internet communications and an end to the military’s presence on the streets.”

He stressed it was crucial for the military to “respect the democratic process, and we call for international mediation to help all sides to reach an agreed way forward. “

He said that if these demands are not met within the coming days, the International community should impose “the toughest possible targeted sanctions.” He suggested that the sanctions such as freezing of assets and travel restrictions should target “Burma’s military leaders and their enterprises.”

Sanctions, he added, should also discourage all foreign investment in those state enterprises. “There should be a stark warning: if the military reverts to the political repression of a decade or more ago, the international community will respond accordingly, Rogers said. “And Burma will return to the dark days of isolation from which it has only recently emerged. It is in no one’s interests, and so we must urge all parties to step back from the brink.”

MORE CONDEMNATION

The United Nations and Britain have also condemned the coup in the former British colony. The U.S. had removed sanctions over the past decade as Washington saw Myanmar progressing to democracy. But President Biden warned Monday that this policy would be urgently reviewed, adding: “The United States will stand up for democracy wherever it is under attack.”

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called the army’s move a “serious blow to democratic reforms” as the security council prepared for an emergency meeting. The United Nations demanded the release of what it claimed were at least 45 people who had been detained.

In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the coup and Aung San Suu Kyi’s “unlawful imprisonment.” European Union leaders have issued similar condemnations.

China, which has previously opposed international intervention in Myanmar, urged all sides to “resolve differences.”

Some regional powers, including Cambodia, Thailand, and the Philippines, have reportedly said it is an “internal matter.”

CSW noted, however, that Myanmar has a history of military coups. But after almost fifty years of direct military rule, the country began a transition to civilian democratic government in 2010.

BRIEF PROGRESS

There was further progress in elections in 2015, which resulted in the first government led by Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD). In November 2020, the NLD won re-election by an overwhelming majority, official results showed.

The victory came despite mounting international concerns “about an escalation in human rights violations and exclusion of minorities in the country’s ethnic states and conflict areas,” CSW added.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was seen as a democratic icon, was later criticized over her handling of the Muslim Rohingya refugee crisis and a perceived crackdown on critical journalists.

Amid the turmoil, troops were seen patrolling the streets Monday, and a night-time curfew is in force, with a one-year state of emergency declared. Suu Kyi reportedly urged her supporters to “protest against the coup.”

In a letter written in preparation for her expected detention, she noted that the military’s actions would put the nation back under a dictatorship.

The military already announced the replacements for several ministers.