SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – A growing number of governments are curbing diplomatic ties with Myanmar and increasing economic pressure on its military during last week’s coup that wiped out the nation’s fragile democratic progress of Southeast Asia, which was 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 was among many Western governments that lifted most sanctions in the last decade to foster the democratic transition, as Myanmar’s military rulers were taking gradual steps toward civilian government, changes that turned out to be temporary. with the removal of the elected government and the arrests of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and others.
One of the strongest reactions came from New Zealand, which has suspended all high-level military and political contacts with the country and pledged to block any aid that could go to its military government or benefit its leaders. It also banned the new military rulers of Myanmar.
“We do not recognize the legitimacy of the army-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 U.S. assets that benefit Myanmar’s military leaders, while maintaining support for health care programs, civil society groups and other areas. The United States already has sanctions against some Myanmar military leaders for the killings and persecution of minority Rohingya Muslims.
So far 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 22 February to review the bloc’s 27-country relations with Myanmar and explore ways to increase economic pressure. Its options could include sanctions targeting people and businesses owned by the Myanmar army, as well as cuts in development assistance.
Since 2014, the EU has granted Myanmar almost 700 million euros ($ 850 million). Borrell said the EU’s special system for granting less developed countries duty-free and duty-free access to all products except weapons and ammunition could also be revalued.
“We must now develop a solid response to this unacceptable seizure of power, which reverses ten years of democratic transition,” he said, adding that the review will examine “the extent to which we work with the government and its institutions from from a legal and financial point of view and a technical perspective, as well as the impact on the beneficiaries ”.
The UN Human Rights Council, the 47-member body based in Geneva, has scheduled a special session on Friday to examine the human rights implications of the crisis in Myanmar.
Human rights defenders have urged governments to take tougher action, while avoiding sanctions that would harm the citizens of Myanmar.
“President Biden’s announcement of an asset freeze and an executive order opening the door to new sanctions against the Myanmar army are important and welcome steps,” Daniel Sullivan, a leading human rights defender, said in a statement. of Refugees International.
“But there is much more that the United States can and must do to censor the blatant behavior of the military and recognize the real threat posed by Myanmar’s military takeover,” he said.
It is unclear whether Myanmar’s residents will come together to take meaningful action.
Leaders of Malaysia and Indonesia have urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to convene a special meeting to discuss Myanmar, a member state. But ASEAN has long been operating on a principle of non-interference in the affairs of others and its decisions are made by consensus, meaning that only one member, possibly Myanmar itself, would be needed to block any movement it considers. hostile.
Following the coup, Brunei, the current president of ASEAN, issued a statement calling for “the pursuit of dialogue, reconciliation and a 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 in a military coup in 2014, told reporters on Wednesday that he had received a letter from Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing asking for support from Thailand to “democracy in Myanmar.” The letter was not leaked to the media.
___
Associated Press writers Nick Perry in Wellington, New Zealand, Lorne Cook in Brussels, Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul in Bangkok, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.