WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden on Monday threatened new sanctions against Myanmar after the military staged a coup and arrested civic leaders of the government, including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Biden attacked the country’s military for the coup, calling it a “direct attack on the country’s transition to democracy and the rule of law.” The coup in Myanmar, also known as Burma, has also been outright internationally condemned.
“The United States has abolished sanctions against Burma for the past decade on the basis of progress towards democracy,” Biden said in a statement. “Reversing that progress requires an immediate review of our sanction laws and authorities, followed by appropriate action. The United States will stand up for democracy wherever it is attacked. “
Myanmar has been a project promoting Western democracy for decades and has been a symbol of some success. But in recent years, there have been growing concerns about a slide into authoritarianism. Disappointment over Suu Kyi, the former opposition leader, has grown, especially her opposition to curbing the oppression of Rohingya Muslims in the west of the country.
Myanmar had emerged from decades of strict military rule and international isolation beginning in 1962, and Monday’s events were a shocking fall from power for Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her work in promoting democracy and human rights.
She had lived under house arrest for years as she tried to push her country towards democracy and became the de facto leader after her National League for Democracy won the 2015 election.