SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – A growing number of governments are curbing diplomatic ties with Myanmar and increasing economic pressure on the military during last week’s coup that eradicated fragile democratic progress in the long-repressed Southeast Asian nation.
President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he issued an executive order that will prevent Myanmar’s generals from accessing $ 1 billion in assets in the United States, and promised more measures.
The US was among the many Western governments that lifted most sanctions in the past decade to encourage the democratic transition, as Myanmar’s military rulers took gradual steps towards civilian government – changes that proved temporary with the deposition of the elected government and the arrests of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and others.
One of the strongest responses 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 placed a travel ban on Myanmar’s new military rulers.
“We do not recognize the legitimacy of the military-led government and we call on the military to immediately release all detained political leaders and restore civilian government,” Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said Tuesday.
In Washington, Biden said his actions aimed at freezing US assets benefiting Myanmar’s military leaders while maintaining support for health care programs, community groups and other areas. The US has already imposed sanctions on some of Myanmar’s military leaders over the murders and persecution of minority Rohingya Muslims.
So far there has been no change in the level of the US diplomatic representation in Myanmar, where Thomas Vajda remains as ambassador.
In Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said European foreign ministers will meet on February 22 to discuss the 27-country bloc’s relations with Myanmar and explore ways to increase economic pressure. Possible options include sanctions against individuals and companies owned by the Myanmar military, as well as cuts in development aid.
Since 2014, the EU has allocated nearly 700 million euros ($ 850 million) to Myanmar. Borrell said the EU’s special system to grant least developed countries duty-free and quota-free access to all products, except weapons and ammunition, could also be reassessed.
“We now need to develop a robust response to this unacceptable takeover of power, which will undo a decade of democratic transition,” he said, adding that the review would examine “how closely we work with the government and its institutions from a legal, financial and technical perspective, as well as the impact on beneficiaries. “
The UN Human Rights Council, the body of 47 member states based in Geneva, scheduled a special session on Friday to discuss the human rights implications of the Myanmar crisis.
Human rights activists have urged governments to take tougher action while avoiding sanctions that would harm ordinary Myanmar citizens.
“President Biden’s asset freeze announcement and an Executive Order opening the door to further targeted sanctions against the Myanmar military are important and welcome steps,” Daniel Sullivan, senior human rights advocate at Refugees International, said in a statement.
“But there is much more that the United States can and must do to condemn the military’s blatant behavior and recognize the real threat posed by the Myanmar military’s seizure of power,” he said.
It is unclear whether Myanmar’s neighbors will gather to take meaningful action.
The leaders of Malaysia and Indonesia have urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to convene a special meeting to discuss Myanmar’s member state. But ASEAN has long operated on the principle of non-interference in each other’s affairs and its decisions are made by consensus, meaning it only takes one member, possibly Myanmar itself, to block any movement it sees as hostile.
Following the coup, Brunei, the current ASEAN chairman, 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 himself seized power in a military coup in 2014, told reporters on Wednesday that he received a letter from Myanmar’s junta leader Min Aung Hlaing asking Thailand’s support for “ democracy in Myanmar. “The letter has not been disclosed to the media.
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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.