On how to sanction the military coup in Burma, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said today that he is considering signing an executive order and imposing targeted sanctions on individuals and military-controlled entities.
Asked about the U.S. government’s options for sanctions against Burma at a regular White House press conference today, Jake Sullivan said the issue of Burma has a high degree of cross-party identification and that he believes the executive branch can work with Congress to adopt a range of sanctions, while the United States will also work with allies and partners around the world.
He also disclosed that he is reviewing the possibility of signing an executive order and is also looking at targeted sanctions against individuals and military-controlled entities. Sullivan said there is enough room to find the necessary sanctions options.
The Burmese military launched a coup against the elected government of the ruling National League for Democracy on January 1 on the grounds of election fraud, and a number of senior members of the ruling party, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate and State Senior Minister Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, were arrested by the military. The military arrested a number of senior members of the ruling party, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint.
U.S. President Joe Biden issued a statement on January 1 demanding that the Burmese military immediately release the activists and officials arrested and that the U.S. hold accountable those who have undermined Burma’s democratic transition and review the sanctions that have been lifted. State Department officials formally identified the Burmese military’s seizure of power as a military coup and announced the suspension of some aid.
Despite calls for the release of people and condemnation of the coup, the UN Security Council today only called on the Burmese military to release Ung San Suu Kyi and others, and expressed concern about the state of emergency in Burma, without publicly condemning the coup.
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