President Joe Biden revealed in a foreign policy speech Thursday that the United States is working with allies to address the military coup in Burma, calling on the Burmese military to give up its seizure of power and release those arrested. And U.S. National Security Adviser John Sullivan noted that the U.S. government is considering sanctions against individuals involved in the coup in Burma and institutions controlled by the military.
“We will also be working with allies and partners around the world,” Sullivan said at a White House news conference Thursday. “We are reviewing, potentially issuing new executive orders, and we are also looking at specific targeted sanctions, both on individuals and on entities controlled by the military that profit from them.”
The U.N. Security Council issued a statement Thursday calling on the Burmese military to release State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and other detainees, but the military continued its tough stance and another senior member of the ruling National League for Democracy was arrested.
For the third night in a row, there were demonstrations in Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar, where people continued to bang on kitchen utensils and vehicles sounded horns on the road to protest the military coup.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s close aide and top NLD official, Win Thein, revealed on social media sites that he was arrested at his Yangon apartment Friday morning and taken to the capital Naypyidaw, where he had publicly called for civil disobedience against the military coup.
Separately, CCTV news reported that Myanmar President Win Myint and his Family have been transferred by the military from the presidential residence in Nay Pyi Taw, to the minister’s residence in Sambhutiri township. He and Aung San Suu Kyi have reportedly been charged with violating Epidemic prevention laws and import/export laws, respectively.
Two days after an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in Burma, a consensus was reached to issue a joint statement calling on the military to release Aung San Suu Kyi and other arrested persons.
“They (the Council members) called for the immediate release of all those arrested, and the Council members stressed the need to continue to support Myanmar’s democratic transition,” said U Ba Na, rotating president of the UN Security Council.
The Council also expressed concern about the state of emergency in Burma, stressing the need to avoid violence and to fully respect human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, and called on the military to seek reconciliation through dialogue with all sides, taking into account the wishes and interests of the Burmese people.
The statement is milder than the original British version, and does not mention the coup, which is thought to be to avoid China and Russia using their veto power.
Japanese beer giant Kirin Holdings announces the termination of its alliance with Myanmar Economic Holdings, which is recognized by the UN as a Myanmar military-owned enterprise.
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