SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – An increasing number of governments are restricting diplomatic ties with Myanmar and increasing economic pressure on their military during last week’s coup that erased fragile democratic progress in the long-oppressed country in Southeast Asia.
President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he was issuing an executive order that will prevent Myanmar generals from accessing $ 1 billion in assets in the United States, and promised more measures.
The United States was among the many Western governments that have lifted most sanctions in the past decade to encourage democratic transition while Myanmar’s military rulers were taking gradual steps toward civilian government – changes that proved temporary with the overthrow of the elected government and arrests of Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and others.
One of the strongest reactions came from New Zealand, which suspended all high-level military and political contacts with the country and promised to block any aid that could go to its military government or benefit its leaders. It also banned travel to Myanmar’s new military rulers.
“We do not recognize the legitimacy of the military-led government and we ask the military to immediately release all detained political leaders and restore civilian rule,” said Chancellor Nanaia Mahuta on Tuesday.
In Washington, Biden said his actions are aimed at freezing US assets that benefit Myanmar’s military leaders, while maintaining support for health programs, civil society groups and other areas. The United States already has sanctions in place against some Myanmar military leaders for the murders and harassment of minority Rohingya Muslims.
So far, there has been no change in the level of US diplomatic representation in Myanmar, where Thomas Vajda remains as ambassador.
In Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said European chancellors will meet on February 22 to review the 27-nation bloc’s relations with Myanmar and explore ways to increase economic pressure. Your options may include sanctions against individuals and companies belonging to the Myanmar military, as well as cuts in development assistance.
Since 2014, the EU has given Myanmar nearly 700 million euros ($ 850 million). Borrell said the EU’s special system for granting less-developed countries duty-free and quota-free access to all products except weapons and ammunition could also be reevaluated.
“Now we need to develop a robust response to this unacceptable takeover, which reverses 10 years of democratic transition,” he said, adding that the review would examine “how closely we work with the government and its institutions from a technical perspective, as well as the impact on beneficiaries. “
The UN Human Rights Council, a body of 47 member states based in Geneva, scheduled a special session on Friday to consider the human rights implications of the crisis in Myanmar.
Human rights defenders have called on governments to take tougher measures, avoiding penalties that harm ordinary citizens of Myanmar.
“President Biden’s announcement of an asset freeze and an executive order opening the door to new sanctions targeted at the Myanmar military are important and welcome steps,” said Daniel Sullivan, senior human rights defender at Refugees International, in a statement .
“But there is much more that the United States can and must do to censor the flagrant behavior of the military and recognize the real threat that Myanmar military seizure of power poses,” he said.
It is not clear whether Myanmar’s neighbors will come together to take meaningful steps.
The leaders of Malaysia and Indonesia 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 each other’s affairs and its decisions are made by consensus, meaning that only a single member, possibly Myanmar itself, would be needed to block any movement it considers hostile.
After the coup, Brunei, the current president of ASEAN, issued a statement calling for “the pursuit of dialogue, reconciliation and the return to normality according to 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 released 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.