London/Toronto, May 18: The United States, Britain and Canada on Monday announced additional sanctions on Myanmar's military in the latest punitive move following the continued oppression of citizens protesting February's coup.
The United States has imposed new sanctions on Myanmar's administrative body and high-ranking officials. It said yesterday that Myanmar's military-appointed State Administrative Council and 16 people, including some council members, will be subject to an asset freeze in the US. They will also be barred from engaging in transactions with American citizens, according to NHK World.
Britain announced new sanctions against Myanmar Gems Enterprise, which is under the control of the country's military and Canada imposed additional sanctions on military-linked individuals and entities.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the actions taken by the three countries underscore their resolve "to apply political and financial pressure on the regime as long as it fails to stop the violence and take meaningful action to respect the will of the people.
"We encourage all countries to consider imposing measures against the regime -- including arms embargoes, suspension of military sales, and termination of commercial cooperation with military-owned entities," it further said.
This comes amid actions taken by the military government of Myanmar against its own civilian population. At least 774 civilians have been killed in crackdowns against pro-democracy protesters following the February 1 coup.
On Sunday, Myanmar's ambassador to the United Nations Kyaw Moe Tun had urged the international community to cut off financial flows to the country's military Tatmadaw.
In an exclusive interview with NHK World, he called on the international community to suspend investments and tie-ups with companies linked to the military, in order to stop the crackdowns on people protesting against the February coup.
"Any financial flow that goes through the military chain should be cut off immediately," Moe Tun said.
