President Joe Biden Freezes Myanmar's US $ 1 Billion Assets In The United States

President of the United States Joe Biden. (Twitter / @ JoeBiden)

JAKARTA - President of the United States (US) Joe Biden, approved an executive order to impose new sanctions on those responsible for the military coup in Myanmar.

In his statement Wednesday, January 10 local time, Joe Biden repeated demands that the generals give up power and release civilian leaders.

Biden said the order allowed his administration 'to immediately sanction Myanmar military leaders who directed the coup, their business interests as well as close family members.

He said Washington would identify targets for sanctions this week and take steps to prevent generals in Myanmar, also known as Burma, from having access to $ 1 billion in Myanmar government funds held in the United States.

"We will also impose strong export controls. We freeze US assets that benefit the Burma government while maintaining our support for health care, civil society groups, and other areas that directly benefit the Burmese people", he said at the White House.

"We will be ready to enact an additional act, and we will continue to work with our international partners to urge other countries to join us in this effort", added Joe Biden.

While Biden did not specify who would be subject to the new sanctions, Washington is likely to target coup leader Min Aung Hlaing and other top generals who are already under US sanctions imposed in 2019 for abuses against Rohingya Muslims and other minorities.

Previously, Myanmar democracy activist Khin Ohmar asked that the threat of sanctions against Myanmar be specific and strategic, so that the results were maximum and would not cause the people suffering.

"The sanctions imposed on Myanmar must be sanctions that have a strategic target, to their military. To Myanmar military officials and their cronies to have an impact", he explained some time ago.