Washington: US President Joe Biden threatened to reimpose sanctions on Myanmar following a coup by the country’s military leaders.
Biden condemned the military’s takeover from the civilian-led government and its detention of the country’s elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi as “a direct assault on the country’s transition to democracy and the rule of law”.
“The United States removed sanctions on Burma over the past decade based on progress toward democracy,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House, referring to the country by its previous name.
“The reversal of that progress will necessitate an immediate review of our sanction laws and authorities, followed by appropriate action.”
“For almost a decade, the people of Burma have been steadily working to establish elections, civilian governance, and the peaceful transfer of power. That progress should be respected,” Biden said in the statement.
“We will work with our partners throughout the region and the world to support the restoration of democracy and the rule of law, as well as to hold accountable those responsible for overturning Burma’s democratic transition.”
The president’s statement had said, the United States “will stand up for democracy wherever it is under attack.”
Biden also called for the international community to “come together in one voice to press the country’s military to immediately relinquish the power they have seized, release the activists and officials they have detained, lift all telecommunications restrictions, and refrain from violence against civilians”.
Myanmar’s military seized power on Monday in a coup against the democratically elected government of Suu Kyi, who was detained along with other leaders of her National League for Democracy party in early morning raids on the day the new parliament was set to hold its first session.