US Joins UK and Canada to Sanction Individuals Linked to Burma Military

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a briefing at the State Department in Wash., on Jan. 26, 2022. Brendan Smialowski/Reuters

The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on seven individuals and two entities linked to the Burmese military regime in coordination with Britain and Canada, the U.S. Treasury Department said, ahead of the one-year anniversary of the February military coup in Burma.

Among those sanctioned are Union Attorney General Thida Oo, Supreme Court Chief Justice Tun Tun Oo, and Anti-Corruption Commission Chairman Tin Oo, for their roles in the military regime’s “politically motivated” prosecution of deposed Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the U.S. Treasury said in a statement.

“We are coordinating these actions with the United Kingdom and Canada to demonstrate the international community’s strong support for the people of Burma and to further promote accountability for the coup and the violence perpetrated by the regime,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

The three nations also imposed sanctions on K.T. Services and Logistics Co. Ltd., its Chief Executive Jonathan Myo Kyaw Thaung, and the military’s procurement directorate for allegedly providing financial support to the military regime.

Washington also sanctioned Tay Za, owner of “multiple companies known to provide equipment and services, including arms, to the Burmese military,” along with his two adult sons, who were “instrumental to Tay Za’s business dealings with the Burmese military.”

“We will continue to target those responsible for the coup and ongoing violence, enablers of the regime’s brutal repression, and their financial supporters,” Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson said in a statement.

Sanctioned individuals will have their assets frozen in the United States and will be prohibited from doing business with Americans.

Riot police officers detain a demonstrator during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Burma, on March 19, 2021. Stringer/Reuters

The military regime ousted an elected civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, 2021, sparking protests and clashes between the army and ethnic minority insurgents in Burma, also known as Myanmar.

At least 1,500 individuals have been killed since the military seized power. Some 11,787 others were arbitrarily detained for opposing the military through peaceful protests and online activities, 8,792 of which remain in custody, and at least 290 have died as a result of torture, according to the U.N.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said there were reports of the military regime’s “clearance operations” targeting villagers, as well as indiscriminate attacks through airstrikes and the use of heavy weaponry in populated areas.

“One year after the military seized power, the people of Myanmar–who have paid a high cost in both lives and freedoms lost–continued to advocate relentlessly for their democracy,” Bachelet said in a statement.

People look at smoke believed to be from a factory fire during the security forces crackdown on anti-coup protesters at Hlaingthaya, Yangon, Burma, on March 14, 2021. Stringer/Reuters

The U.S. Embassy in Burma on Monday issued a joint statement by the High Representative of the European Union and the Foreign Ministers of nine countries, urging the Burmese military regime to engage in constructive dialogue with all parties involved and cease violence.

The nine countries include Albania, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

“We reiterate our call on the military regime to immediately end the State of Emergency, allow unhindered humanitarian access, release all arbitrarily detained persons, including foreigners, and swiftly return the country to the democracy process,” it stated.