WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden announced that he has approved a new executive order to immediately sanction leaders of the Myanmar military who directed the February 1 coup, as well as their business interests and family members.
At a White House briefing on Wednesday, the President said the administration "will identify a first round of targets this week" and "we're also going to impose strong export controls".
Biden also confirmed the freezing of US assets that "benefit the Burmese (Myanmar) government, while maintaining our support for healthcare, civil society groups, and other areas that benefit the people directly".
The Myanmar military took over the country on February 1 over the disputed results of the November 8, 2020, parliamentary elections.
Besides the coup, the military also declared a year-long state of emergency and handed over the state power to Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Sen-Gen Min AungHlaing.
Ahead of taking control, former de facto leader Aung San SuuKyi, former President U Win Myint and other senior members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party were detained.
Regarding SuuKyi's detention, Biden demanded the immediate release of all "democratic political leaders and activists".
"The military must relinquish the power it seized and demonstrate respect for the will of the people of Burma as expressed in their November 8 election," he said. (IANS)