WASHINGTON (NewsNation Now) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered new sanctions against the military regime in Myanmar, taking action after the military this month staged a coup in the Southeast Asian country and arrested de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior politicians.
Biden said he was issuing an executive order that will prevent Myanmar’s generals from accessing $1 billion in assets in the United States. Biden added that more measures are to come.
“The military must relinquish power it seized and demonstrate respect for the will of the people of Burma,” Biden said.
One source, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said Biden would act under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The law gives the president wide latitude to impose economic sanctions once he declares a national emergency exists.
Myanmar’s military arrested civilian leaders, including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, in the early hours of Feb. 1 and announced a year-long state of emergency, citing allegations a November election was beset by fraud. The electoral commission dismissed the army’s complaints.
Protesters took to the streets of Myanmar for a fifth day on Wednesday, vowing to keep up demonstrations against the coup even after a woman was shot and critically wounded during clashes the previous day.
The Biden administration has been working to form an international response to the crisis, including by working with allies in Asia who have closer ties to Myanmar and its military.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi agreed to urge Myanmar authorities to immediately stop their violence against protesters, according to a readout from Japan’s foreign ministry on Wednesday U.S. time.
The Biden administration also was working on its Myanmar policy with both fellow Democrats and Republicans in Congress.