WASHINGTON: 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.
Before Biden spoke from the White House, large crowds demonstrating against the military takeover again took to the streets in Myanmar, even after security forces ratcheted up the use of force against them and raided the headquarters of Suu Kyis political party.
Witnesses estimated that tens of thousands of protesters, if not more, turned out in Yangon and Mandalay, the countrys biggest cities. Rallies also took place…