Biden threatens to impose sanction on Myanmar military usurper
US President Joe Biden has threatened to impose sanctions on Myanmar over its military usurpur of the country.
Biden has threatened to impose sanctions on Myanmar following a coup by the country's military leaders on Monday (February 1) and called on the international community to push them to relinquish power.
Biden has condemned the seizure of power from a civilian government and the detention of elected leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi as a "direct attack on democracy and the rule of law."
Former US President Donald Trump's often seen as the first major test of Biden's commitment to the Myanmar crisis to further cooperate with allies on international challenges, as opposed to the "America First" approach alone.
Biden said in a statement that the international community creates pressure on the military junta to immediately relinquish power that was seized by the Burmese military. Leaders and activists who have been detained must be released.
The United States lifted sanctions on Myanmar over the past decade to promote democracy. Violation of that promise requires an immediate review of the laws and authorities approved by the United States, after which appropriate action will be taken.
Biden has called on Myanmar's military, also known as Burma, to lift all telecommunications restrictions and refrain from violence against civilians.
The U.S. president said Myanmar's military seizure of power would be reviewed. And wherever democracy is attacked, the United States will always stand for democracy, he said.