U.S. identifies sanction targets

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has identified 10 military-linked individuals and three entities as the targets of new economic sanctions.

The named parties include Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Soe Win, both of whom had already been sanctioned, as well as four other ranking officers and four leaders of the new State Administration Council. The targeted entities include Myanmar Ruby Enterprise, Myanmar Imperial Jade Co. and Cancri (Gems and Jewellery) Co.

The blanket economic sanctions of the 90s and 00s would come to be condemned by the human rights community for harming ordinary Myanmar people. Now, the U.S. appears to be trying to avoid that controversy. “These sanctions specifically target those who played a leading role in the overthrow of Burma’s democratically elected government. The sanctions are not directed at the people of Burma,” the U.S. Treasury said in a statement.

Regarding the impact of the new sanctions, the Treasury wrote the following:

As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the individuals and entities named above, and of any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by them, individually, or with other blocked persons, that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons, are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC or otherwise exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons.

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