Envoy: US not finished with sanctions on Myanmar military, others

State Department Counselor Derek Chollet said the U.S. is not finished with sanctions for the Myanmar military and its affiliates after slapping a latest round of sanctions on judicial figures to mark one year since the country’s coup. 

Those sanctions fell on Union Attorney General Thida Oo, chief justice of Myanmar’s supreme court Tun Tun Oo as well as business mogul Tay Za and his adult children. All are believed to be responsible for aiding Myanmar’s military and involved in the prosecution of Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s former elected leader. 

“And we’re not done,” Chollet said at an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington on Wednesday, Reuters reported. 

“There are those who are behind the coup or helped the coup. There’s also those who are working to undermine the democratic path inside Burma, and we’ll continue to look closely at any individual or entity that is part of that,” he added.

Chollet said 65 sanctions have been placed on individuals, with the U.S. consistently in contact with opposition leaders in the country, according to Reuters. 

Twenty-six organizations have also been sanctioned or had export controls placed on them for having “close regime ties.”

The military has killed around 1,500 citizens and arrested thousands since the coup in February 2021. The junta has been torturing prisoners, although they have denied any wrongdoing. 

In April, the U.S. slapped sanctions on Myanma Gems Enterprise, a government-owned firm that oversees all gemstone activities in the country. Gem mining is a lucrative industry that helps fund the military regime.

In July, the Biden administration announced a series of sanctions against 22 individuals linked to the coup, including Myanmar information minister Chit Naing, investment minister Aung Naing Oo, labour and immigration minister Myint Kyaing, and three members of the State Administrative Council.