Feb 5, 2008 5:00 am US/Central
U.S. To Impose Sanctions To Sway Myanmar Junta
WASHINGTON (AP) ―
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Buddhist monks pray at a police road block in downtown Yongan, Myanmar, on Sept. 27, 2007. The country's monks staged widespread protests against the military-run government last year, drawing global support in their efforts.
AP
The Treasury Department on Tuesday announced it was imposing financial sanctions against family members of the military-run government of Myanmar and individuals it identified as key members of the financial empire of Tay Za, an influential businessman in the country.
"The president has made clear that we will continue to take action against the military junta and those who prop it up so long as human rights violations continue and democracy is suppressed," said Adam Szubin, the director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
He said the new order will tighten financial sanctions against associates of Tay Za, described by Szubin as "an arms dealer and financial henchmen of Burma's repressive regime."
Myanmar's military government
launched a bloody crackdown on demonstrations that began Aug.
19 to protest a sharp increase in fuel prices.
The protests drew international attention after thousands of
Buddhist monks joined the people in venting anger at decades of brutal
military rule. At the height of the protests, some 70,000 people turned
out.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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