Wednesday, February 6, 2008,
Irrawaddy
The United States government slapped additional sanctions on the cronies of Burma’s authoritarian regime on Tuesday, following a renewed warning to junta strongman Than Shwe against defying calls for reform from the international community,.
Four companies and three individuals connected to the well-known Burmese arms dealer, Tay Za, were added to a list of individuals singled out for sanctions. Other prominent targets include the spouses of senior officials of the military junta.
The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued the order on Tuesday afternoon, soon after the White House released a statement criticizing the military junta.
The actions of Than Shwe and his associates remain unacceptable to all those who value freedom, said White House spokesperson Dana Perino in Washington.
“In defiance of the unanimous call of the UN Security Council, the regime continues to keep Aung San Suu Kyi isolated and under house arrest; refuses to allow United Nations Special Advisor Ibrahim Gambari’s return to Burma; and continues to hunt down peaceful activists,” Perino said.
This is the second such statement coming from the US in less than two weeks. In late January, the US criticized the regime in a joint statement with the foreign ministers of Britain and France at the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland.
Perino said the regime is planning secret trials of the prominent monk U Gambira and ten Burmese pro-democracy activists, including Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi. “The President has said that the United States would continue to review our policies and consider additional measures if Than Shwe’s junta did not end its brutal oppression of the Burmese people,” the spokesperson said.
Through the statement, the White House made it clear that it was not satisfied with the response of Burma’s neighbors to calls from the international community to use their influence over the military junta to restore democracy and protect human rights in Burma. “The United States will continue to do our part to help the people of Burma, and other countries, particularly Burma’s neighbors, must do the same,” Perino said.
Soon after the White House issued its statement, The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control released a list of companies and individuals associated with the ruling junta who would come under sanctions.
Adam Szubin, director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, said the US would continue to take action against the military junta and all those who prop it up so long as human rights violations continue and democracy is suppressed.
Topping the list is Tay Za, who heads the Htoo Group of Companies, which carries out key projects on behalf of the military regime. Szubin described him as an arms dealer and financial henchman of Burma’s repressive regime.
Among other individuals named is Aung Thet Mann, a director of Tay Za’s Htoo Group. Aung Thet Mann is also the son of Gen Thura Shwe Mann, who is regarded as the third most powerful member of the ruling State Peace and Development Council. Tay Za has used his business relationship with Aung Thet Mann to win favorable business contracts from the Burmese junta.
Thiha, Tay Za’s brother and business partner, and Kyaw Thein, a director of Tay Za’s business ventures in Singapore, were also targeted.
Several companies were also blacklisted, including Myanmar Avia Export Co, Ltd, a company which the US alleges Tay Za has used to purchase helicopters and aircraft on behalf of the Burmese regime.
Other targets include Ayer Shwe Wah Co, Ltd—an enterprise for which Aung Thet Mann serves as a director—and Pavo Aircraft Leasing Pte Ltd in Singapore.
Four spouses of senior Burmese government officials have also been named: Khin Lay Thet, wife of Gen Thura Shwe Mann; Myint Myint Ko, wife of Construction Minister Saw Tun; Tin Lin Myint, wife of Lt-Gen Ye Myint; and Myint Myint Soe, wife of Foreign Affairs Minister Nyan Win.
The new sanctions will freeze any assets held by the designated individuals or companies which are subject to US jurisdiction, and prohibits US citizens from engaging in any financial or commercial transactions with them.
According to unconfirmed reports from Rangoon, the sanctions may already be having an impact on business operations inside Burma.
