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Bush unveils new Burma sanctions
US President George W Bush has announced fresh sanctions against the military regime in Burma. He said he had ordered the US Treasury to freeze the assets of state-owned firms in Burma "that are major sources of funds that prop up the junta".Last October, Mr Bush asked the treasury to freeze the financial assets of members of the military regime. The move followed a violent suppression of anti-government protests in Burma (Myanmar) led by Buddhist monks. The US has already imposed substantial trade, investment and diplomatic sanctions on the regime, freezing assets and imposing visa bans on senior generals and their families. In Washington, Mr Bush said his executive order targeted "companies in industries such as gems and timber that exploit the labour of the downtrodden Burmese people but enrich only the generals". "I'm sending yet another clear message that we expect there to be change, that we expect these generals to honour the will of the people," he said. Posted by: Steve White 2008-05-02 |
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