Justice For All Welcomes Sanctions on Burma By Pres Biden, Requests Rohingya Genocide Determination

Justice For All Burma Task Force welcomes today’s announcement by President Biden that he will issue an executive order preventing Burma’s generals from accessing $1 billion in assets in the United States. We are looking forward to more details about why Burmese perpetrators of genocide still held so much money in the United States.

Having worked since 2012 to advocate for Rohingya and other minorities in Burma,  we affirm that human rights protection must be front and center in any foreign policy decision. Burma Task Force agrees with the President that serious pressure is needed, and notes that more sanctions will be forthcoming.

In 2016, President Obama made a serious error in lifting most sanctions and this error has not led to peace or justice in Burma.  Military leaders continue to amass enormous illicit profits that drive their brutal “clearance operations” aimed at minorities. Military dominated companies must be sanctioned and driven from world markets. If the Rohingya genocide was not sufficient to convince US policymakers, the recent coup is a clear reminder that the US requires leverage to convince the brutal Burmese military that oppression will not succeed. From their resistance to the coup, it is clear that the diverse people of Burma do not consent to be dominated by the Burmese military. We wish them success in the struggle for democracy, coexistence and better leadership