US imposes sanctions on Myanmar military

Rohingya Muslim men with their hands bound kneel as members of the Myanmar security forces stand guard in Inn Din village. Photo: Reuters
Rohingya Muslim men with their hands bound kneel as members of the Myanmar security forces stand guard in Inn Din village. Photo: Reuters

The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on four Myanmar military and police commanders and two army units for involvement in what it called "ethnic cleansing" and other human rights abuses against the country's Rohingya Muslims, the treasury department said.

The sanctions marked the toughest US action so far in response to Myanmar's crackdown on the Rohingya minority, which started last year and has driven more than 700,000 people into neighboring Bangladesh and left thousands of dead behind.

But the Trump administration did not target the highest levels of the Myanmar military and also stopped short of calling the anti-Rohingya campaign crimes against humanity or genocide, which has been the subject of debate within the US government.

The measures were announced as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, according to US officials, prepares to release the findings of an intensive U.S. investigation of alleged atrocities by Myanmar authorities against the Rohingya.

The release of the report, compiled from interviews with refugees in Bangladesh, is expected to be around the 25 August one-year anniversary of the bloody crackdown.

“Burmese security forces have engaged in violent campaigns against ethnic minority communities across Burma, including ethnic cleansing, massacres, sexual assault, extrajudicial killings, and other serious human rights abuses," said Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Sigal Mandelker, using an alternative name for Myanmar.

"Treasury is sanctioning units and leaders overseeing this horrific behaviour as part of a broader US government strategy to hold accountable those responsible for such wide-scale human suffering,” Mandelker said. The targeted sanctions were imposed on military commanders Aung Kyaw Zaw, Khin Maung Soe and Khin Hlaing and border police commander Thura San Lwin, in addition to the 33rd and 99th Light Infantry Divisions, the Treasury said.

The measures call for freezes of any US assets the individuals hold as well as bans on travel to the United States.

A Reuters special report in June gave a comprehensive account of the roles played by the two infantry divisions in the offensive against the Rohingya.

The military in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, also known as Burma, has denied accusations of ethnic cleansing and says its actions were part of a fight against terrorism.

Myanmar's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

File Photo
File Photo

"LONG OVERDUE STEP"

Critics have accused president Donald Trump of being slow in his response to the Rohingya crisis. Human rights groups noted that while Friday's sanctions list included generals, Myanmar's powerful army chief, Min Aung Hlaing, was spared.

"The imposition of these targeted sanctions against key Burmese commanders responsible for atrocities against the Rohingya is an important but long overdue step," said Rich Weir, Myanmar researcher at Human Rights Watch.

"The avoidance of the top military leaders is striking," he said. "The likelihood that they did not know what was happening is close to infinitesimal."

In the Treasury statement, Mandelker said: "The US government is committed to ensuring that Burmese military units and leaders reckon with and put a stop to these brutal acts."

In November, following the lead of the United Nations and the European Union, then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson declared that the Rohingya crisis constituted "ethnic cleansing," a designation that increased pressure on its civilian leader, Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Until Friday's announcement, the United States had only sanctioned a single Myanmar commander. Washington has also scaled back already-limited military ties with Myanmar since the Rohingya crisis began.

Two Reuters reporters, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, are on trial in Myanmar on charges of violating a state secrets law after being arrested in December while reporting on the massacre of 10 Rohingya men. Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges and have told the court how they were "trapped" by police officials who planted documents on them.

This month Pompeo called for the immediate release of the two reporters.