Kuala Lumpur: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Biden government weighed a strong sanction against Myanmar to suppress the country’s military leaders to restore the democratic path that was disturbed by the coup.
Blinken said the situation in Myanmar in 10 months from the coup was “getting worse” with mass catching and mass violence against protesters.
And he said the government was also looking for “very active” in referring to the underhingya Muslim population which was ongoing “genocide.” “I think it will be very important in the weeks and the coming months to see steps and steps In addition we can take individually, collectively to suppress the regime to restore the country to the trajectory of democracy, “said Blinken.
Blinken made him a comment on Wednesday in Malaysia, where he was at the second leg of the trip three countries to Southeast Asia.
His Malaysian colleague said that the relationship between Southeast Asian countries must also act, said regional groupings must carry out some “soul searches” about their policies on Myanmar members.
“The length and short of it is we have to look at what additional steps, steps can be taken to move items in a better direction and that is something we see,” Blinken told reporters at a news conference with the Minister Overseas Malaysia Saifuddin Abdullah.
Blinken was asked specifically about potential sanctions in the oil sector and Myanmar gas, but did not mention the possibility of his response.
However, he answered the possibility of determining genocide.
“We continue to look actively to determine what actions are taken in Myanmar and whether they form genocide and that is something we see very active now,” said Blinken.
He repeated the demands for Myanmar Junta to let go of all people who were “detained unfairly,” including the leader of Democracy Aung San Suu Kyi, allowing access to humanity that is not blocked to areas that need assistance, ending violence against protesters and restoring Myanmar “to the people democratic path.
” Responding to the same question, Abdullah said Malaysia believed that ASEAN must adopt a more coherent position when it comes to Myanmar.
The 10-nation group has long performed a non-interference policy in its members’ internal affairs and often refused to take action against them.
“I understand that we celebrate non-interference principles, but …
ASEAN must also see the principle of non-acuhanan because what happens in Myanmar has come out of Myanmar,” he said, noting that Malaysia is now hosting nearly 200,000 Rohingya refugees .
“We have to do a soul search,” he said, expecting that the meeting of the ASEAN Foreign Minister in January would be able to clarify the group’s position in Myanmar and put clear demands and militaries to meet with a specific timeline to solve it.
Blinken said we weighed new sanctions in Myanmar
