The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned two individuals and six entities associated with the military regime’s atrocities, particularly its airstrikes against civilians.
Jet fuel for Myanmar’s armed forces has been the target of the latest sanctions imposed by the United States on the country’s military regime and nepotism.
The US Treasury Department said on Friday it has imposed sanctions on two people and six entities linked to Myanmar’s military who facilitated the regime’s ongoing atrocities.
Three sanctioned entities work in Myanmar’s defense sector, specifically in the importation, storage and distribution of jet fuel for the country’s armed forces, the US Treasury Department said in a statement. a statement.
Sanctioned companies included: Sia Sun Group, which was previously sanctioned by Canada and the European Union, Asia Sun Trading Co Ltd, a company designated for sanctions by the UK earlier this year, and Cargo Link Petroleum Logistics Co Ltd, a transport company that distributes jet fuel to the military across Myanmar and was also designated by the UK earlier this year, the finance ministry said.
Two individuals were also sanctioned: Tun Min Latt, who was described by the Treasury as a close associate of the leader of the military regime, and Tun Min Latt’s wife, Win Min Soe, who co-owns with her husband the three corporate entities: Star Sapphire. group of companies, Star Sapphire Trading Company Ltd, and the Singapore-based Star Sapphire Group PTE Ltd.
The pair’s firms were involved in the import of “military weapons and equipment, including drones and aircraft parts,” and had also acted as agents for Chinese arms maker Norinco, which had already been approved by the US, the Treasury Department said. Tun Min Latt was arrested in Thailand in September on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering, it added.
“Burma’s military regime continues to inflict pain and suffering on its own people,” Brian Nelson, Treasury Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in a statement, referring to the country by its former name.
Today @USTreasury designated eight targets related to the defense sector of Burma’s economy and issued a sanctions warning on jet fuel in Burma. The US remains determined to deny the regime the means to continue its violence and gross atrocities. https://t.co/KJfS0lwDfd
— Derek Chollet (@CounselorDOS) March 24, 2023
Atrocities committed from the air
Since taking power in 2021, the military regime had come to rely increasingly on airstrikes targeting civilian areas with “unguided munitions and missiles”.
“These attacks include airstrikes in late 2022 on Let Yet Kone village in central Burma, which hit a school with children and teachers present, as well as an airstrike in the northern state of Kachin that killed as many as 80 people. attending a musical concert,” the Treasury said.
The sanctions announced Friday were the last by the US against companies and individuals associated with the country’s military rulers. The EU and the UK have also imposed sanctions to isolate the military government.
The Justice for Myanmar activist group and the organization The Sentry applauded Washington’s focus on supplying jet fuel and imposing sanctions on companies and individuals associated with the regime.
📣 JFM & @TheSentry_Org welcome US sanctions against Star Sapphire Group companies and two of the group’s co-owners. We call on the EU, UK, Canada and Australia to coordinate their efforts to ensure that all Star Sapphire entities and owners are sanctioned. 👉🏽https://t.co/Ai4ObZeFmj pic.twitter.com/rxviMPJBEI
— Justice for Myanmar (@JusticeMyanmar) March 25, 2023
We welcome the US decision to sanction these military cronies and call on like-minded jurisdictions, including the European Union, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, to coordinate their efforts to ensure that all Star Sapphire entities and owners are sanctioned in every jurisdiction,” the organizations said in a joint statement.
Last month, the EU-imposed asset freezes and travel bans on 16 individuals and entities in Myanmar – including the energy minister, influential businessmen and senior officers – for “serious” human rights violations in the country.
The EU also condemned widespread human rights violations by the military, including sexual violence, the persecution of civil society workers, human rights defenders, journalists and airstrikes against civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals.