Biden announces sanctions against military leaders of Myanmar
Washington: US President Joe Biden has announced a series of sanctions on the military leaders of Myanmar in response to their recent action to overthrow a democratically elected leadership in a coup.
"Today I'm announcing a series of actions that we're taking to begin imposing consequences on the leaders of the coup. The US government is taking steps to prevent the generals from improperly having access to the USD1 billion in Burmese government funds held in the United States," Biden told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.
Biden said he has approved a new executive order enabling US to immediately sanction the military leaders who directed the coup, their business interests, as well as close family members.
"We will identify a first round of targets this week. We are also going to impose strong export controls. We are freezing US assets that benefit the Burmese government, while maintaining our support for healthcare, civil society groups, and other areas that benefit the people of Burma directly," Biden said.
As protests grow, violence against those asserting their democratic rights is unacceptable, Biden said the US is going to keep calling it out. The people of Burma are making their voices heard. And the world is watching, he said.
In his first public address on Myanmar, which the US and several other western countries continue to call it by its previous name of Burma, Biden demanded that military must relinquish the power it seized and demonstrate respect for the will of the people of Burma as expressed in their November 8th election.
Last week, the United States helped bring together the UN Security Council, which issued a strong statement in support of Burmese democracy. This week, the administration will use its renewed engagement on the Human Rights Council to strengthen the world's commitment to human rights in Burma, he said.
"Today, I again call on the Burmese military to immediately release the democratic political leaders and activists that they're now detaining, including Aung San Suu Kyi. And also Win Myint, the President, he said.
Biden said that the assault on Burma's transition to democracy remains an issue of deep bipartisan concern. We've consulted at length, for example, with Senator McConnell, who's had a very keen interest in this, and his team. We welcomed their helpful insights, he said.
Senator Bob Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, welcomed Biden's announcement that his administration will take concrete and targeted measures to demonstrate to the Burmese military that their actions are unacceptable.
"As I've said before, there must be real consequences if Aung San Suu Kyi and the rest of Burma's elected leaders are not immediately freed and allowed to resume their rightful place at the head of a civilian government, he said.
Meanwhile, Congressman Gregory Meeks, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Ami Bera, Chairman of the Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, and Nonproliferation Subcommittee, on Wednesday held a briefing on the situation in Burma.
"Members expressed concern for the safety of those illegally detained by the military and expressed support for the administration's commitment to review the reimposition of sanctions, among other policy options, to hold the Burmese military accountable for the coup, they said in a joint statement.
"We urge the Burmese military to accept the will of the people and will continue to engage the Biden administration and likeminded partners and allies to support Burma's progress toward democracy, the two top lawmakers said.
State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters that as protests grow, Burma's military leaders need to know that violence against those who peacefully assert their democratic rights will not be tolerated. The United States will take note of those who stand with the people of Burma at this moment of crisis, he asserted.
Price said the US stands with the people of Burma and support their right to assemble peacefully, including their right to protest peacefully in support of the democratically elected government, the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information both online and offline.
The fact that we continue to see these demonstrations throughout the streets in Burma indicate where the Burmese people are, what their aspirations for democracy are. We will stand with them, he said.
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Austrian police detain suspect in case of rat poison found in baby food jars on supermarket shelves
Vienna (AP): Police in eastern Austria say a 39-year-old suspect has been arrested after rat poison turned up in some HiPP baby food jars on supermarket shelves in central Europe.
HiPP, which recalled some of its baby food jars in Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic after the case came to light last month, said in a statement Saturday it was “greatly relieved” by the arrest, and would provide further updates as verified details come in.
The Burgenland State Criminal Police Office, under the direction of prosecutors, said a probe was launched after poison turned up in a baby food jar purchased at a supermarket in the city of Eisenstadt on April 18.
It said the suspect was being questioned, and that no further details would be immediately provided. The Burgenland public prosecutor's office has announced an investigation into suspected “intentional endangerment of the public.”
The Austrian Press Agency reported that an expert report on the toxicity of the poison was pending. A total of five tampered baby food jars were seized before they could be consumed, APA reported.
Authorities said previously they believe the tampering occurred in 190-gram (6.7-ounce) jars of baby food made with carrots and potatoes for 5-month-olds that were sold from SPAR supermarkets in Austria.
HiPP responded by recalling all of its baby food jars sold at SPAR supermarkets — which include SPAR, EUROSPAR, INTERSPAR and Maximarkt stores — in Austria as a precaution. Vendors in Slovakia and the Czech Republic also removed all of the brand's baby jars from sale.
The company said the recall was not due to any product or quality defect on its part, and said the jars left its facility in “perfect condition.”
Police said a customer at the time of the discovery had reported that a jar appeared to have been tampered with, but no one had consumed the baby food.
