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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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
