Bush: US Will Tighten Sanctions on Myanmar

World | September 25, 2007, Tuesday // 00:00

The United States will tighten sanctions on the military government in Myanmar and its financial backers, President Bush told the UN General Assembly, as cited by CNN.

In Myanmar, the military government "has imposed a 19-year reign of fear," including persecution of ethnic minorities, child labor, human trafficking and the snuffing out of freedoms of speech, assembly and worship, Bush said.

"The regime is holding more than 1,000 political prisoners," Bush said, including Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and reformist leader whose National League for Democracy Party won power in 1990. Myanmar's military leaders, who have been at the helm since the 1960s, refused to honor the results.

Despite the government's totalitarian behavior, Bush said "the people's desire for freedom is unmistakable."

The US will move to tighten sanctions on the military government and its financial backers, including visa bans on those responsible for human rights violations, Bush said. He further urged the UN member nations to apply "diplomatic and economic leverage to help the Burmese people reclaim their freedom."

Burma is the traditional name for Myanmar. The Asian nation is presently the site of massive protests led by tens of thousands of Buddhist monks pushing for democracy.

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