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BURMA: U.S. Expands Sanctions Against Junta Supporters

Abid Aslam

WASHINGTON, Feb 25 2008 (IPS) - The U.S. government on Monday slapped fresh sanctions on businesses and individuals tied to Burma’s military rulers and urged stronger international pressure for democratic change in the country, also known as Myanmar.

“The situation in Burma remains deplorable,” President George W. Bush said in a statement highlighting “severe human rights abuses by the Burmese Army, including burning down homes and killing civilians.”

The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday announced sanctions against Steven Law (also known as Tun Myint Naing); his father, Lo Hsing Han; Law’s wife, Cecilia Ng (also known as Ng Sor Hong); and companies controlled by them. It referred to Lo as the “Godfather of Heroin”.

The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also imposed additional financial sanctions on the business network of designated Burmese arms dealer and hotel tycoon Tay Za.

Monday’s sanctions freeze any assets held by the named individuals and companies under U.S. jurisdiction. They also prohibit U.S. firms and persons from doing business with the targeted Burmese entities on penalty of being fined and imprisoned.

Companies designated in Monday’s announcement include the Law group’s Asia World Co. Ltd. conglomerate and three Burma-based subsidiaries: Asia World Port Management Co., Asia World Industries, and Asia Light Co.

Also named were 10 Singapore-based companies owned by Cecilia Ng. These included Golden Aaron Pte. Ltd., G.A. Ardmore, G.A. Capital, G.A. Foodstuffs, G.A. Land, G.A. Resort, G.A. Sentosa, G.A. Treasure, G.A. Whitehouse, and S.H. Ng Trading.

According to the U.S. treasury, “Lo Hsing Han, known as the ‘Godfather of Heroin’, has been one of the world’s key heroin traffickers dating back to the early 1970s.”

“Steven Law joined his father’s drug empire in the 1990s and has since become one of the wealthiest individuals in Burma,” it added.

Founded by Lo and with Law as its managing director, “Asia World has provided critical support to the Burmese regime and has received numerous lucrative government concessions, including the construction of ports, highways, and government facilities,” the treasury department said.

Washington announced previous sanctions against Tay Za and his corporate empire late last year and earlier this month. Added on Monday were Aureum Palace Hotels & Resorts and Myanmar Treasure Resorts. Both are units of his Htoo Group of Companies.

Bush appeared to acknowledge, tacitly, that U.S. efforts would have limited impact since Burma conducts most of its commerce with other countries. China, the European Union, and others have yet to join the United States in ordering targeted banking sanctions.

“Concerted international pressure is needed to achieve a genuine transition to democracy in Burma,” he said.

“We encourage Burma’s neighbours and other stakeholders in Southeast Asia to impress upon the regime the need to release all political prisoners,” he added.

In international circles, Burma has been synonymous with oppression for most of the 46 years that it has been under military rule. At least 31 people were killed and thousands jailed last September after protests against fuel price hikes morphed into pro-democracy rallies, according to the United Nations. Rights groups have put the death toll higher.

The junta – formally, the State Peace and Development Council – annulled 1990 elections in which the National League for Democracy won a landslide victory. Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader, remains under house arrest.

In recent weeks, however, the generals have said they are introducing a constitution and will hold a referendum in May, with the aim of holding fresh nationwide elections by 2010.

The draft constitution, written by junta appointees to the exclusion of the country’s opposition and many ethnic minorities, reserves one-fourth of all parliamentary seats for the military and bars Suu Kyi from holding office.

Ibrahim Gambari, the U.N. envoy to Burma, last week said he plans to discuss the ban against Suu Kyi when he next visits the country. Gambari has traveled there twice since last September but the junta has since withheld his visa, throwing his third trip into question. He told reporters he thought the Burmese government would invite him back next month.

Monday’s sanctions were the fourth set announced by the Bush administration since last year’s crackdown by Burma’s military.