US lawmakers seek to Extend Myanmar Sanctions

Press Release

US lawmakers this week proposed to extend sanctions on Myanmar, saying that the regime has not made true efforts to improve treatment of its people despite a political transition.

The annual legislation, which has passed easily in Congress in the past, bans the import of goods from Myanmar, including lucrative gems, and restricts visas issued to government officials in the country earlier known as Burma.

President Barack Obama earlier this month extended a separate set of sanctions that bar US investment in Myanmar.

Mitch McConnell, the top member of the minority Republican Party in the Senate, criticized elections last year in Myanmar as a farce to rubber-stamp regime-backed candidates, even though the junta officially ceded power to civilians.

"We should not be fooled by the transparent efforts of the regime," the Kentucky senator said.

"It is merely trying to get out from under the international cloud of sanctions -- without making true changes in how it governs itself, treats its people and interacts with the rest of the world," he said.

McConnell proposed the sanctions extension with Senator Dianne Feinstein of Obama's Democratic Party. A similar bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Democrat Joe Crowley and Republican Peter King.

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