WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on
Thursday lifted another set of sanctions against Myanmar to support
reforms in the formerly army-ruled country, while retaining visa and
investment bans against individuals accused of human rights abuses.
The Obama administration decided that a 1996 ban on
granting U.S. entry visas to the former Burma’s military rulers, their
business partners and immediate families was no longer necessary after
two years of reforms, the State Department said in a statement.
“Since 2011, the civilian-led Government of Burma has
taken important steps toward significant social, political, and economic
reform that demonstrate substantial progress on areas of concern,” the
statement said.
The statement added, however, that the termination of
that visa ban did not mean that people covered by it would automatically
be eligible for visas. All visitors from Myanmar would still have to
apply for visas, and formerly banned officials would face scrutiny,
officials said.
In a move announced simultaneously, President Barack
Obama extended for another year the annual National Emergencies Act,
which prohibits U.S. businesses and individuals from investing or doing
business with Myanmar figures involved in repression of the democracy
movement since the mid-1990s.
“The political opening is nascent, and concerns persist
regarding remaining political prisoners, ongoing conflict and human
rights abuses in ethnic minority areas, and the country’s continued
military relationship with (North Korea),” Obama wrote in a letter to
Congress.
The U.S. goal in keeping some sanctions, while gradually
eliminating others, is “to ensure that the democratic transition becomes
irreversible,” wrote Obama.
The rapid U.S. rapprochement with Myanmar since 2011, in
which Washington has rewarded political reform by lifting long-standing
economic sanctions and easing most of its ban on imports from the
country, has come under fire from human rights groups.
Of particular concern have been sectarian clashes between
Buddhists and the Muslim minority, which makes up about 5 percent of
Myanmar’s population, that have erupted on several occasions since a
quasi-civilian government took power in March 2011 after five decades of
brutal military dictatorship.
Jennifer Quigley, executive director of the advocacy
group U.S. Campaign for Burma, called Obama’s renewal of the National
Emergencies Act for another year “the right decision” in view of the
ethnic violence and forcible land confiscation for investment projects.
“The Burmese military and security forces continue to
carry out serious human rights violations against ethnic minorities in
Burma,” she said in a statement from the group’s Washington
headquarters.
Quigley called for further investigation into “the
Burmese government’s system of impunity and security forces’ role in the
ongoing escalation of anti-Muslim violence and ethnic cleansing.”
(Reporting by Paul Eckert; Editing by Peter Cooney)
source: EuroNews
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