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The designation triggers restrictions and review of US assistance to Myanmar and could pave the way for sanctions.
The United States has designated the military takeover in Myanmar as a coup, a US State Department official said on Tuesday, a move that triggers restrictions and reviews of foreign assistance to the country and could pave the way for sanctions.
The assessment comes a day after US President Joe Biden condemned the military’s removal of Myanmar’s civilian-led government and the detention of the country’s elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and other officials.
“After a careful review of the facts and circumstances, we’ve assessed that Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Burma’s ruling party, and Win Myint, the duly elected head of government, were deposed in a military coup,” a State Department official told reporters on Tuesday, using Myanmar’s former name.
“We continue to call on the Burmese military leadership to release them, and all other detained civil society, and political leaders immediately and unconditionally,” said the official, who spoke during a background briefing.
Under US law, Washington will now be forbidden from providing assistance to Myanmar’s government – though the US already provides very little aid directly to the government.
On Monday, Biden said US sanctions that had been removed during Myanmar’s decade-long transition towards civilian rule were being reviewed and “appropriate action could be taken”.
The Myanmar military is already under US sanctions over its brutal campaign against the Rohingya ethnic minority, following a crackdown and resulting exodus in 2017 that the United Nations has labelled a “genocide”.
“As President Biden has said, we will take action against those responsible, including through a careful review of our current sanctions posture as it relates to Burma’s military leaders and companies associated with them,” the State Department official said on Tuesday.
Widespread condemnation
The military’s takeover has been condemned by the UN and international organisations, with close attention being paid to how China, Myanmar’s largest trading partner, will respond. China has said that it “noted” the coup.
The coup has spurred bipartisan agreement in the US, with Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell saying he hoped even more sanctions would be imposed against the armed forces, also known as the Tatmadaw.
He added: “Congress has already given the executive branch the authority it actually needs to swiftly apply even more sanctions to the military.”
The State Department official said Washington would maintain humanitarian programmes, including for Rohingya, but will also “undertake a broader review of our assistance” to Myanmar.
The official said Washington has not been in direct contact with the coup leaders in Myanmar or the deposed civilian government leaders.
The US contributed $1.5bn to Myanmar since 2012 to support democracy, internal peace and violence-hit communities, according to the State Department.
Aung San Suu Kyi‘s National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory in the country’s November 8 election, but the army, which is guaranteed a quarter of the seats in parliament and has a proxy party, cried foul.
The military has claimed its takeover is a response to election fraud, although there has been no evidence of wrongdoing. It also said its actions were justified under the 2008 constitution, which was written by the armed forces.
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