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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 5, 2008
Statement by the Press Secretary
The actions of Than Shwe and his associates remain unacceptable to all those who value freedom. In defiance of the unanimous call of the U.N. Security Council, the regime continues to keep Aung San Suu Kyi isolated and under house arrest; refuses to allow United Nations Special Advisor Ibrahim Gambari's return to Burma; and continues to hunt down peaceful activists. Moreover, the regime is planning secret trials of the prominent monk U Gambira and ten Burmese pro-democracy activists, including Min Ko Niang and Ko Ko Kyi.
The President has said that the United States would continue to review our policies and consider additional measures if Than Shwe's junta did not end its brutal oppression of the Burmese people. Therefore, today and pursuant to Executive Order 13448 signed by President Bush on October 18, 2007, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated additional individuals and entities for sanctions.
OFAC designated four family members of regime leaders and four companies and three individuals connected to Tay Za, a Than Shwe regime crony and known arms dealer. These designations add to the 30 individuals and seven entities previously designated for sanctions.
The United States will continue to do our part to help the people of Burma, and other countries, particularly Burma's neighbors, must do the same.
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