Official: US would consider individual sanctions for Myanmar
NAYPYITAW, Myanmar — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that the U.S. is deeply concerned by “credible reports” of atrocities committed by Myanmar’s security forces and called for an independent investigation into a humanitarian crisis in which hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh.
Speaking at a joint news conference with leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar’s capital, Tillerson said the U.S. would consider individual sanctions against people found responsible for the violence, but he would not advise “broad-based economic sanctions” against the entire country.
“All of that has to be evidence-based,” Tillerson said. “If we have credible information that we believe to be very reliable that certain individuals were responsible for certain acts that we find unacceptable, then targeted sanctions on individuals very well may be appropriate,” he said.
Tillerson’s one-day visit comes as a new report said there is “mounting evidence” of genocide against the Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, where a government security operation has caused nearly 620,000 Rohingya to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh.