Myanmar executions revive pressure for more sanctions

By ELAINE KURTENBACH
AP Business Writer

BANGKOK (AP) — Recent executions of four democracy activists in Myanmar have reenergized efforts to get the U.S. and other governments to impose further sanctions on its army-controlled government. Human rights advocates and comments by leading U.S. lawmakers suggest Congress is inching toward passage of the Burma Act, which would impose mandatory sanctions on Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise. The state-owned company’s revenues from sales of oil and gas are a vital source of hard cash for the military administration. That makes it a key target in the push to cut off funding for the military’s fight against a widespread backlash against its seizure of power in February 2021.