By Jennifer Ugwueke
The Biden administration has announced the suspension of all diplomatic trade engagements with Myanmar on Monday following a weekend of violence against pro-democracy protesters and the deadliest day since military seized power in a February 1 coup.
The suspension of government-to-government engagement under the 2013 Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) “will remain in effect until the return of a democratically elected government,” a statement from the office of United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai said.
Under that agreement the US cooperated with Myanmar on trade and investment to support the Country’s integration into the global economy.
More than 100 civilians, including children, were killed in demonstrations protesting the military coup across Myanmar on Saturday, sparking international condemnation.
President Joe Biden called the violence “terrible” and “absolutely outrageous.”
“Based on the reporting that I got, an awful lot of people have been killed totally unnecessarily,” Biden told reporters Sunday in Delaware as he headed back to Washington.
Asked what the US response would be to the reported atrocities, Biden said, “We’re working on that now.”
The diplomatic trade suspension announced Monday will be effective “immediately.”
“The United States supports the people of Burma in their efforts to restore a democratically elected Government, which has been the foundation of Burma’s economic growth and reform,” Tai said in a statement, using another name for Myanmar.
Tai continued, “The United States strongly condemns the Burmese security forces’ brutal violence against civilians. The killing of peaceful protestors, students, workers, labor leaders, medics, and children has shocked the conscience of the international Community. These actions are a direct assault on the Country’s transition to democracy and the efforts of the Burmese people to achieve a peaceful and prosperous future.”
The Karen National Union (KNU), the armed ethnic group that controls the southeastern region in Myanmar, told CNN that more airstrikes were conducted by Myanmar’s ruling military Sunday after military jets killed at least two members of the KNU militia Saturday in a bombing raid near the border with Thailand and many civilians fled across the border. The US State Department has not responded to CNN’s request for comment on the airstrikes.