US imposes sanctions on Myanmar's state-owned oil and gas enterprise

Washington, DC [US], November 1 : The United States has imposed targeted sanctions on the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), the national oil and gas company of Myanmar, as it provides hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign revenues every year to the military regime's coffers, which it uses to buy weapons and military equipment from abroad.
By issuing the financial services directive against MOGE the United States seeks to disrupt the regime's access to the US financial system and curtail its ability to perpetrate atrocities.
The US State Department issued a statement on Tuesday, stating the US's decision to impose these sanctions on the national oil and gas company of Myanmar.
Moreover, it said that the US is coordinating with Canada and the UK to align its sanctions on the military regime.
"The United States is designating three entities and five individuals who have supported the Burma regime's perpetration of human rights violations and abuses since the February 2021 military coup d'etat against the country's democratically elected government," the statement added.
Additionally, it highlighted that the designations close avenues for sanctions evasion and strengthen the US's efforts to impose costs and promote accountability for the regime's atrocities.
According to the statement, the US encouraged all countries to take concrete measures to halt the flow of arms and other material to the military regime.
"We continue to encourage all countries to take tangible measures to halt the flow of arms, aviation fuel, and revenue to the military regime," the statement stressed.
The US, Canada, and the UK unequivocally condemned the Burma military's ongoing assaults on those in the country striving for genuine peace and democracy.
It further called on the international community to take further action on it.
"We urge the international community to step up action to address the worsening human rights, humanitarian, political, and economic crises in Burma," the statement said.
Moreover, such actions support and advance the efforts of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the UN Security Council and countries in the region to pursue a just resolution to the conflict in Myanmar.
The statement further emphasized, "The international community must deploy all diplomatic tools at its disposal to push the regime to end its atrocities and violence, release those unjustly detained, allow unhindered humanitarian assistance, and support the will of the people of Burma for genuine and inclusive democracy."