Burma regime faces continued sanctions
The United States’ congress has voted overnight to continue the ban on imports of products from Burma, in recognition of ongoing human rights abuses in that country. The decision aligns itself with the findings of Amnesty International’s latest annual report, which notes that the ruling junta in Burma, also known as Mynmar, continues to commit human rights abuses and crimes against humanity as well as take repressive action against freedom of speech. One insider who knows all about the repressive nature of the regime, which has been in power since 1988, is Maung Muang Kyaw Win, a Burmese journalist who was forced to flee the country in 2005 after authorities threatened to quote “make his wife a widow”. Maung Maung, who now lives in exile in the United States described the situation that journalists faced after the military took over the country in 1988.