US House members on Thursday (1/2) will launch the first bipartisan caucus on Myanmar to pressure the US government to act on the crisis in the Southeast Asian country since the military staged a coup three years ago, according to a statement.
Republican Bill Huizenga and Democrat Betty McCollum will lead the Myanmar Caucus in Congress. According to statements from the two legislators, the caucus was intended to increase Congress' support for the struggle for democracy and human rights in the country.
Myanmar's military seized power on February 1 three years ago, detaining democracy leaders including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and sparking a youth-led pro-democracy uprising that turned into an armed resistance movement after a deadly government crackdown.
“The humanitarian crisis in Myanmar has escalated to a level that requires urgent attention from Congressional leadership,” according to a statement by the two legislators, shared with Reuters ahead of Thursday's announcement.
The caucus is expected to include at least 30 legislators as initial members, according to Kristiana Kuqi of the Campaign for a New Myanmar, an advocacy group that helped form the caucus, in part to keep attention focused on Myanmar while issues such as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, US competition with China dominates discussions in Washington.
“The greater the involvement of Congress and Congressional staff … the more we will be able to exert influence” on Myanmar, Kuqi said.
Activists want US President Joe Biden's administration to provide more support to anti-coup forces in Myanmar after Congress last year passed legislation allowing the US government to provide them with non-lethal assistance, and to set up an advisory group to decide what to do with about $1 billion in Myanmar assets held frozen by the US government after the coup.
Washington announced Wednesday new sanctions against companies and individuals with links to the military, targeting fuel used to carry out air strikes that often target civilians, as well as the military's ability to produce weapons. (uh/ab)