Washington, DC -- Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement after a Burmese military airstrike on a market in Kyauktaw, Burma reportedly killed at least 50 civilians and injured another 58. The strike came as the Trump administration announced an updated Burma policy that would expand engagement with the military junta, which seized power in a 2021 coup and which the Department of State determined in 2022 had committed genocide and crimes against humanity against Rohingya. 

“I am horrified by Monday’s airstrike on a market in Burma. This is just the latest reminder that the Burmese military has no regard for international law or the wellbeing of the people it claims to govern.  

“At the very moment the junta continues its brutal campaign against civilians, Secretary Rubio is moving to engage the junta at more senior levels. This policy is devoid of a credible strategy to increase U.S. leverage, reduce the junta’s violence, or secure humanitarian access for the Burmese people.   

“Instead of working to increase pressure on the junta, including through stronger sanctions and actually spending congressionally appropriated funding to support democracy in Burma, Rubio is now risking giving Min Aung Hlaing—a murderous military dictator—and his cronies greater international legitimacy. None of this is consistent with U.S. interests or values.”