WASHINGTON—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement:

“With the ethnic cleansing—and likely genocide—at the hands of Burmese authorities in Rakhine State, it’s stunning that the Administration could come up with only one person to designate in the context of yesterday’s Global Magnitksy sanctions. While Major General Soe Maung Maung certainly deserves to be on this list, much more needs to be done. The President should also consider sanctioning the Bureau of Special Operations in Naypyidaw, including Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing; the field commanders of three divisions under Soe Maung Maung’s command in Rakhine state; and military commanders in Kachin and Shan states accused of flagrant abuses of civilians.

“And if the Administration won’t take this issue seriously, the House should pass my bill to impose targeted sanctions and visa restrictions on those responsible.

“I’m also deeply troubled by the Burmese government’s decision to bar the UN Human Rights investigator from entering Burma. With this action, along with the arrest of two Reuters reporters, the Burmese government is hiding the military’s crimes—a black mark on Aang San Suu Kyi and her government’s professed commitment to greater freedom and democracy for all people in Burma.”

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