Opponents of military rule in Myanmar applaud new sanctions targeting gas revenues

abcnews.go.com:

A U.N.-appointed human rights expert and opponents of Myanmar’s military government have welcomed the latest sanctions imposed by the U.S., U.K. and Canada on companies providing financial resources to the army-installed regime and high-ranking officials

BANGKOK — A U.N.-appointed human rights expert and opponents of Myanmar’s military government have welcomed the latest sanctions imposed by the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada on companies providing financial resources to the army-installed regime and high-ranking officials. The move is linked to rising violence and human rights abuses in the Southeast Asian nation.

The U.S. Treasury Department said Tuesday it was imposing sanctions on Myanmar’s state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise, a joint venture partner in all offshore gas projects and a vital source of hard cash for the military government. The sanctions block access to money and resources under U.S. control, and prohibit U.S. citizens from providing financial services to — or for the benefit of — MOGE starting from Dec. 15.

Five officials are on the sanctions list: the ministers of industry and investment and foreign economic relations; the director generals of the prosecution and prisons departments; and the chief of general staff for the combined military forces. Three organizations were also designated for sanctions, according to the Treasury Department.

The U.K. also sanctioned five people and one entity that it said are involved either in providing financial services to the regime or the supply of restricted goods, including aircraft parts.

Canada also imposed sanctions against 39 individuals and 22 entities in coordination with the U.K. and the U.S.

Tom Andrews, a special rapporteur working