US Congress renews Myanmar import ban legislation

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US Congress has voted to renew a legislation banning all imports from military-ruled Myanmar and sent it for President George W. Bush's signature, lawmakers said Thursday.

The Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act was passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday and by the Senate Thursday, renewing a sanctions regime imposed since 2003 over the suppression of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's democracy movement.

The legislation maintains sanctions on the ruling military generals until the regime makes fundamental changes, including steps toward reconciliation and democratization, an end to attacks on ethnic minorities and the release of all "prisoners of conscience."

They include Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who has...