The Biden administration is engaged in an internal debate over whether to call the military takeover in Myanmar a coup, a designation that would have ramifications for US assistance to the country’s government, according to a State Department official and an administration official.
It is a decision the newly minted administration will have to make as it confronts one of its first major foreign-policy challenges.
“The military’s seizure of power in Burma, the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian officials, and the declaration of a national state of emergency are a direct assault on the country’s transition to democracy and the rule of law,” Biden said in a statement Monday. “For almost a decade, the people of Burma have been steadily working to establish elections, civilian governance, and the peaceful transfer of power. That progress should be respected.”
“The United States removed sanctions on Burma over the past decade based on progress toward democracy,” he continued, using another name for Myanmar. “The reversal of that progress will necessitate an immediate review of our sanction laws and authorities, followed by appropriate action.”
Biden’s statement followed earlier messages of condemnation from White House press secretary Jen Psaki and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, neither of which referred to the takeover as a coup.
A State Department official told CNN that “recent events in Burma obviously have the makings of a coup, but the State Department is doing the required legal and factual analysis.”
“We will await the outcome before making an assessment,” the official said.
The US Agency for International Development said Monday evening that it is “carefully monitoring and assessing the potential impacts on USAID programs as this situation evolves.”
“The safety and security of our staff & partners are our top priority,” the agency said in a tweet.
Officially declaring the events in Myanmar a coup would legally bind the US to cut off foreign assistance to the country’s government. The State Department legal office is studying this determination and is likely to take the lead on this matter, the officials said. There is no legal requirement for the US to formally declare a military takeover to be a coup, but the administration will make that determination if it sees it in the US national security interest to do so.
Source: Biden administration debating whether to call military takeover in Myanmar a ‘coup’
