Bush signs executive order to broaden US crackdown on Myanmar generals

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
President George W. Bush froze the assets of state-owned companies in Myanmar that he said are propping up the ruling junta. "These companies, in industries such as gems and timber, exploit the labor of the downtrodden Burmese people, but enrich only the generals," Bush said Friday about Myanmar, also known as Burma. The new order allows the Bush administration to go after state-owned enterprises, which it previously lacked the authority to do. The US government already has taken the power to go after individuals and companies in Myanmar, which has been under military rule since 1962. In remarks at the White House marking Asian Pacific American heritage month, Bush said the military regime in Myanmar continues to reject the will of its people to live under a system headed by people of their own choosing.