Myanmar junta thanks Trump after recognition in tariff letter
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Myanmar's military leader Min Aung Hlaing endorsed Mr Trump’s false claim that the 2020 US election was stolen.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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YANGON - Myanmar’s military leader lauded Mr Donald Trump and asked him to lift sanctions, the junta said on July 11 after a tariff letter from the US President believed to be Washington’s first public recognition of its rule.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing endorsed Mr Trump’s false claim that the 2020 US election was stolen, and thanked him for shutting down funding to US-backed media providing independent coverage of conflict-wracked Myanmar.
The military ousted Ms Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected civilian government in 2021, plunging the country into civil war.
The US State Department sanctioned the junta chief and others for using “violence and terror to oppress” Burmese people and “denying them the ability to freely choose their own leaders”.
US diplomats do not formally engage with the junta, but Mr Trump sent a letter to the senior general by name on July 7 telling him the US would impose a 40 per cent tariff from Aug 1, down from a threatened 44 per cent.
“It’s certainly the first public indication I’ve seen of US acknowledgement of MAH (Min Aung Hlaing) and the junta,” said Mr Richard Horsey of the International Crisis Group.
Any earlier private communications “would almost certainly not have been from Trump of course”, he told AFP.
Gen Min Aung Hlaing seized the opportunity to respond with a multipage letter released in both Burmese and English by the junta information team on July 11.
In it, he expressed his “sincere appreciation” for Mr Trump’s letter and praised the US President’s “strong leadership in guiding your country toward national prosperity”.
He sought to justify the military’s seizure of power, saying: “Similar to the challenges you encountered during the 2020 election of the United States, Myanmar also experienced major electoral fraud and significant irregularities.”
Both Voice of America and Radio Free Asia – created by the US with a mission to deliver news in countries without free media – have shut down their Burmese-language operations since the Trump administration cut their funding.
The junta leader said he “sincerely appreciated” Mr Trump’s move.
The junta is increasingly dependent on its allies China and Russia for economic and military support.
Gen Min Aung Hlaing asked Mr Trump to “reconsider easing and lifting the economic sanctions imposed on Myanmar”, and sought a tariff of 10 per cent to 20 per cent.
He thanked Mr Trump for the “encouraging invitation to continue participating in the extraordinary economy of the US, the No. 1 market in the world”.
Mr Trump’s punitive tariff letters have left many nations scrambling to secure last-minute deals with Washington before they come into force in August. AFP
