Yangon – The military leader of Myanmar praised President Trump and asked him to raise sanctions, the Junta in power said on Friday, after a price letter from the American president whom he took the first public recognition of Washington of his reign. Min Aung Hlaing approved Mr. Trump’s false assertion that the 2020 American election was stolen and thanked it for Stop funding for media supported by the United States The points of sale which have long provided independent coverage of the Myanmar exhausted in conflict.
Soldiers ousted by the Civil Government Elected by Aung San Suu Kyi In 2021, plunging the country, also known as Burma, in the civil war. SUU KYI A remained imprisoned since then.
The US State Department sanctioned the head of the junta and others Use “violence and terror to opt” Burmese and “refuse them the ability to freely choose their own leaders”.
American diplomats do not officially engage with the junta, but Trump sent a letter to Min Aung Hlaing by name on Monday saying that the United States would impose a rate of 40% compared to August 1, against 44% threatened. It was one of 20 similar letters sent to world leaders by Mr. Trump in recent days.
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“This is certainly the first public indication that I saw of the American recognition of Mah and the Junta,” said Richard Horse of the International Crisis Group.
All previous private communications “would certainly not have been Trump of course,” he told AFP.
Min Aung Hlaing took the opportunity to respond with a letter of several pages published in Burma and English by the Junta Information team on Friday.
In this document, he expressed his “sincere appreciation” of Mr. Trump’s letter and congratulated the “strong leadership of the American president to guide your country towards national prosperity”.
He sought to justify the seizure of military power, saying: “Similar to the challenges you met during the elections in 2020 of the United States, Myanmar also experienced major electoral fraud and significant irregularities.”
Voice of America and Radio Free Asia – created by the United States with the mission of providing news to free media countries – closed their operations in Burmese since the Trump administration reduced its funding.
Min Aung Hlaing said he “sincerely appreciated” Trump’s decision.
The junta depends more and more on its allies China and Russia for economic and military support.
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Min Aung Hlaing asked Mr. Trump to “reconsider the relaxation and lifting of economic sanctions imposed in Myanmar” and asked for a tariff of 10 to 20%.
He thanked Trump for “the encouraging invitation to continue to participate in the extraordinary economy of the United States, the number one market in the world”.
Mr. Trump’s punitive pricing letters have let many nations rush to obtain last minute agreements with Washington before entering into force next month.