Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) Condemns U.S. Decision to Lift Sanctions on Junta Cronies

For Immediate Release

Media Contact: 

• Eric Grignol, UUSC Director of Strategic Communications, media@uusc.org, 857-762-2117
• Alexandra Zaroulis, 617MediaGroup, alex.zaroulis@617mediagroup.com, 617- 658-8115

Date: July 28, 2025 

Cambridge, M.A. – UUSC today strongly condemned the U.S. Treasury Department’s decision to remove sanctions from several key allies of Burma’s military junta, calling the move a devastating blow to the Burmese people’s struggle for democracy.

On July 24, 2025, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control lifted sanctions against KT Services & Logistics and its founder Jonathan Myo Kyaw Thaung; the MCM Group and owner Aung Hlaing Oo; Suntac Technologies and owner Sit Taing Aung; and junta crony Tin Latt Min. These individuals and entities were sanctioned for directly enabling the military regime’s operations and arms procurement.

“By rewarding war criminals while the junta escalates violence against civilians, the U.S. is essentially telling the people of Burma that their suffering doesn’t matter,” said Myra Dahgaypaw, Senior Partnership Office for International Justice and Accountability at UUSC. “This decision will embolden the military regime to commit even more atrocities, knowing they face no real consequences for their crimes against humanity.”

The timing is particularly alarming given documented reports showing the Burmese junta continues intensifying its campaign of violence throughout the country. Since the 2021 attempted coup, the military has killed thousands, displaced 3.5 million people, and pushed half the nation into poverty.

“How can we tell the people of Burma that we stand with them in their fight for democracy when we’re simultaneously removing economic pressure from the very cronies funding the military’s campaign of terror? This decision undermines everything we claim to represent and abandons millions of Burmese people to continued oppression and violence,” said Mary Katherine Morn, President of UUSC.

This decision directly contradicts recent Congressional action, as three Burma bills supporting the Burmese people recently passed out of House committees. Representative Ami Bera (D-CA) called the sanction removals “a bad idea” that “goes against our values of freedom and democracy.”

The junta will undoubtedly weaponize these lifted sanctions as propaganda to legitimize their brutal rule ahead of upcoming sham elections, making it nearly impossible for the democratic resistance to gain international recognition.

We call on the Trump Administration to reverse this decision and maintain pressure on all junta enablers until democracy is restored to Burma.

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About UUSC

The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) is a nonprofit, nonsectarian organization advancing human rights together with an international community of grassroots partners and advocates.