WASHINGTON, July 23 (UPI) -- Renewed sanctions against the military junta in Myanmar should come as no surprise to the regime given its political record, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein said.
The U.S. Senate approved legislation sponsored by Feinstein, D-Calif., and U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., that renews sanctions against the military junta in Myanmar.
The Senate voted to renew sanctions in Myanmar for its continued violations of human rights and restrictions on democratic governance. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the measure by a voice vote last week.
The sanctions restrict goods from Myanmar from entering the United States and places visa restrictions on the military regime.
"This is a clear message to the junta that an illegitimate constitution and election law cannot suppress the unyielding democratic aspirations of the people of Myanmar," the California Democrat said in a statement.
Feinstein is the co-chair of the Senate Women's Caucus on Myanmar.
Myanmar is under scrutiny for the continued detention of Nobel Peace Prize-winner Aung Suu Kyi. Her National League for Democracy won a huge victory in elections in 1990, but the military rulers never accepted the results.
Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for most of the past two decades and cannot take part in elections scheduled for October.
The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said that it considers her detention a violation of international human-rights law.
