Australia targets Myanmar, Iran with economic sanctions

By ROD McGUIRK
Asspociated Press

Australia has announced targeted financial sanctions and travel bans against “individuals responsible for egregious human rights abuses” in Myanmar two years after a military junta seized power in the Southeast Asian country. Australia also announced in a statement on Wednesday additional sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities over “abhorrent abuses of human rights.” The Myanmar sanctions target 16 members of the military’s governing regime and two military-controlled entities, the government said. Australia resisted calls to impose sanctions on Myanmar since the military takeover while Sydney economist Sean Turnell was detained by the military. Turnell was released in November as part of a broader prisoner amnesty and deported.