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Washington: President George W. Bush froze the assets of state-owned companies in Myanmar that he said are propping up the ruling junta.
"These companies, in industries such as gems and timber, exploit the labour of the downtrodden Burmese people, but enrich only the generals," Bush said about Myanmar, also known as Burma.
The new order allows the Bush administration to go after state-owned enterprises, which it previously lacked the authority to do. The US government already has taken the power to go after individuals and companies in Myanmar.
In remarks at the White House marking Asian Pacific American heritage month, Bush said the military regime in Myanmar "continues to reject the will of its people to live under a system headed by people of their own choosing".
"Over the past eight months, my administration has tightened sanctions on the regime," he said. "We've imposed visa bans on the junta's generals and their families and their cronies, trying to send a clear message, and we hope the rest of the world follows as well."
Myanmar's government has been widely criticised for human rights abuses and suppression of pro-democracy parties such as the one led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been in prison or under house arrest for more than 12 of the last 18 years.
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