The United States has decided to grant temporary asylum to the citizens of various professions including Myanmar’s immigrate-seekers. The country has taken such a decision due to the volatile situation in the Southeast Asian country after the military coup.

According to the decision, Myanmar nationals residing in the United States will receive temporary asylum as well as work permits.

The United States Department of Homeland Security announced Friday that Washington has launched a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants who will not be safe to return home at this time. This will allow citizens of countries affected by natural disasters or armed conflict to stay in the US legally for a specified period of time. At the end of the time, if necessary, the term can be extended again.

Reuters reports that Myanmar citizens will initially benefit from the TPS program. Washington has taken this step to provide security to the country’s citizens as the military repression has continued since the February 1 coup. However, only those who entered the United States by March 11 will be under the program.

The policy will apply to about 1,600 Myanmar nationals in the United States. Among them are diplomats who have severed ties with Myanmar’s military. They will be able to enjoy the 18-months benefits under TPS.

Alejandro Mayorkas, the Secretary of U.S. Homeland Security, said the brutality that security forces have inflicted on civilians in Myanmar since the military coup has created an “extremely inhumane situation” across the country.

Myanmar has been paralyzed by pro-democracy protests since the military overthrew the democratic government and seized power. The country’s security forces are using force in various ways, including cracking down on protesters, making mass arrests and firing indiscriminately.

Two days ago, Thomas Andrews, a UN human rights official at Myanmar, said security forces had so far killed at least 70 protesters and detained more than 2,000.

A number of Myanmar diplomats have spoken out against the country’s military in the current situation – one of them is Kyaw Moe Tun, the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations.

Action against Myanmar

The United States, the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) have taken a number of punitive measures against Myanmar in the wake of military coups and ongoing protests.

This week, Washington imposed sanctions on the two children of Myanmar’s army chief, Min Aung Hlaing, and six commercial enterprises under their control, which is already in force. 

However, no action has been taken against the two largest military-controlled financial institutions, the Myanmar Economic Corporation and Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited. Almost the entire economy of Myanmar is controlled by these two organizations.

Meanwhile, the governments and heads of state of the United States, India, Australia and Japan announced at a virtual meeting of the coalition known as the ‘Quad’ on Friday that they would work together to restore democracy in Myanmar.