The Australian government is facing renewed calls to place new sanctions on Burma’s (also known as Myanmar) military junta. An analysis (pdf) by the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), the peak body for Australian non-government organisations, has criticised the government’s decision not to impose any new sanctions since the military coup in February, likening the decision for inaction to supporting the military government. “The U.S., UK, Canada, and the EU have leveraged their relevant Magnitsky legislation to sanction a total of 38 individuals and 17 entities,” ACFID wrote in the analysis, calling the sanctions “particularly effective” at limiting the junta’s power and influence. Despite pressures, the Australian government has thus far decided against imposing sanctions on the Burmese junta due to assessments that it would limit the nation’s influence on Burma. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Assistant Secretary Lynda Worthaisong told a parliamentary inquiry that the department …