YANGON, Sept 27: Western nations, which imposed biting sanctions on Myanmar from the 1990s to punish the impoverished nation’s brutal former junta, have moved to sweep away their embargoes this year.

Most sanctions have now been suspended or scrapped, culminating in the US decision on Wednesday to ease a ban on imports from Myanmar, lifting its last major trade embargo.

The moves are in response to reforms by a new quasi-civilian government that came to power last year and ushered in a period of transformation for the long-isolated nation, with the election of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to parliament and the release of hundreds of political prisoners.

Here are some facts about the measures.

EU SANCTIONS: Imposed since 1996, the European Union sanctions were designed to hurt the former junta and its allies and reinforced several times, including in 2003 in response to Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention and in 2007 after a brutal military crackdown against the monk-led protests.

But the process was swiftly reversed after the Nobel laureate won a parliamentary seat in by-elections, hailed as a major sign of reform.—AFP