Mark Farmaner interviewed by BBC Burmese
BBC Burmese interviews Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK, about the recent private hearing on Myanmar affairs in the UN Security Council.
“Yet another UN Security Council meeting on Myanmar,” Mark Farmaner told BBC Burmese. “The people of Myanmar are not even allowed to know what was being discussed about their own country. It was a private meeting and we’ve seen no outcome.”
“We are not seing Myanmar being given the political prioritisation or attention [compared to Ukraine],” Mark Farmaner said. “The people of Myanmar have been very clear in their demands to the international community. Cut the revenue, cut the arms, deny legitimacy.”
Watch BBC Burmese interview (2.05 – 6.38 and 12.38 – end, dubbed into Burmese)
UK cuts aid to Rohingya refugees by 82% – Mizzima
Newly released figures have revealed that the British government has cut aid to around one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, most of them children, by a staggering 82%, reports Mizzima.
Burma Campaign UK is calling on UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to provide life-saving aid to Rohingya children by urgently reversing the cuts.
Karin Valtersson, Campaigns Officer at Burma Campaign UK said: “To make such deep cuts in support to hundreds of thousands of children who are completely dependent on aid is indefensible. Once children are stunted from malnutrition it is irreversible, they will suffer from health problems the rest of their lives.
“James Cleverly has done the right thing in imposing sanctions to cut off revenue to the military but now he is cutting off life-saving aid to the victims of the Burmese military as well. The British government ignored warnings about the impending genocide of the Rohingya and took no action to try to prevent it. Now they are failing the Rohingya again by making savages cuts in the aid they receive.”
Unmarked UN boats used to ferry junta officials to refugee camps – Radio Free Asia
Unmarked UN boats were used to ferry junta officials to refugee camps in preparation for a pilot project that would repatriate about 1,000 Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh to Myanmar, reports Radio Free Asia. The trip, a “public relations stunt”, created a “reputational risk” for all UN agencies and could jeopardize staff security.
Karin Valtersson, Burma Campaign UK’s Campaigns Officer, told RFA: “The situation inside Rakhine state is still a situation of ongoing genocide and they cannot return at this point, and I don’t think anyone will return. The reports that UN agencies have been involved are clearly shameful.”
Instead of returning, Rohingya refugees need support in the camps so they can have a decent living standard, with their security guaranteed, she said. “The security situation in the camps has deteriorated and they cannot be abandoned again by the international community.”
US, UK announce millions in humanitarian funding for Rohingya refugees – Myanmar Now
The US and the UK have announced humanitarian support packages worth 30 million dollars for Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh, reports Myanmar Now.
Burma Campaign UK has added five entities to its boycott list of Myanmar military-owned companies and brands.
“All embassies and aid donors in Burma should have policies not to buy goods and services from military companies, and that local and international NGOs cannot use their funds to purchase goods and services from military companies,” said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK.
Why calls for a no-fly zone won’t take off – Mark Farmaner writes in Mizzima
Calls for a no-fly zone over Myanmar are justified but will not result in a no-fly zone. The obstacles are too big to overcome. Efforts spent on calling for a no-fly zone will be wasted, writes Mark Farmaner, Burma Campaign UK’s Director, for Mizzima.
Options for stopping or reducing airstrikes are limited. One of the most effective would be a ban on the supply of aviation fuel, which even sympathetic Western countries have not implemented so far, despite calls from hundreds of Myanmar civil society organisations.
Sanctions on arms brokers providing arms and equipment for aircraft have started to be implemented but more are needed. Chinese, Russian, Indian and Pakistani companies providing aircraft and arms should also be sanctioned.
Human rights groups call to suspend aviation fuel to Myanmar – AIN Online
A new report by Amnesty International, Global Witness, and Burma Campaign UK into the continued sale of aviation fuel to Myanmar’s military has exposed more firms involved in the country’s supply chain, reports Aviation International News. This includes insurance, shipping, and financial services firms, exemplifying claims that a vast web of foreign and multinational companies are enabling war crimes in Burma.
The organization’s statements follow Amnesty’s 2022 investigation report that asserts civil aviation fuel was diverted for military use.
In light of last week’s report, Amnesty International, Global Witness, and Burma Campaign UK are reiterating calls to suspend the supply of aviation fuel until additional safeguards are implemented.
Why including refugees in peacebuilding matters – News Drum
The need to secure women’s participation in peacebuilding has been recognised for decades by the UN, but it fails to acknowledge the role of refugee women in peacebuilding, reports News Drum.
Refugee women from Myanmar have been active in peacebuilding for many years: Naw Zoya Phan (Burma Campaign UK’s Campaigns Manager) was elected as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.
Yet most international peacebuilding projects did not engage with refugees outside Myanmar. Refugees, including refugee women, should be included as active participants in repatriation discussions.
New shipments of aviation fuel revealed despite the military’s war crimes – Mizzima
Aviation fuel shipments to Myanmar have continued despite ongoing war crimes, Amnesty International and Global Witness said after they identified more companies involved in the supply chain, reports Mizzima.
In November 2022 Amnesty International published Deadly Cargo, a report on the country’s aviation fuel supply chain that links national, regional and global companies to the Myanmar military.
Amnesty International, Global Witness and Burma Campaign UK have now identified other companies involved in aviation fuel transactions, which are likely to have reached the military in recent months.
Myanmar military gets new aviation fuel supplies despite abuses – Al Jazeera
The Myanmar military continues to secure supplies of aviation fuel — involving companies from Asia and Europe — despite air raids that have killed and maimed civilians and forced thousands from their homes, reports Al Jazeera.
Amnesty International, Global Witness and Burma Campaign UK said they had identified more companies involved in aviation fuel transactions, following up on an investigation into the aviation fuel supply chain last year that found supplies for civilian aviation were being diverted to the military.
New EU sanctions more effectively target Myanmar junta – VOA News
The latest round of EU sanctions imposed on the junta were welcomed by advocacy groups, reports the Voice of America (VOA). Burma Campaign UK said, “This round of sanctions is well targeted, focusing on suppliers of aviation fuel, arms brokers, military procurement entities and members of the Burmese military and associated bodies.”
“These sanctions will take time to have an impact, which is why we need the EU to speed up the implementation of sanctions — two rounds a year is not enough,” Mark Farmaner, executive director of Burma Campaign UK, told VOA. “Monitoring and implementation of EU sanctions is up to individual EU member states. There is no transparency about how they monitor sanctions or action taken regarding breaches of sanctions.”