UK government under increasing pressure from parliament to sanction Myanmar’s military – Mizzima
Mizzima reports on the debate held in the UK Parliament on British government support for human rights in Myanmar. MPs from across political parties united in calling for stronger action by the government, including new sanctions against the Burmese military, action on justice and accountability, and ensuring aid is not cut.
Rushanara Ali MP, co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Burma, highlighted the lack of any new sanctions since 2024, and the key role the UK can play in mobilising international action: “Given the escalating human rights violations, the British Government should be doing everything they can to identify and sanction sources of revenue and arms and to encourage our allies to do the same.” She also expressed gratitude for the work of Burma Campaign UK.
UK lawmakers demand new sanctions on Myanmar military – DVB
MPs from across the political spectrum staged a rare display of total partisan unity, collectively demanding that the British government escalate sanctions, pursue international justice, and protect humanitarian aid sent into Myanmar, says DVB in its report of the Westminster Hall debate. The government’s defensive response drew swift, scathing condemnation from civil society leaders observing the proceedings from the gallery.
Anna Roberts, Executive Director of Burma Campaign UK, said. “Minister Hamish Falconer was forced to respond by listing ‘golden oldies’ of the things the Foreign Office did in the past, talking from the sidelines about not being on the sidelines. Given the cross-party support for stronger action… the lethargy from the Foreign Office as airstrikes and the death toll increases is inexplicable.”
Burma Campaign UK releases updated boycott list – Mizzima
Burma Campaign UK has released an updated list of products, brands, and services owned or controlled by the Myanmar junta’s military or its business conglomerates, reports Mizzima. An additional 16 new products and businesses have been added to the updated Boycott List.
Minn Tent Bo, Advocacy Officer at Burma Campaign UK, said: “Every time a military-owned product is bought, money goes towards the Burmese military. The military still carries out airstrikes every day, including on schools and hospitals, arresting people at will, torturing them and committing other serious human rights abuses. We ask governments, embassies, international organisations and international non-governmental organisations to check the Boycott List and make sure they are not unknowingly supporting the military.”
Read Myanmar Financial Services Monitor report (behind paywall)
UK Parliament debates British government support for human rights in Burma/Myanmar
At a Westminster Hall debate today, MPs from across political parties united in calling for stronger action by the British government. Speakers included Rushanara Ali MP and Sir Jeremy Hunt MP, Co-Chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Burma, for which Burma Campaign UK acts as secretariat.
Anna Roberts, Executive Director of BCUK, commented: “There was unanimous cross-party support for new sanctions and stronger action from the British government, and once again we saw nothing new from the British Foreign Office.”
Read BCUK’s report of the debate
Read Hansard report of the debate
Watch the debate on Parliament TV
BCUK staff with Jeremy Hunt, Rushanara Ali and Benedict Rogers of Fortify Rights
India should have offered Myanmar’s leader ‘handcuffs, not a red carpet’ – the Independent
India faces growing criticism over its decision to roll out the red carpet for Min Aung Hlaing, reports the Independent. Rights groups say it risks legitimising a former general allegedly responsible for genocide.
Mark Farmaner, the director of Burma Campaign UK, told the Independent that Mr Modi’s current policy is driven by a desire to counter China’s influence, but that New Delhi would be better served in the long run by supporting a democratic Myanmar which might be less dependent on Beijing.
“Modi will be calculating that being the first to invite general Min Aung Hlaing since he appointed himself president will buy more goodwill and influence for India,” he said. “India’s current approach to Myanmar has doomed them to play second fiddle to China, as India can’t compete economically or politically with China and its UN Security Council seat and global clout.”
Burma Campaign UK dismisses rumours on sanctions – DVB
Burma Campaign UK told the Democratic Voice of Burma that the British government hasn’t revealed any sanctions against the Arakan Army (AA) over its alleged mass killings and human rights violations against the Rohingya, as well as other ethnic minorities, in its territory. The rumours about possible sanctions against the AA emerged three months after Burma Campaign UK called on London to take action.
“There’s no indication that the U.K. government is considering sanctions against the AA,” Anna Roberts, the executive director of Burma Campaign UK, told DVB in an interview. While the UK government could freeze AA assets and ban its members from traveling to the UK, such measures would be “largely symbolic” like those which have been imposed against the regime following the 2021 coup.
Read DVB TV News post in Burmese
Burma Campaign UK urges SED energy chief to halt Myanmar military funding – Mizzima
Burma Campaign UK is calling on the Chief Executive of SED Energy Holdings to terminate his company’s involvement in gas extraction projects within Myanmar, reports Mizzima.
“Companies operating in Burma’s gas and energy sectors are contributing to the funding of the military, as gas represents a key source of revenue for the regime,” said Minn Tent Bo, Advocacy Officer at Burma Campaign UK. “SED Energy Holdings is profiting from Burma’s blood-stained oil and gas sector. This must end now.”
SED Energy Holding’s Kurt Waldeland Must End Burma/Myanmar Gas Project
Burma Campaign UK is calling on Kurt Waldeland, Chief Executive of SED Energy Holdings, to end his company’s role in gas extraction in Burma/Myanmar.
Since the latest military coup in 2021, gas revenue is controlled by the Burmese military, helping to fund their weapons and equipment purchases.
SED Energy Holdings decided to go ahead with a new contract on the Zawtika gas field last year despite this, via their Singapore based subsidiary, Energy Drilling.
The company obviously recognised that doing so is morally wrong, because in their media release about the contract they avoid mentioning Burma/Myanmar or Zawtika. You can view the media release on their website here.
Burma’s gas reserves are a major source of revenue for the Burmese military, earning them tens of millions of dollars every month.
People in Burma suffer daily power cuts or have no electricity at all because most of the gas is sold to neighbouring countries instead of providing electricity for people in Burma.
This is because the Burmese military dictatorship which was in control when gas fields began to be developed 30-40 years ago prioritised revenue from gas over electricity for people in the country. The same week they received the first major gas revenue payment in 2001, they purchased ten MIG 29 jets.
Instead of gas revenue paying to build hospitals and schools, it pays for the Burmese military jets which bomb them.
The role of gas revenue in funding the Burmese military and the human rights violations it commits has led to the European Union and USA sanctioning Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), the state-owned company managing Burma’s oil and gas reserves.
However, a loophole in the sanctions means European and US companies can still work on gas projects in Burma as long as they don’t directly work with MOGE.
SED Energy Holdings is one of those companies. Its contract is with PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP), Thailand’s state-owned energy exploration company. PTTEP has an 80% stake in Zawtika, and MOGE has 20%.
SED Energy Holdings’ head office is in Cyprus, an EU member state, and it is listed on a Norwegian stock exchange.
“Companies operating in Burma’s gas and energy sectors are contributing to the funding of the Burmese military, as gas represents a key source of revenue for the regime,” said Minn Tent Bo, Advocacy Officer at Burma Campaign UK. “SED Energy Holdings is profiting from Burma’s blood-stained oil and gas sector. This must end now.”
Burma Campaign UK has written to SED Energy Holdings about their role in gas projects in Burma but received no response.
Burma Campaign UK will be adding SED Energy Holdings to our ‘Dirty List’ of companies facilitating arms or revenue to the Burmese military, or linked to human rights violations. The dirty list is available here.
Burma Campaign UK is asking supporters and members of the public to email Kurt Waldeland, Chief Executive of SED Energy Holdings, calling on him to stop working on gas projects in Burma. They can do so via the Burma Campaign UK website here.
Europe shouldn’t buy Myanmar junta’s Suu Kyi ploy – Asia Times
The question for Europe today is not whether Min Aung Hlaing and his lieutenants have changed their ways, argues an opinion piece in the Asia Times. The question is whether Europe has changed its habits.
The EU still has sanctions in place. But sanctions will be ineffectual and meaningless if Europe shifts its diplomacy to acknowledge the generals’ new look.
The UK has a different but related problem. Burma Campaign UK has recently warned that the minister’s statement has echoes of the mistakes Britain made after 2010. By welcoming a move from prison to house arrest for Suu Kyi, London risks giving the generals what they crave: a small reward for a staged gesture.
Burmese Embassy in UK forced to cancel so-called open dialogue event – Mizzima
Burma Campaign UK welcomed news that an ‘open dialogue’ event planned by the Burmese Embassy in London has been cancelled, reports Mizzima.
The Embassy is currently under the control of the Burmese military. The so-called open dialogue event is part of a new public relations offensive by the Burmese military as they desperately seek international recognition after sham elections in late 2025 and early 2026.
A small celebratory protest still went ahead outside the embassy yesterday.