UK accused of a ‘abandoning’ Rohingya with ‘catastrophic’ 40% aid cut – the Guardian
The government has been accused of abandoning Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh after cutting aid to the humanitarian response by more than 40%, reports the Guardian.
“Dominic Raab talks the talk but he doesn’t walk the walk on Burma. He likes to offer statements, whether it is on justice or support to protesters, but doesn’t follow it up with action. This includes aid. In their most dire moment of need, Dominic Raab has decided to abandon the poorest people of Burma,” said Karin Valtersson, Burma Campaign UK’s campaigns officer.
UK aid to Rohingya £27.6m, almost half of 2020 – Dhaka Tribune
The British government has announced “shocking” cuts to its aid in support of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, reports Dhaka Tribune.
“Even in a climate where aid cuts were expected due to the government’s broken promise of delivering 0.7% of GNI in aid, this is still shocking,” said Karin Valtersson, campaigns officer at Burma Campaign UK.
“The Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are genocide survivors, they are some of the most vulnerable people on the planet, many are survivors of sexual violence, of torture, of having witnessed family members including children being killed by the Burmese army,” she said.
EU must sanction Burmese timber and gems industry
Timber and gems exports from Burma are worth billions of dollars a year, and now that the military have seized government departments at gunpoint, that money will be going to the military.
This money will help pay for the bullets fired at protestors and the bombs being dropped on ethnic civilians.
Wai Hnin Pwint Thon interviewed – France 24
Wai Hnin Pwint Thon, campaigns officer at Burma Campaign UK, and the daughter of a man serving a 65-year jail sentence in Myanmar for his part in the 2007 protests, gave France 24 her take on the current situation.
Wai Hnin says negotiations will have to happen but that talking with the Myanmar military is futile. She calls for international action to hold the military to account and end the impunity it has so far enjoyed for its crimes. Burma must be referred to the International Criminal Court.
EU imposes Myanmar sanctions as murder rate becomes ‘unbearable’ – the Telegraph
The European Union has slapped asset freezes and visa bans on 11 members of the Burmese junta linked to the military coup on February 1 and a brutal crackdown on protesters, reports the Telegraph.
“After seven weeks of delay, the EU finally announces its action against the military in response to the coup. 11 members of the military can no longer take holidays in EU member states. Pathetic,” tweeted Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK.
Wai Hnin Pwint Thon testimony to US Senate Committee
Wai Hnin Pwint Thon, Burma Campaign UK’s Campaigns Officer, testified today to the United State Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. She thanked the US for being first to act after the coup and called for US leadership in taking diplomatic, economic and legal measures against the Burmese military.
“On the streets in my country, young people come back onto the streets day after day despite knowing they could be shot. They are doing everything they can. We are asking you to do everything you canto help people in Burma.”
Watch Wai Hnin Pwint Thon’s testimony (starts at 2:12:25, ends at 2:17:50)
Australia cuts military ties amid ‘rising death toll’ – Al Jazeera
Australia has suspended its defence cooperation programme with Burma amid concern about the “escalating violence and rising death toll”.
“Australia has finally ended a training programme it should never have started in the first place,” said Anna Roberts, the executive director of Burma Campaign UK. “Twelve more countries are still engaged in training and cooperation with the Burmese military. Countries providing training to the Burmese military have sided with the military, which is shooting peaceful protesters. They cannot claim non-interference in Burma’s internal affairs when they are helping one side. A military which is killing civilians.”
Australia under fire over continued military assistance to Burma — the Australian
Australia is under international fire over its continued military assistance to Burma, after at least 38 people, including four children, were killed in the deadliest day of the junta’s crackdown against pro-democracy protests.
Australia is one of only 13 countries — along with Russia, China, North Korea, Belarus and Pakistan — that still provide training assistance or co-operation to the Tatmadaw, said Burma Campaign UK in a statement urging all 13 countries to “immediately halt” their programs.
“Countries entering into training and co-operation agreements with the Burmese military are complicit in the violations of international law the Burmese military are committing,” said executive director Anna Roberts.
UN General Assembly briefed by Special Envoy on Burma
The United Nations General Assembly today held an informal meeting to hear a briefing by the Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener.
Mass rallies in ‘Five Twos revolution’ despite junta’s warning of ‘loss of life’ – the Telegraph
Hundreds of thousands of anti-coup protesters flooded the streets of Burma’s cities following calls for a nationwide strike against the military takeover, and defying the junta’s warnings that confrontation could cost lives.
Protesters noted the significance of the date 22.2.2021, and coined the peaceful civil action the “Five Twos revolution,” reports the Telegraph.
Monday’s rallies followed the deaths of three protesters over the weekend, two of them shot when the security forces opened fire on striking ship workers in Mandalay. Another man was shot in Yangon while taking part in civilian patrols to prevent nighttime arrests.