Brewery nets $155.9 million amid ongoing human rights investigation – Myanmar Now
Two months after the Japanese beer giant Kirin announced it was considering cutting ties with its military-conglomerate partner, a brewery the two jointly own announced $155.9m in second-quarter revenue.
“These profits are paying for violations of international law,” said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK.
In June, after the military-owned Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) ignored document requests from a Kirin due diligence effort, the Japanese company hired financial consultancy Deloitte “to determine the destination of proceeds” from the Myanmar Brewery.
“The Deloitte investigation appears to be a desperate attempt by Kirin to find some technicality it can use to stay in business with the military,” Mark Farmaner said after the earnings report was released.
Justice for Myanmar welcomes Portia’s decision to cut ties with military
Justice For Myanmar has welcomed the announcement that UK firm Portia Management Services will end their relationship with military conglomerate Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL).
The decision is a success for Burma Campaign UK’s Dirty List campaign targeting companies linked to the military and to human rights violations in Burma. Portia have therefore been removed from the Dirty List.
Justice for Myanmar also welcomed the Attorney General’s finding of unlawful conflict of interest against two MEHL directors, who head Myanmar Customs Department and Myanma Port Authority respectively. They have since resigned from MEHL.
Justice for Myanmar is a group of covert activists campaigning for justice and accountability for the people of Burma.
Military-backed company seeks control of Burma’s internet – Coda
Facebook has revealed a coordinated disinformation campaign geared toward improving public opinion toward MyTel, the telecommunications company backed by the Burmese military.
Mark Farmaner of Burma Campaign UK told investigative journalists at Coda that Facebook’s move to curb coordinated disinformation about telecoms is insufficient. Facebook remains on BCUK’s Dirty List.
“Facebook are happy for the Myanmar military to promote products that help pay for genocide, but if they spread disinformation about their rivals, that’s where Facebook draws the line. It’s a strange standard,” he said.
Burma’s shadow jade industry costs more lives – Byline Times
A mining disaster in Kachin State on 2 July has cost 200 lives, reports Byline Times. Mining disasters have become commonplace in the area but rarely are they on the scale of what happened that day.
Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, told Byline Times that there is “no transparency in the jade industry. Jade helps funds conflict and is one of the causes of conflict. Big mining companies have pushed out smaller local miners, with tens of thousands of local people and migrants left looking for what the bigger companies might have left behind.”
He said the NLD government has “completely ignored the problems relating to the jade industry … It seems Aung San Suu Kyi does not want to upset the powerful companies involved in the jade industry, including the military.”
British government sanctions won’t work against top Burma generals – Karen News
Recently announced UK sanctions against two high-ranking generals from Burma won’t work, said Burma Campaign UK’s director Mark Farmaner in an interview with Karen News.
“In the case of Burma the list is not effective, they don’t have money in UK banks and no one thinks they will come here for holidays either. It is certainly not an effective response to what the British government describes as torture, massacre, systematic rape and forced labour by the Burma military.
“These sanctions don’t have any consequences for their human right violations in Burma. We need much stronger, comprehensive and a serious approach by the international community to hit the military with stronger sanctions that will hurt their interests.”
Brands declare Black Lives Matter, but activists see a ‘double standard’ – VICE World News
The youth-focused digital media group VICE reports on brands showing support for Black Lives Matter despite profiting from racial oppression.
Cloudflare and New Belgium Brewery are among companies that have made statements supporting racial justice, despite being associated with the Burmese military. BCUK’s director, Mark Farmaner, said a company purporting to support Black Lives Matter while partnering with the Tatmadaw is “total hypocrisy.”
“You don’t do business with the Burmese military if you genuinely care about racial equality. The Burmese military have spent decades trying to wipe out different races in Burma,” he told VICE World News. “These companies might be claiming they think black lives matter but they obviously don’t think Rohingya lives matter.”
Mark Farmaner interviewed – VOA Burmese News
Mark Farmaner, Burma Campaign UK’s Director, was interviewed on VOA Burmese News about the 31 companies recently added to BCUK’s Dirty List.
Watch Mark Farmaner interview (in English with Burmese voiceover)
The ‘kalar’ controversy shows many in Myanmar aren’t listening – Wai Hnin Pwint Thon, Campaigns Officer at Burma Campaign UK, writing in Frontier Myanmar
Wai Hnin Pwint Thon is Campaigns Officer at Burma Campaign UK and her research and analysis focus on political prisoners and repressive laws. She writes for Frontier Myanmar on the controversy over offensive language used against Muslims in Burma:
In defending “kalar” as a friendly term, many Myanmar social media users are failing to listen to people who are merely asking to be treated with respect.
I had a friend who used to call me “kalar ma” or “Amina”, a common Arabic name. Although I repeatedly made it clear that I did not appreciate his “joke”, the baiting persisted and he even explained to me that the nickname “Amina” suited me well because I am “a little kalar ma”. While he thought he was being was funny or endearing, I found it disrespectful to be told to accept a jibe based on my religion. He wouldn’t have called me that if I were not a Muslim and if I lacked thick eyebrows or other features associated with people of South Asian heritage.
Unfortunately, though, this exchange reflects how people in Myanmar society often behave with each other. We grow up thinking it is okay to call each other names based on our religion and ethnicity or the way we look. That is why I truly admire activists who started the “Don’t call me Kalar” campaign on Facebook this month to change these social norms that so many of us find offensive.
The campaign has sparked renewed debate over the word kalar, a racial term that is largely used to distinguish people of South Asian descent from the so-called national races of Myanmar. For people who were born and grew up in Myanmar and know no other country, it is hurtful because it effectively brands us as an outsider.
No longer calling people kalar would not solve the problem of institutional discrimination in Myanmar, but it could be an important first step. If people are reluctant to even drop offensive name-calling habits, then what hope do we have of becoming a country where ethnic and religious minorities are treated with respect and dignity?
Critics warn of deception as Burmese military returns to Facebook – Radio Free Asia
The Burmese military has resurfaced on Facebook nearly two years after the social media giant removed numerous army accounts for spreading hatred, reports Radio Free Asia. The military has opened two Burmese-language Facebook accounts called “Tatmadaw True News Information Team” and “Zaw Min Tun”.
Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, said the military set up the two new “propaganda pages to spread lies” as it faces legal action on genocide-related charges in three international courts, including the U.N.’s International Court of Justice (ICJ).
“They are under pressure, and obviously they want to convince people in Myanmar that the evidence against them is not true,” he said. “They want to build more support for their actions.”
Kirin orders independent probe of Burma beer ventures – Financial Times
Kirin has ordered an independent probe into its beer businesses in Burma following pressure from human rights campaigners. The Financial Times says the case underscores the perils for companies operating in one of the world’s riskiest emerging markets.
“There is no doubt that they are bowing to pressure from campaigns, but it looks like what they are doing is to find an excuse to stay in Burma and stay in business with the military,” said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK. As long as they do, Kirin remains on BCUK’s Dirty List.
Read FT article (behind paywall)