Five UK insurers slammed for “putting profit before principle” – Insurance Business
Five British insurance companies have been added by Burma Campaign UK to its ‘dirty list’, reports Insurance Business, due to the insurers’ role in aviation fuel deliveries to Burma.
Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, said: “The Burmese military are using airstrikes indiscriminately against civilians, even against schools and hospitals, and insurance is a vital part of the supply chain delivering aviation fuel to Burma. These insurance clubs have clearly taken a decision not to add delivery of aviation fuel to their cover exclusions, despite knowing this means they may insure aviation fuel that reaches the Burmese military and is used to kill civilians. This is the definition of putting profit before principle.”
BCUK welcomes European Parliament call for Burma aviation fuel sanctions – Mizzima
Burma Campaign UK has welcomed the passing of a European Parliament Resolution, which called on the European Union to impose sanctions on the supply of aviation fuel to the Burmese military. The calls were made in a new Resolution condemning the back-door ban on 40 political parties in Burma.
“The European Parliament has called on the European Union to do more to stop the flow of aviation fuel and revenue to the Burmese military, and the European Union must now listen and act,” said Anna Roberts, Executive Director of Burma Campaign UK. “There is much more the European Union can do to reduce the capacity of the Burmese military to keep bombing and killing the people of Burma.”
Russia uses Myanmar pipeline to transport oil to China – the Irrawaddy
Russia has shipped three million barrels of crude oil, over 100,000 barrels per day, to China via a Myanmar pipeline since February, reports the Irrawaddy.
The pipeline is operated by China National Petroleum Corp, the parent company of PetroChina, with a 50.9 per cent interest in the company. The remaining shares are held by the junta-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE).
Referring to the evidence of British companies’ involvement in Myanmar’s gas industry, Burma Campaign UK has been calling on the British government to sanction MOGE.
BCUK calls on British firms to stop insuring aviation fuel deliveries – Mizzima
Burma Campaign UK has called on five British insurance companies to stop providing cover for deliveries of aviation fuel to Burma, a call that comes 10 days after the aerial massacre in Sagaing’s Pazigyi village, reports Mizzima.
“Insurers largely operate behind the scenes but play a vital role in the delivery of aviation fuel to Burma,” said Mark Farmaner, BCUK’s Director. “These companies must now publicly commit that they will no longer provide insurance cover for vessels delivering aviation fuel to Burma.”
BCUK demands insurance firms stop covering Myanmar junta fuel supplies – the Irrawaddy
Burma Campaign UK has called on five British insurance companies to stop covering aviation fuel deliveries to Myanmar following the airstrike on Sagaing Region that caused an estimated 168 deaths, reports the Irrawaddy.
“Any company involved in the supply chain delivering aviation fuel to Burma is potentially complicit in airstrikes against civilians and should stop immediately,” said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK. “Without insurance, vessels cannot deliver aviation fuel.”
What’s wrong with the G7 statement on Myanmar? – Mark Farmaner in DVB
The G7 just issued a communiqué which condemned airstrikes, and called for an arms embargo and the release of all political prisoners, writes Burma Campaign UK\’s Director Mark Farmaner for the Democratic Voice of Burma.
However, the foreign ministers didn’t pledge to do a single thing about the human rights violations they condemn, or the problems they highlighted. They made not one commitment for action.
More than that, companies from G7 countries are still helping to fund the Myanmar military and the human rights violations they commit. G7 members have failed to provide funding for the people they call for humanitarian access to. The G7 calls for things they know won’t happen and support things which they know have already failed.
Read Mark Farmaner’s op-ed article in DVB
British Parliament debates human rights in Myanmar
The UK Parliament today held a Westminster Hall debate on human rights in Myanmar.
Rushanara Ali MP, the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Burma, said “I welcome some of the steps that our Government have taken, but the fact remains that sanctions against the Burmese military’s sources of incomes are too slow to be implemented. Even after two years, there are organisations and individuals who remain untouched by sanctions, including those working in major revenue generators such as gas, banking and mining.”
FCDO Minister Andrew Mitchell MP said “Conflict-related deaths in Myanmar last year were second only to Ukraine.” Afterwards the BCUK team met Mr Mitchell, who said he would look again at further aviation fuel sanctions.
Watch the debate on Parliament Live TV
Junta frees more than 3,000 prisoners – RFA
Myanmar’s junta has granted amnesty to 3,015 prisoners to mark the Burmese New Year, reports Radio Free Asia, but only one political prisoner was among them.
“If any political prisoners have been released it is obviously good news for them and their families, but there are still thousands of political prisoners in jail. None of them should be in prison,” Anna Roberts, executive director of Burma Campaign UK told RFA. “The international community must not forget Burma’s political prisoners.
“We need to see stronger international action to support people in Burma and to cut off sources of funds and arms to the military, including sanctions on the supply of aviation fuel to help stop the devastating military airstrikes, like the attack in Sagaing region last week.”
Burma Campaign UK at NASUWT conference
Burma Campaign UK’s Amy Rosenberg at the NASUWT conference this weekend.
Many thanks to NASUWT, the teachers’ union, for their continuing support.
New summer book club selections include Zoya Phan’s autobiography – The Globe
“Undaunted: My Struggle for Freedom and Survival in Burma”, by Zoya Phan, our Programme Director, will be featuring at Kivu Immigration Law’s Summer Book Club, reports The Globe. Selected books will center around immigration and international conflict and will feature nationalities and cultures that are represented in Worthington, Minnesota, USA.
“Undaunted: My Struggle for Freedom and Survival in Burma” is the US title of Zoya Phan’s autobiography, published in the UK as “Little Daughter: A Memoir of Survival in Burma and the West”.