Why did Aung San Suu Kyi go to The Hague? – Dhaka Tribune
Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, is among the experts asked by Dhaka Tribune what they think about Aung San Suu Kyi’s decision to lead the Burmese government’s delegation to the International Court of Justice to answer the charge of genocide.
Mark Farmaner said: “The real problem with Aung San Suu Kyi is not just that she defends the actions of the military. As leader of the civilian government she is also pursuing racist genocidal policies against the Rohingya denying them rights, access to education, food, and healthcare. Her policies are killing people on a weekly basis.”
Western Union’s “highest ethical standards”? – Directors & Boards
Eve Tahmincioglu, a business journalist writing for Directors & Boards journal, reports on the follow up to her interview with CEO Hikmet Ersek about Western Union’s first environmental, social and governance report.
Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, told her: “I was surprised to see Hikmet Ersek describe his company as operating to the ‘highest ethical standards.’”
Tahmincioglu then asked Western Union if they are still using Myawaddy Bank, which is owned by the Burmese military. She was told “we are reviewing this matter”.
Western Union remains on Burma Campaign UK’s Dirty List while they do.
US brewery set to sell to beer giant accused of funding Rohingya genocide – Myanmar Now
Myanmar Now reports that a popular American brewery with “ethical credentials”, the New Belgium Brewery, is voting on whether to sell up to a a subsidiary of Kirin, a company accused of funding the Burmese military’s abuses against ethnic minorities.
Kirin is on Burma Campaign UK’s Dirty List for partnering with Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited, a military-owned conglomerate.
“If New Belgium employees vote to be part of Kirin, they will have as a business partner a military which rapes children and throws babies into burning homes,” said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK.
The nations taking a stand against Rohingya genocide – Byline Times
Byline Times reports on the lawsuit that has just been filed by the Gambia with the UN’s highest court, the International Court of Justice, formally accusing Burma of genocide.
“To date, the international community has pretty much ignored all the recommendations of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission,” Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, said. “More countries including the UK, EU, Canada and USA should be joining Gambia in this case.”
While Gambia’s ICJ filing may be unable to hold specific people to account, another case has been filed in Argentina naming top military and civilian leaders – including Aung San Suu Kyi – under the principle of “universal jurisdiction”. And the International Criminal Court has authorised prosecutors to begin investigating “crimes against humanity of deportation” across the Burma-Bangladesh border, as well as persecution on grounds of ethnicity.
Mark Farmaner said “It is critical that the UN Security Council refer Burma to the ICC so that all crimes committed by the military against all ethnic groups can be investigated, not just crimes against the Rohingya.”
Myanmar’s military companies should be sanctioned – Al Jazeera
In a strongly worded opinion piece for Al Jazeera, Yanghee Lee, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, writes:
“The change that so many hope to see in Myanmar will not come to fruition while the army retains its current dominance. Unchecked trade and investment with military companies will only further inflate its power which it is successfully wielding to obstruct democracy and commit atrocities against the people of Myanmar.
By imposing targeted sanctions and economically isolating the military, the international community has an opportunity to influence Myanmar’s downward trajectory. Now, more than ever, it is time to act.”
Ethnic nationalities alliance welcomes ICJ lawsuit – Karen News
Overseas based Burma ethnic alliance and coalition groups issued statements welcoming Gambia’s lawsuit to the International Court of Justice for genocide against the Rohingya by the Burmese government.
Karen News quotes Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK: “These legal cases will help put the military on notice that they cannot continue to evade justice and accountability for their crimes. The British government must now support the genocide case at the International Court of Justice.”
ICC judges authorise investigation into crimes against Rohingya
Burma Campaign UK welcomes the decision of the International Criminal Court to go ahead with the investigation into alleged crimes against the Rohingya people from Burma. The Court may exercise jurisdiction over crimes when part of the criminal conduct takes place on the territory of a State Party. Burma is not a State Party but Bangladesh ratified the ICC Rome statute in 2010.
All in the same week, a universal jurisdiction case began yesterday in Argentina, and a case of genocide was filed at the International Court of Justice on Monday.
Drug addiction rises in Kachin State – VOA News
VOA News reports on the rise of heroin addiction in jade mining areas along the Chinese border in Kachin State.
Corruption is rife in the region. Some law and mining officials illegally distribute the drug, which is largely smuggled in from neighbouring Shan state, according to Burma Campaign UK.
Amphetamine addiction is also on the rise. Heroin and amphetamines are readily available around internal refugee camps in the state, because of increased production by organized crime gangs and armed militia groups, including those allied with the military.
Anger at government extending life of Chinese-run mine – RFA
Radio Free Asia reports that residents of northern Shan state’s Pa-O Autonomous Region are up in arms over the Burmese government’s decision to extend the operation period of a Chinese-owned coal-fired power plant that they say has exceeded land use specifications, severely polluted the local environment, and jeopardized their health and their livelihoods.
The Pa-O Youth Organization says the plant piles mountains of waste byproducts directly behind people’s homes, pollutes local water resources and leads to respiratory problems, high blood pressure, headaches, premature and underweight births, and skin diseases.
Wuxi Huaguang Electric Power Engineering Co. Ltd., which owns and operates the plant, is on Burma Campaign UK’s Dirty List.
Burma Campaign UK joins the climate strike
Burma Campaign UK today joins the climate strike. Burma is the second most vulnerable country in the world to climate change.
Anna Roberts, Mark Farmaner and Karin Valtersson at the climate strike
