Burma: caught between hope and fear – Northeast Bylines
It is a strange time in Burma, reports Northeast Bylines: great fear and deprivation is mixed with genuine hope that the insurrection will finally see the end of the murderous military rule.
Zoya Phan, Programme Director from Burma Campaign UK, commented: “After decades of dictatorships, we finally have a chance of freeing ourselves from military dictatorship. People are paying a great price to win their freedom, with more than four million people forced to flee their homes, 21,000 political prisoners, and a desperate humanitarian crisis. We need everyone to lobby their MP and lobby their government to do more to cut off the flow of arms and money to the military dictatorship.”
Red tape is ‘killing people’ -Zoya Phan at ODI event
Zoya Phan, Programme Director of Burma Campaign UK, spoke at an ODI event today on humanitarianism and human rights in Syria and Myanmar. She discussed the need for more humanitarian aid in Burma and more international pressure on the Burmese military.
Zoya said that four years since the military coup (and much longer for ethnic minority communities), the junta has been deliberately targeting civilians across the country, and people are simply exhausted. Three and a half million are currently internally displaced (likely more) – the highest number in the country’s history – but Zoya has some optimism, as for the first time ‘we hear more and more about what Burma will look like without the Burmese military’.
Zoya Phan to speak at ODI event on Syria and Myanmar
The fall of Assad has fortified the revolution in Myanmar. Territory continues to be liberated as the military junta’s collapse is increasingly inevitable. While Syria demonstrated the fragility of Assad’s regime, when will the tipping point come in Myanmar?
Join the ODI (Overseas Development Institute) on 30 January in London or online to explore how the faltering international aid system can better navigate revolution and rupture in Syria and Myanmar. Speakers include Zoya Phan, Programme Director, Burma Campaign UK.
Tech companies accused of ties to junta – Yahoo!News
Internet and communications technology giants such as Apple, Google, LinkedIn and YouTube have been warned they are hosting apps and channels run by blacklisted Myanmar mobile phone network operator MyTel, reports Yahoo!News.
The company, which is jointly owned by the Myanmar military and Vietnamese telecommunications provider Viettel, was accused by Burma Campaign UK and the International Campaign for Rohingya of funding the Myanmar military through revenue and land lease deals for infrastructure.
“American tech firms are underpinning a military-owned company which the American government has sanctioned for providing surveillance and revenue enabling the Burmese military to carry out human rights violations,” said Mark Farmaner, Burma Campaign UK’s director.
Myanmar military is still afraid of Aung San Su Kyi – Ayeyarwaddy Times
Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratically elected leader of Myanmar, has reached a total of 19 years detention since 1989 and is currently being detained by the military for the fourth time, says Ayeyarwaddy Times quoting Burma Campaign UK.
“The Myanmar military imprisoning Aung San Suu Kyi for a total of 19 years shows that they are still afraid of her even after decades,” Burma Campaign UK director Mark Farmaner said. “Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners must be released.”
Read Ayeyarwaddy Times post on Facebook (in Burmese)
Watch Ayeyarwaddy Times video on YouTube (in Burmese)
Aung San Suu Kyi jailed for 19 years by military – the Irrawaddy
Aung San Suu Kyi has spent a total of 19 years in detention since 1989, says the Irrawaddy quoting Burma Campaign UK.
The 79-year-old is in her fourth period of detention since 1989 and was detained during the February 1, 2021, coup. She is reportedly in solitary confinement in prison.
“The Burmese military detaining Aung San Suu Kyi for a total of 19 years demonstrates how, decades on, they are still afraid of her,” said Mark Farmaner, Burma Campaign UK’s director. “Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners must be freed, and much more done to cut off the supply of money and arms to the Burmese military.”
Rights groups demand US tech firms cut ties with Mytel – DVB
Burma Campaign UK and the International Campaign for the Rohingya (ICR) have called on US tech companies to remove Mytel, the military-owned telecoms operator, from their platforms, reports the Democratic Voice of Burma.
Apple, Google, YouTube, and LinkedIn still host Mytel channels and smartphone applications via their online services and app stores despite the US government imposing sanctions against Mytel.
“Why are American technology companies still providing services to companies owned by the Burmese military, despite its human rights record and the clear links between Burmese military-owned companies and the human rights violations they commit?” asked Mark Farmaner, the Burma Campaign UK director.
Burma Campaign UK urges Britain and EU to ban Mytel – Karen Information Center
Burma Campaign UK today welcomed a decision by the USA to sanction Mytel, a mobile telecoms company which is a joint venture between the Burmese military and Vietnamese telecoms company Viettel, reports the Karen Information Center.
Viettel is owned by the Vietnamese military and is on the Burma Campaign UK ‘Dirty List’ because of its links to the Burmese military.
“The British government and European Union must now follow the USA and sanction Mytel,” said Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK. “Mytel is a jewel in the crown of the Burmese military business empire, and the time for sanctioning the company is long overdue.”
Zoya Phan interviewed by Northeast Bylines
Burma Campaign UK’s Programme Director Zoya Phan is interviewed in Northeast Bylines today.
Asked what people can do to help Burma, Zoya said “The best thing to do would be to write to MPs to raise the issue of Burma in parliament, so that the British government can put more pressure on the Burmese military with sanctions and things like stopping the Burmese military from having more aviation fuel, arms and money, and helping to get more aid for people in Burma. The government in Britain have to listen to you and do help, when asked to do so.”
Zoya Phan speaks on International Human Rights Day
Karen Human Rights Group posted this message from Burma Campaign UK’s Programme Director Zoya Phan on International Human Rights Day.