Aung San Suu Kyi suspended from Sakharov Prize – UCA News
Aung San Suu Kyi has been suspended from the Sakharov Prize Community by the European Parliament over her lack of action on the ill-treatment of Rohingya, reports the independent Catholic media service UCA News.
Suu Kyi was awarded the Sakharov Prize in 1990 for embodying the Burmese people’s fight for democracy.
Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, slammed the move as “a completely meaningless gesture.”
“The EU is giving hundreds of millions of euros in aid to Suu Kyi’s government, is training the military-controlled police which took part in genocide, and the EU refuses to implement the UN fact-finding mission’s recommendations,” Mark Farmaner said on Twitter.
“Dozens of companies in the EU are doing business with the military and helping to fund genocide, but the European Parliament thinks suspending Suu Kyi from this award is a priority.”
Vale Earth Fair festival held in Covid-free Guernsey – BBC
While most music festivals over the bank holiday weekend switched to online streams one had a sell-out crowd.
Guernsey has been Covid-19 free since 27 May and ended social distancing in June. It meant the Vale Earth Fair was able to continue to provide 12 hours of live music as it has done for 44 years. Due to pandemic border restrictions all the performers were from the Bailiwick of Guernsey.
Profits from the event will benefit Burma Campaign UK, Free Tibet, and Safer Guernsey.
Thank you for your support Vale Earth Fair!
Vale Earth Fair goes ahead – Good News Network
One of the longest-running music festivals went ahead over Bank Holiday weekend, owing to the island being coronavirus-free since the end of April.
With no visiting performers invited this year, the line-up featured 70 all-local acts, just like the early festivals did.
The all-volunteer collective eschews corporate sponsorship and gives all profits to charity. This year’s proceeds will benefit Burma Campaign UK, Free Tibet, and Safer Guernsey.
Thank you as ever, Vale Earth Fair!
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)