“Testimonies From Beyond” exhibition opens in London
Zoya Phan, Burma Campaign UK’s Programme Director, and Sai, an artist and activist from Burma, were among the speakers at the launch of Burma Video Journalists’ new powerful exhibition “Testimonies from Beyond”, at the Koppel Collective in London.
The exhibition draws attention to the atrocities committed by the Burmese military junta against the people of Burma, specifically attacks on civilians: airstrikes on monasteries and homes, sexual violence against women, and the abduction and murder of villagers. It features the last belongings that victims had on them before they were killed.
Zoya Phan speaks in UK Parliament
Zoya Phan, Burma Campaign UK’s Programme Director, spoke in the UK Parliament together with Lord Alton of Liverpool, from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Freedom of Religion or Belief, and Sai, an artist and activist from Burma whose father Dr. Linn Htut, the democratically elected Chief Minister of Shan State, is now imprisoned by the Burmese military.
Excerpts were shown from a documentary film “Please Enjoy Our Tragedies”, about Sai using his art work to raise awareness about the situation in Burma.
Read Lord Alton’s record of the meeting
Watch “Please Enjoy Our Tragedies”
Sai, Lord Alton, Zoya Phan and Lord Dubs at the APPG.
Thank you British Parliamentarians for your support.
Burma Campaign UK at NASUWT conference
Burma Campaign UK’s Amy Rosenberg at the NASUWT Teachers’ Union conference in Liverpool this weekend. Thank you NASUWT delegates for taking action to stop Burmese military airstrikes on schools.
Zoya Phan writes for World Liberty Congress
Zoya Phan, Burma Campaign UK’s Programme Director, writes on the aftermath of the earthquake in Burma for the World Liberty Congress:
“In the wake of this disaster, the Burmese military is showing no sign of halting its aggression or providing significant aid to its people. They continued attacks across the country despite declaring a ceasefire, block aid to areas they don’t control, and leverage calls for aid to try to gain international legitimacy.
“While the Burmese military is not willing to stop its brutal air strikes, it did ask for foreign aid. Chinese, Russian, and Indian rescue workers are already on the ground, but only areas under military control. Overall, it is very hard to get information about the level of destruction caused by the quake due to the Junta’s banning independent media, internet bans, and preventing foreign journalists from entering the country. It is vital that aid is not only channelled via UN agencies, but also to local civil society organisations and using cross border mechanisms.”
Read World Liberty Congress Country Update Burma
Zoya Phan at London human rights conference
Our Programme Director Zoya Phan joined other human rights defenders in a conference in London of the Human Rights Foundation’s World Liberty Congress. Zoya said “I am so inspired to be part of these global networks of activists standing up in solidarity against authoritarian rules”.
Bangladesh considering UN-led assistance programme in Rakhine – Daily Observer
Bangladesh is positively considering supporting a UN-led humanitarian assistance programme in Rakhine in the face of impending famine, reports the Bangladesh-based Daily Observer.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s publication, “Rakhine: A Famine in the Making”, warned of impending famine in Rakhine State by spring 2025 as the state will only produce 20 per cent of the food it needs.
Burma Campaign UK launched a petition to UN Secretary General António Guterres calling on him to travel to Bangladesh to open negotiations for aid and trade corridors into Rakhine State. “Two million people face starvation, but with political will this is preventable,” said Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK.
Burma: Justice for the people at last? – Northeast Bylines
A small Rohingya community organisation in the UK managed to secure the first ever arrest warrant for a head of the Burmese military, reports Northeast Bylines. Min Aung Hlaing and other senior military leaders now face international arrest warrants.
Zoya Phan, Programme Director from Burma Campaign UK, commented: “Now finally there is progress towards ending impunity. At the end of the day, it is very simple, if a criminal is allowed to get away with their crimes they commit more crimes. Now finally there is an arrest warrant for one of the biggest criminals in the world, the Burmese military.”
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.