Burma Campaign UK
100 MPs from 9 political parties in the British Parliament have come together to support a Parliamentary Motion condemning the military coup in Burma. They are calling for stronger action by the British government, including building an arms embargo coalition and joining the Rohingya genocide case at the International Court of Justice. Early Day Motion …
Statement by 41 Karen community organisations worldwide For decades the Royal Thai government has hosted ethnic Karen refugees and other refugees from Burma and we are grateful for the sanctuary we have been given in the past. Now, once again, our fellow Karen are fleeing attacks by the Burmese military. More than 20,000 people have …
Wednesday 21st April is Blue Shirt Day for political prisoners. It’s the anniversary of the death of U Win Tin, a leader of the democracy movement who famously kept wearing his prison blue shirt after being released from prison, saying he would only stop wearing it when all political prisoners are free. Every year human …
Burma Campaign UK today welcomed sanctions on military owned companies imposed by the European Union today. EU Foreign Ministers meeting today have confirmed sanctions on two huge military owned conglomerates, Myanmar Economic Corporation, and Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd. In 2019 the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar called for sanctions on these companies because of the …
Burma Campaign UK today welcomed new British sanctions on the military conglomerate Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC). The sanctions on MEC follow sanctions on the other major military business conglomerate Myanmar Economic Holding Ltd (MEHL) last week. Burma Campaign UK has been campaigning for these type of sanctions for several years. The military has a wide …
Statement By European Karen Network EU Must Act in Response to Bombing in Karen State and Killing of Protesters The European Karen Network, representing Karen communities in Europe, calls for urgent action by the European Union in response to the use of jet aircraft to bomb villagers in Karen state, and the killing of more …
Burma Campaign UK today welcomed moves by the UK and USA to sanction military owned companies. The UK has sanctioned military conglomerate Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL). The USA has sanctioned MEHL and the other big military conglomerate, Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC). It is essential that the UK now moves swiftly to also sanctions MEC. …
The European Union has slapped asset freezes and visa bans on 11 members of the Burmese junta linked to the military coup on February 1 and a brutal crackdown on protesters, reports the Telegraph. “After seven weeks of delay, the EU finally announces its action against the military in response to the coup. 11 members …
Burma Campaign UK today described the EU response to the military coup as pathetically weak and ineffective. Almost two months after the military coup in Burma, the EU today finally announced the action it is taking against the Burmese military in response to the coup and the killing of more than 200 unarmed protesters. The …
British Foreign Office Minister Nigel Adams MP has called on members of the Commonwealth to impose arms embargoes on Burma, following the military coup on 1st February 2021. Responding to a written question in the British Parliament from Stephen Kinnock MP, who is the Shadow Minister for Asia & Pacific, Nigel Adams stated “The UK …
Burma Campaign UK today welcomed an announcement by the Republic of Korea that it is imposing an embargo on military supplies to Burma. The announcement means that 42 countries now have arms embargoes against Burma, leaving 150 UN member countries which do not. Korea also announced it would not enter into any new military training …
Wai Hnin Pwint Thon, Campaigns Officer at Burma Campaign UK, today gave evidence before the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on the human rights atrocities committed by the Burmese army. The hearing examined “The State of Democracy Around The World”. Appealing for action by the United States, Wai Hnin Pwint Thon said: “There …
Wai Hnin Pwint Thon, Burma Campaign UK’s Campaigns Officer, testified today to the United State Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. She thanked the US for being first to act after the coup and called for US leadership in taking diplomatic, economic and legal measures against the Burmese military. “On the streets in my country, young …
Australia has suspended its defence cooperation programme with Burma amid concern about the “escalating violence and rising death toll”. “Australia has finally ended a training programme it should never have started in the first place,” said Anna Roberts, the executive director of Burma Campaign UK. “Twelve more countries are still engaged in training and cooperation …
Burma Campaign UK today welcomed an announcement by the Australian Foreign Minister, Marise Payne, that is had finally suspended its training programme with the Burmese military. It is 35 days since the military coup. Australia has not provided an explanation as to why it took them 35 days to decide whether or not to keep …
Australia is under international fire over its continued military assistance to Burma, after at least 38 people, including four children, were killed in the deadliest day of the junta’s crackdown against pro-democracy protests. Australia is one of only 13 countries — along with Russia, China, North Korea, Belarus and Pakistan — that still provide training …
Thirteen countries are involved in military training and/or cooperation with the Burmese military, despite its human rights record. Burma Campaign UK has published a new briefing paper today listing the countries, with open source links to information about the training and cooperation. The Briefing Paper is available here. Countries involved in training and cooperation with …
Statement by Salween Peace Park Today, we over 2,500 villagers from over 34 villages in Bu Tho and Lu Thaw Townships, Mu Traw District, Kaw Thoo Lei are protesting against the Burma Army occupying our land, and threatening our lives and peaceful existence. We demand that the Burma Army immediately withdraws from our territory. We …
Burma Campaign UK has today removed Coda Pay from the ‘Dirty List’ of companies linked to Burma’s military. Singaporean company Coda Pay has been providing payment services to the military owned Mytel mobile phone network. Coda Pay today informed Reuters that Mytel had been deactivated from its payment channels. “Coda Pay has done the right …
Statement by the European Karen Network Ten years ago on 28 February 2011, a petition of 84,000 ethnic Karen civilians called on the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to take effective action to immediately stop the Burmese military attacks in Karen areas. This petition was handed to the UN Secretary General, and other world leaders …
The United Nations General Assembly today held an informal meeting to hear a briefing by the Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener. Watch the UNGA meeting
Burma Campaign UK today welcomed an announcement by Facebook that all military pages except those promoting military companies have been taken down. Burma Campaign UK has been calling on Facebook to remove the military from Facebook since 2018. “This is a welcome and long overdue step by Facebook,” said Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign …
An Open Letter to the UN Security Council and Individual UN Member States The letter is in Burmese here. We, the undersigned organizations, call on the United Nations Security Council and UN member states to urgently institute a coordinated, global arms embargo on Myanmar in response to the February 1, 2021 military coup that has …
Hundreds of thousands of anti-coup protesters flooded the streets of Burma’s cities following calls for a nationwide strike against the military takeover, and defying the junta’s warnings that confrontation could cost lives. Protesters noted the significance of the date 22.2.2021, and coined the peaceful civil action the “Five Twos revolution,” reports the Telegraph. Monday’s rallies …