Burma Campaign UK
Media Release From Karen Women Organization Major New Report On Eastern Burma Walking Amongst Sharp Knives reveals previously unreported abuses taking place against ethnic Karen women in Burma. The practice of the Burmese Army to execute village heads has led to traditional Karen culture being turned upside-down, with women now being appointed village chiefs as …
One schoolboy has been killed and two more injured when the Burmese Army fired a mortar bomb at a school in Northern Karen State. The attack took place at 9am on Friday 19th February, in Mutraw (Papun) district in Northern Karen State. Burma Campaign UK sources say the school was in a temporary village for …
UNISON APPEAL FOR UN COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ON CRIMES AGAINST THE BURMESE PEOPLE UNISON, the UK’s leading public sector trade union, has written to MPs, asking them to support an Early Day Motion calling for a UN Commission of Inquiry to be set up into crimes committed by the Burmese Government, against its own people. …
The Burma Campaign UK today welcomed a statement from British Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis MP that securing a global arms embargo against Burma remains a priority. The British government has led calls for an end to arms sales to Burma, ruled by one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world. The Minister stated: …
The Burma Campaign UK today welcomed the release of senior NLD leader U Tin Oo, who has been either jailed or under house arrest since a failed attempt by the regime to kill Aung San Suu Kyi in May 2003. A pro-government militia attacked the convoy that he and Aung San Suu Kyi were travelling …
Media Release From Burma Campaign UK The Burma Campaign UK today welcomed a statement by Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis MP that; “The UK will not support any easing of sanctions in the absence of tangible progress on the ground.” On Thursday the European Parliament also called on EU governments not to relax sanctions until …
The European Parliament today passed a new resolution on Burma, stating that under present conditions Burma’s planned elections cannot be free and fair. As thousands of Karen people flee a new military offensive in Karen State, Burma, the Parliament also demanded an end to systematic forced displacement, and for an end to impunity for crimes …
Media Release from Freedom Now Today, a Burmese court found American Nyi Nyi Aung guilty on false charges and sentenced him to 5 years in a Burmese prison, including hard labor. The judge commuted the sentence to 3 years. Nyi Nyi was found guilty of forging a national identity card; failing to declare currencies at …
Nine Women and Four Children Forced Back Into Burma Against Their Will Thailand this morning started then halted the deportation of ethnic Karen refugees to a landmine-infested camp in Burma. Three families, nine women and four children, including a nine month old baby, were forced back into Burma before the deportations were halted. The halt …
Thailand is to go ahead with the forced deportation of ethnic Karen refugees back to Burma at 7am this Friday 5th February. 35 families totalling 161 people will be forced back to Burma by the Thai military. The refugees do not want to return, and face possible death or injury from landmines. Although the Royal …
The Burma Campaign UK today called on the government of Thailand not to go ahead with forcing around 3,000 ethnic Karen refugees back to Burma. The refugees fled into Thailand in June 2009 following a military offensive by the Burmese Army and their allies, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), in Karen State, Eastern Burma. …
A new report released today by Palaung researchers reveal that opium cultivation in Burma’s northern Shan State has been increasing rapidly over the past three years in areas under the control of the ruling military government. Poisoned Hills by the Palaung Women’s Organization documents that areas under opium cultivation increased up to five-fold in Mantong …
Burma Campaign UK sources have confirmed that Burmese army soldiers brutally killed a farmer in his local church in Kachin State. However, there has been no proper investigation and no one has been arrested for the murder. Instead, the family members of the victim have been offered around £300 for the murder. According to local …
The Burma Campaign UK today welcomed the news that more than 140 MPs have signed an Early Day Motion (EDM) calling for an investigation into crimes committed by the regime in Burma, tabled by members of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Democracy in Burma (APPG Burma). The motion says that the members are concerned …
Press Release by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office An innovative campaign has been launched to highlight the plight of Burma’s 2100 prisoners of conscience. The FCO has come together with the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) , Human Rights Watch and Burma Campaign UK to tell the hidden story of a prisoner every week between now and the elections planned …
Media Release from BurmaInfo (Japan), People’s Forum on Burma, and the U.S. Campaign for Burma Tokyo and Washington, DC Tokyo-based “BurmaInfo,” “People’s Forum on Burma,” and Washington, DC-based “U.S. Campaign for Burma” today welcome the call of 442 Members of Parliament (MPs) around the world to the United Nations Security Council to establish a Commission …
Calling for Genuine Political Reconciliation Before Elections in Burma We, the united voice of people, communities, and organizations from Burma and around the globe, strongly reaffirm the necessity for genuine political reconciliation before the 2010 elections and call on the international community to take immediate action to ensure viable democratic change occurs in Burma. The …
MPs from the main opposition parties today called on the UK government to support a United Nations Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity being committed by the regime in Burma. The MPs were discussing the political situation in Burma during today’s Westminster Hall debate in parliament. The issue of crimes against humanity dominated the …
The Burma Campaign UK today called on the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to maintain direct personal responsibility for Burma, rather than delegating to a new UN Envoy. The former envoy, Special Advisor Ibrahim Gambari, has left the position to take up a new post as head of the joint African Union/UN peacekeeping force …
Today, members of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Democracy in Burma (APPG Burma) will have a panel discussion in the British Parliament about Crimes Against Humanity in Burma. Members of the APPG Burma are very concerned about widespread and systematic human rights violations, including forced displacement, torture, sexual violence, extra-judicial killings and forced labour, …
The Burma Campaign UK today welcomed a new Early Day Motion on Burma tabled by members of All Party Parliamentary Group for Democracy in Burma (APPG Burma). High profile MPs across all parties, including Nigel Evans MP, Ann Clywd MP, Alistair Carmichael MP, Michael Moore MP, Ed Davey MP, Peter Bottomley MP and Julie Morgan …
The Burma Campaign UK today called on Baroness Ashton, the new EU high representative for Foreign Affairs, to support, not undermine EU policy on Burma, as European Commission officials have been doing for years. The European Union adopted a joint foreign policy on Burma, known as a Common Position, in 1996. The 27 EU Member …
The Burma Campaign UK today welcomed the new United Nations General Assembly resolution on Burma, calling on the dictatorship to stop breaking international law. The Burma Campaign UK is campaigning for the United Nations to establish a Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma. The resolution: “Strongly calls upon the …
Media release from Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) has learned that Ma Ni Mo Hlaing, who is currently being held in Thayet prison, is suffering from typhoid fever. She began demonstrating symptoms of fever on October 6, 2009, and her condition has steadily deteriorated since. Due to …