Burma Campaign UK
Burma’s newly appointed foreign minister, Win Aung – until last week the military regime’s ambassador to London – will be celebrating his promotion in London this weekend. The celebration organised by the Myanmar Association will be held between 12.00pm and 6.00pm at Ealing Town Hall, 14-16 Uxbridge Road, London W5 2HL on Sunday 22 November. …
Swedish mobile telephone company Ericsson, today announced that it is suspending all business links with Burma forthwith. This decision follows protests by democracy campaigners at recent Celine Dion concerts in the US, which were sponsored by Ericsson. The company had also previously lost a multi-million dollar contract with the City of San Francisco, partly due …
There has been widespread coverage that the UK government has called for new sanctions to be imposed on the regime in Rangoon. The government has in fact asked for limited measures, such as visa bans, that were imposed by the previous Conservative administration to be extended. The discouragement of trade and tourism cannot be considered …
The International Labour Organisation (ILO), an agency of the United Nations, released a report today which accuses Burma’s ruling military of systematic and widespread use of forced labour. The report charges that “any person who violates the prohibition of recourse to forced labour under the (ILO) Convention is guilty of an international crime that is …
The following is the speech delivered by Thaung Htun, UN representative for the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) to the Alternative State Reception for the unrepresented peoples of Asia. Key points: – Unilateral Sanctions By UK or Any Other EU Government On Burma are legally possible and should be imposed. – …
Burma’s pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, has criticised UK company Premier Oil for supporting the military regime in Burma by helping it to develop off-shore gas reserves. In a new video statement smuggled out of Burma she condemns the company, saying “Premier Oil is not only supporting this military government …
In an interview on BBC 2’s Newsnight on 3 July the Government moved British Foreign policy on Burma one step closer to supporting full economic sanctions against the country. Foreign Minister Derek Fatchett said the Government would now “discourage economic activity” in Burma. Although at present the Government “cannot control or order companies not to …
The election of the new Labour government may prove a good omen for Burma’s democracy movement. Today as the British Ambassador hand delivered a birthday greeting to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from the new Foreign Secretary, the Government issued a statement detailing the Government’s new policy on trade promotion towards Burma. In answer to …
On Thursday 13 June the European Parliament (EP) unanimously adopted a resolution urging the European Commission (EC) “not to take action against the act regulating state contracts with companies with or in Burma passed on 25 June 1996 by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, under the dispute settlement procedure of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).” The …
Joint Statement Karen refugees fleeing fighting in the Minthamee area, Tenasserim Division in Burma, are not being guaranteed refuge on Thai soil. Acting upon orders by the Commander of the 9th division of the Thai army, Karen civilians fleeing conflict and human rights abuses committed by the SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council ) …
PepsiCo have released a statement announcing the severance of all commercial links with Burma; “We are completing our total disengagement from the Burmese market. Accordingly, we have severed all relationships with our former franchise bottler, effective January 15, 1997. The bottler in Burma is taking appropriate steps to ensure that all production and distribution of …
British Home Stores have announced that their only remaining contract for Burma sourced clothing is due to expire within the next three weeks. The company have signed a sequence of contracts with their UK suppliers for Burmese clothing. However on expiry of this current contract the company will not sign a new contract, and now …
Today marks a historical milestone for the democracy movement in Burma. On the 8th of August 1988 the nationwide uprising occurred to protest against human rights abuses, economic decline and in order to abandon the one party dictatorship. The social unrest started during March and the event reached a climax on 8/8/88. As a response …
The Burma Action Group (BAG) will be joining members of the Burmese democracy movement in holding a demonstration and photo opportunity outside the London headquarters of Venice Simplon-Orient-Express Ltd, Sea Containers House, 20 Upper Ground, London SE1 at 8am on Thursday 8 August to mark the eighth anniversary of the start of the 1988 uprisings …
We, the European Burma solidarity groups listed below, support the call for economic sanctions on Burma issued by the European Parliament on 18 July 1996. We welcome the good example set by Carlsberg and Heineken in deciding to withdraw from Burma. We support the request by the democratically elected representatives of the Burmese people that …
The Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Derek Fatchett and the Burma Action Group are today calling on tourists to think again about Burma as a holiday destination. 1996 has been deemed Visit Burma Year by the repressive military junta that controls the country. The call coincides with the publication of the Burma Action Group’s Alternative Guide …
In a press conference this morning, Aung San Suu Kyi confirmed that she has been released unconditionally after 6 years held under house arrest. “I have always believed that the future stability and happiness of my nation depends entirely on the readiness of all parties to work for reconciliation”, said the Nobel Peace Prize winner …
The British Ambassador to Rangoon Mr J N D Hartland-Swann, backed by the Department of Trade and Industry, has arranged for a second British Week which is being held currently in Rangoon to encourage and facilitate trade and investment on the part of British Companies in Burma. Arranged to coincide with the 1995 Myanmar Trade …
The ethnic and democratic opposition headquarters, Manerplaw, fell to the Burmese army on the 26th of January, marking the beginning of a serious offensive by the armed forces of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) against the Karen ethnic group. Intense shelling has forced many thousands of refugees across the border into Thailand, …
The Burma Action Group (UK) is expressing grave concern at the continued forced repatriation of Rohngya refugees in Bangladesh to Burma. Recent reports from aid workers in the area continue to confirm that the situation is critical. In the early months of 1992, 280 000 Rohingyas sought refuge in Bangladesh in order to escape the …
Nine Nobel Laureates, including the Reverend Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former President of Costa Rica Oscar Arias, arrive today, Tuesday 16th February 1993, on a mission to call for the immediate liberation of the 1991 Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest in Rangoon, Burma (Myanmar) for the past …