Burma Campaign UK
David P Kramer of Free Burma Campaign (SA) has written to South Africa’s Business Day newspaper, saying SA’s government does not care at all about the country’s links to executed Myanmar activists. He wrote to South Africa’s government when the four Burmese activists were sentenced to death, highlighting the friendship between Ko Jimmy and anti-apartheid …
Myanmar’s military authorities have executed four democracy activists accused of helping carry out “terror acts”, reports Sky News. The executed men included democracy-figure Kyaw Min Yu, better known as Jimmy, and former politician and hip-hop artist Phyo Zeya Thaw. Burma Campaign UK said it was “deeply saddened” to learn of the news. “This is a …
Representatives from Burma’s Military Council joined Putin allies such as China, India and Iran at the annual International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine led to fewer attendees from the Western group. Is Burma becoming a strategic ally for Russia? If Russia supplies Burma with fuel, electricity, and a communications …
Myanmar’s defense minister, under sanctions from the United States, Britain and other countries for abuses committed by his country’s military, has been welcomed to an annual meeting with his counterparts in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). More than 600 civic groups inside and outside Myanmar had issued an appeal to the ministers not …
Burma Campaign UK told the Voice of America (VOA) that some Asian and European countries are lowering the level of diplomatic relations in the Burmese military council’s diplomatic sphere, and that the National Unity Government (NUG) is increasingly accepted as the official representative of the Burmese people. Asian and European governments, including the UK, are …
At least 28 airstrikes hit near the Thai-Myanmar border yesterday, reports the Thai Enquirer, as the military junta conducts airstrikes close to the Thai border. The Karen Human Rights Group said the footage obtained from the Thai side of the border appears to show air raids targeting a civilian area and reveals a drone conducting …
Burma Campaign UK has added 56 more companies to its ‘Dirty List’, reports Mizzima, where there is evidence of links to the Burmese military, human rights violations or environmental destruction. Fifteen Russian companies have been added to the list. “Countries like the USA, Japan and South Korea have arms embargoes but still allow their companies …
At least 25 national and international rights bodies and civil society organisations, including Burma Campaign UK, have made an urgent call for the government to support the community-led learning facilities in Cox’s Bazar’s Rohingya refugee camps, reports Bangladesh’s Daily Star. About 30 community-led schools have been shut down or dismantled by the authorities since December …
Wai Hnin Pwint Thon, senior advocacy officer at Burma Campaign UK, condemned the guilty verdict and jail sentence delivered by a court in Naypyitaw to ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. In an interview with Associated Press, she said “These are trumped up charges, politically motivated, to keep her inside prison for such a long …
The Myanmar military continue to use airstrikes against civilians, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee from their homes. Rushanara Ali MP has urged the Government to introduce sanctions on Burmese and British companies that supply aviation fuel to the military. Rushanara Ali chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Burma, which is administered by Burma …
Myanmar’s pro-democracy forces have initiated a global “Blue Shirt” campaign to show solidarity with political prisoners, especially the over 10,000 people who were arrested after the February 2021 coup, reports Global Voices. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) announced the campaign on April 21 and highlighted the growing number of prisoners as the military …
The Burma army used Swedish made recoilless artillery shells to bomb the Karen National Army and their allies in recent fighting, reports Karen News, despite the munitions being prohibited. In 2012 the Burma army used the same artillery in attacks against the Kachin Independent Army in Northern Burma – it is alleged the Swedish weapons …
Burma Campaign UK was among 39 signatories of letters sent to leading donors to the Rohingya humanitarian crisis including the European Commission, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These donors have provided crucial support for Rohingya refugee children in Bangladesh. Education for many of those children is now in peril, reports Human Rights Watch. …
Thank you NASUWT for the great support at your teachers conference this weekend. Anna Roberts, Burma campaign UK’s Executive Director, at the NASUWT conference.
Fresh controversy has rocked the Chelsea bidding process, reports the Daily Mail. Roman Abramovich is being forced to sell Chelsea after being hit by sanctions from the UK Government due to his close links with Vladimir Putin. A shortlist of preferred bidders established last month includes a consortium headed by the chair of Bain Capital, …
The military takeover has reignited the ethnic minority group’s seven-decade revolt, reports Nikkei Asia. Zoya Phan, campaign manager for Burma Campaign UK, believes the Karen are now more unified than ever before, coordinating their actions and political message. “Karen people in Karen National Union areas, outside them, at the Thai-Burma border, inside Thailand, around the …
Sir Martin Broughton, who has put in a bid for Chelsea FC, was criticized by Burma Campaign UK head Mark Farmaner, for his involvement in the British American Tobacco Company and the company’s alleged links with the military. The report comes from ChinaCSR.com, which provides news and information on corporate social responsibility and sustainability in …
Former British Airways and Liverpool FC chairman Martin Broughton has been criticized on Twitter by director Mark Farmaner of Burma Campaign UK for collaborating with the Burmese military, which ruled Myanmar for several decades, with the company British American Tobacco. Read TV2 report (in Norwegian)
The sale of Chelsea has been hit by fresh controversy after Parliament was told to throw out the shortlisted bid from Stephen Pagliuca, the co-chairman of Bain Capital, on the basis the club and Premier League must not be “contaminated” by “despicably corrupt business practice”. The Telegraph reports that Sir Martin Broughton, who is heading …
The United States, the United Kingdom and Canada have imposed coordinated new sanctions on Myanmar in response to the military’s brutal crackdown on opponents to its rule, reports Al Jazeera. The sanctions focus on senior military officials, including the newly-appointed chief of the air force and those linked to the arms trade. “Stopping Burmese military …
Myanmar will reopen to international tourists on 17 April, the junta government has announced after a two-year shut-down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Thailand-based travel news publication TTR Weekly reports that travel firms are not optimistic they will see any bookings. Travellers will be wary of the security risks and are likely to support a …
Mya Aye turned 56 on the day that Myanmar’s military junta sentenced him to two years in prison, reports Myanmar Now. He is the father of Wai Hnin Pwint Thon, senior advocacy officer at Burma Campaign UK. “It’s not strange for a politician to face hardships such as this in life. I will stand my …
Until his and his family’s shady connections with the Myanmar military were exposed by The New York Times late last year, reports the Irrawaddy, U Jonathan Kyaw Thaung was mostly known as the CEO of KT Group, which operates the TNT port terminal in Yangon. The Times’ story unmasked the Kyaw Thaungs as people who …
Burma Campaign UK has published the latest iteration of its ‘Dirty List’, adding 28 new companies said to be linked to the Burmese military and, as such, to human rights violations and the environmental destruction of Burma, reports the Democratic Voice of Burma. The additions to the list — which now targets 116 entities — …