Burma Campaign UK
Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to two years in prison on charges of incitement and violating COVID-19 restrictions, reports Canada’s Globe and Mail. Ten months after the military overthrew and imprisoned her, the regime’s decision to prosecute rather than returning her to house arrest sends a signal that “they’re not willing to consider …
“I was 4 years old when my mom took me to meet my dad for the first time. I thought we were traveling to a park or a playground, but then we arrived outside Insein prison in Rangoon” writes Wai Hnin Pwint Thon, Burma Campaign UK’s Campaigns Officer, in CNN Opinion. “Since then, he has …
Despite several major accounting bodies around the world pulling out of the upcoming ASEAN Federation of Accountants’ conference in protest at the inclusion of the Myanmar junta’s auditor general as a keynote speaker, two UK accounting bodies say they will still attend. They are the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Institute of …
Government violence against the Christian minority in Myanmar is intensifying, reports the Catholic Herald. More than 18,300 people have been displaced in the attacks on the Christian-majority Chin State, which has been at the forefront of some of the strongest resistance to the military junta following the coup of February 1. Human Rights Watch and …
Bill Richardson, a former US ambassador to the UN, said that he had held “productive” talks with Min Aung Hlaing, the general who led the February coup, on a recent visit to discuss humanitarian aid. Rights activists said he gave the junta an air of legitimacy. Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, was critical …
The United Nations security council is facing new calls to act against the Myanmar junta after soldiers burnt scores of homes, churches and charitable institutions in a brutal campaign against resistance fighters. The Times reports that more than 500 civil rights organisations, including Burma Campaign UK, have signed a letter to the security council urging …
Myanmar’s military has been accused of torching and occupying churches and killing and detaining pastors in its latest brutal offensive in Chin state on the northwest border with India, reports the Telegraph. Fears rise that the military is building up to a major assault on the majority Christian state. “The situation in North-Western Burma today …
The Myanmar regime will not be invited to attend the upcoming G7-ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in person, the UK has said. The UK is serving as the G7’s host nation this year, reports the Irrawaddy. Anna Roberts, executive director of Burma Campaign UK, said not being invited to the G7 ASEAN summit in the UK …
Norwegian telecoms firm Telenor is set to pull out of Burma over demands it run software that would allow the army to eavesdrop on private communications. The Lebanese investment firm M1 will likely step in to fill the gap, reports the Telegraph. Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, called on Telenor to “stick it …
The European Parliament passed a Resolution on 7 October calling for further action by the EU to target the Myanmar junta, reports Mizzima. Under the previous military dictatorship sanctions were not applied strategically, but rather as a kind of slap on the wrist every few years in response to atrocities, according to Burma Campaign UK. …
The M1 Group, a holding company owned by Lebanon’s prime minister and his brother, has come under fire from human rights activists for buying the Norwegian telecom firm Telenor’s Myanmar operation. The military regime had reportedly tried to force Telenor to provide user data including addresses and call history, and to implement intercept software that …
Burma’s opposition National Unity Government (NUG) has announced the formation of a COVID-19 task force in order to help control the virus and bolster its bid for international recognition, reports the Diplomat. The task force will work in collaboration with ethnic health organizations and help coordinate cooperation with international associations. Given the military’s “incompetence, inaction, …
The UK is facing calls to snub demands by Burmese generals for a new ambassador to the UK, in the wake of the country’s brutal military coup. The Express reports that Burma’s previous UK Ambassador, Kyaw Zwar Minn, was ousted earlier this year after he spoke out against the junta. Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign …
Radio Free Asia reports on the Foreign Affairs Committee’s recommendations to the UK government and the debate in Parliament. The 5 minute video clip includes an interview with Mark Farmaner, Burma Campaign UK’s Director, critiquing the UK government’s response. Read / watch RFA report in Burmese
Burma Campaign UK gave evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the British Parliament. The Committee’s report, published today, makes 30 recommendations covering diplomatic and multilateral action, sanctions, humanitarian support, accountability and transparency, and Myanmar nationals in the UK. The Committee concludes: “The Government has made positive steps on Myanmar, but there is far more …
The UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee has published its report on atrocities in Xinjiang and beyond. Burma Campaign UK submitted evidence to the Committee on the failure of UK policy regarding atrocities in Burma. The recommendations include a call for a national, cross-departmental strategy for atrocity prevention, one of the recommendations made by Burma Campaign …
Norwegian telecoms operator Telenor has sold its Myanmar operations to the Lebanese investment firm M1 Group, which was added to Burma Campaign UK’s Dirty List for doing business with the Myanmar military. The M1 group has been on Burma Campaign UK’s Dirty List since August 2019 because it is a major shareholder in Irrawaddy Green …
Since the brutal military coup, people in Burma/Myanmar are appealing for international help. Burma Campaign UK is answering their call. Help us support activists on the ground in Burma/Myanmar “How many of us have to die before the international community helps us?” This is the question people in Burma keep asking. Since the brutal military …
The EU has added eight officials from Myanmar’s junta and three firms linked to the military to its sanctions blacklist over the country’s February coup and bloody repression of protests, reports the Deccan Herald. The UK also announced sanctions on the same companies as well as the military junta’s ruling body the State Administration Council. …
Since the military coup in February, a climate of terror has engulfed Burma. Disappearances, detention without charge, alleged torture and mysterious deaths are just some of the actions under the spotlight following widespread protests against the military takeover. Al Jazeera’s report exposes a secret interrogation centre in the country’s biggest city, Yangon. This investigation also …
The government has been accused of abandoning Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh after cutting aid to the humanitarian response by more than 40%, reports the Guardian. “Dominic Raab talks the talk but he doesn’t walk the walk on Burma. He likes to offer statements, whether it is on justice or support to protesters, but doesn’t follow …
The British government has announced “shocking” cuts to its aid in support of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, reports Dhaka Tribune. “Even in a climate where aid cuts were expected due to the government’s broken promise of delivering 0.7% of GNI in aid, this is still shocking,” said Karin Valtersson, campaigns officer at Burma Campaign UK. …
Timber and gems exports from Burma are worth billions of dollars a year, and now that the military have seized government departments at gunpoint, that money will be going to the military. This money will help pay for the bullets fired at protestors and the bombs being dropped on ethnic civilians. Please email EU governments …
Wai Hnin Pwint Thon, campaigns officer at Burma Campaign UK, and the daughter of a man serving a 65-year jail sentence in Myanmar for his part in the 2007 protests, gave France 24 her take on the current situation. Wai Hnin says negotiations will have to happen but that talking with the Myanmar military is …