Burma Campaign UK
Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained in Monday’s coup, was charged after police said they found four illegally imported handheld radios at her home. The police said the reason for detention was “to question witnesses, request evidence and seek legal counsel after questioning the defendant”. Burma Campaign UK commented: “The reality is that they …
25 MPs from all sides of the House of Commons questioned the Minister of State for Asia, Nigel Adams, following his update on the coup in Burma. Watch the debate (starts at 14.53pm)
The Burmese military, led by Min Aung Hlaing, has arrested many political leaders and human rights activists, including Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, in night time raids. They have declared a state of emergency for one year. Governments, including the UK have issued statements of concern or condemning the coup, but none …
Mark Farmaner, the director of Burma Campaign UK, has told TIME that the military coup in Burma may have been engineered for personal reasons. “This could be being driven by the personal ambitions of Min Aung Hlaing, who was due to retire in six months,” he told TIME. “He has also used his position to …
Burma Campaign UK’s evidence to the British Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee on Xinjiang’s detention camps, and how it relates to the failure of UK policy regarding Burma, has now been published. BCUK calls for a national strategy for atrocity prevention, a comprehensive law on Universal Jurisdiction, more effective economic sanctions for human rights abusers, and …
Indonesia’s Republika reports that Burma Campaign UK has asked Facebook to prevent the Burmese army from using this platform to recruit members, promote their companies’ products and improve their business. Read Republika report (in Bahasa Indonesia)
Japanese beer corporation Kirin has said that an assessment of its ties with the Myanmar military was “inconclusive” as to the company’s role in human rights abuses and military operations. Burma Campaign UK and other rights groups have expressed disappointment in Kirin’s announcement. “Kirin are making themselves look ridiculous trying to claim they can’t find …
The Turkish Anadolu Agency and SonDakika report on Burma Campaign UK’s call for Facebook to stop the Burmese military from using its platform to recruit members and from promoting its businesses on the site. “Donald Trump has been suspended for inciting violence, but the Burmese military commit violence against civilians every day and are free …
After Facebook suspended US President Donald Trump for inciting violence, Burma Campaign UK has repeated its call to Facebook to stop the military using Facebook to recruit members and promote its businesses. The Dhaka Tribune and Bangladesh’s Financial Express quote Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK: “Facebook appears to have double standards. If you …
Japanese beer giant Kirin said an investigation into whether money from its joint ventures with the Burmese military had funded rights abuses was “inconclusive”. Burma Campaign UK, which has placed Kirin on its “Dirty List” of international companies doing business with the military, denounced the findings of Kirin’s report as “farcical”. “Kirin are making themselves …
Deloitte’s investigation into the Japanese brewer Kirin’s links to the Burmese military has proved “inconclusive”, the company has said. Burma Campaign UK today described as “farcical” Kirin’s assertion that after a year-long investigation regarding two joint ventures with the Burmese military, it cannot establish whether the military uses profits for military purposes. “Kirin are making …
The government of Bangladesh is angrily rejecting claims it is forcibly moving Rohingya refugees to a remote cyclone-prone island against their will. “We took them all voluntarily,” Bangladesh foreign minister Abdul Momen told Sky News. But Mark Farmaner from Burma Campaign UK told Sky News that was untrue. “These people do not want to go …
Everyone at Burma Campaign UK is saddened to learn of the death of David Arnott in Mae Sot, Thailand, on 6 December 2020. David was one of the founders of Burma Campaign UK (then Burma Action Group). David dedicated his life to promoting human rights, peace, education and democracy in Burma. He will be missed. …
More than 100 UK MPs have called on the British government to make an intervention supporting The Gambia’s Rohingya genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as human rights violations against the Rohingyas continue. Rushanara Ali and Jeremy Hunt, co-chairs of All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Rights of the Rohingya, signed the letter …
The election in Burma this month should have delivered “stability and security”, but has instead led to the possibility of “unrest and insurgency”, owing to the manner in which the process was carried out, the Bishop of St Albans, Dr Alan Smith, has said. The executive director of Burma Campaign UK, Anna Roberts, said: “The …
Vote counting continued late into the night after an election that is expected to return to power the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains a hero at home in spite of a reputation abroad shattered by the Rohingya crisis. Virtually all the 600,000 Rohingya Muslims remaining in the country – half of whom …
Poll workers began counting votes on Sunday in an election criticized by rights groups and widely expected to see the party of Aung San Suu Kyi win another five-year term, reports the Sun. More than 1.5 million people, most of them in conflict-torn Rakhine state, were stripped of the right to vote last month when …
Burma heads to the polls Sunday for a vote expected to return to power the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains a hero at home in spite of a reputation abroad shattered by the Rohingya crisis. Coronavirus cases have spiralled in recent months, sending swathes of the country into lockdown and largely forcing …
The military continue to crush the hopes of Burma while Aung San Suu Kyi has squandered her reputation and a historic opportunity, says former Liberal Democrat MP Lord Alton. He quotes Burma Campaign UK’s briefing on Sunday’s election in Burma: Under Burma’s military drafted 2008 constitution, it is impossible for elections to be free and …
Activists warn that mass disenfranchisement will deepen racial divides and fuel resentment among ethnic minorities, reports Myanmar Now. Burma Campaign UK said “Aung San Suu Kyi has engaged in activities which will make this election less free and fair than the last one.” “The greatest shadow over the credibility of the election is the continued …
The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Democracy in Burma, chaired by Rushanara Ali MP, has raised concerns about the credibility of the upcoming elections. The group’s statement says “The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Democracy in Burma is deeply concerned about the growing number of undemocratic practices in the run up to Burma’s general election being held …
Burma is preparing to hold general elections this Sunday, reports World Politics Review: an occasion that might have marked a significant milestone in its ongoing transition from decades of military rule. Yet the consensus today is that Burma’s democratic transition has stalled—if it can even be said to be transitioning at all. “I know that …
The world’s largest shipping company, Maersk, will cut ties with the military-owned ports in Burma this month, reports the Irrawaddy. Maersk was placed on Burma Campaign UK’s Dirty List after its container ship used the military-owned TMT Ports in Yangon, which is managed by the British company, Portia Management Services. In July, Portia announced it …
Global shipping giant Maersk will stop using Burmese military-owned ports after pressure from Burma Campaign UK to sever links with the military. The Danish company’s decision is highly significant and will increase pressure on other shipping businesses to do the same, said Mark Farmaner, BCUK’s director. “The campaigns to stop international companies funding human rights …