Campaign News

Facebook has revealed a coordinated disinformation campaign geared toward improving public opinion toward MyTel, the telecommunications company backed by the Burmese military. Mark Farmaner of Burma Campaign UK told investigative journalists at Coda that Facebook’s move to curb coordinated disinformation about telecoms is insufficient. Facebook remains on BCUK’s Dirty List. “Facebook are happy for the …

A mining disaster in Kachin State on 2 July has cost 200 lives, reports Byline Times. Mining disasters have become commonplace in the area but rarely are they on the scale of what happened that day. Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, told Byline Times that there is “no transparency in the jade industry. …

Recently announced UK sanctions against two high-ranking generals from Burma won’t work, said Burma Campaign UK’s director Mark Farmaner in an interview with Karen News. “In the case of Burma the list is not effective, they don’t have money in UK banks and no one thinks they will come here for holidays either. It is …

The youth-focused digital media group VICE reports on brands showing support for Black Lives Matter despite profiting from racial oppression. Cloudflare and New Belgium Brewery are among companies that have made statements supporting racial justice, despite being associated with the Burmese military. BCUK’s director, Mark Farmaner, said a company purporting to support Black Lives Matter …

Mark Farmaner, Burma Campaign UK’s Director, was interviewed on VOA Burmese News about the 31 companies recently added to BCUK’s Dirty List. Watch Mark Farmaner interview (in English with Burmese voiceover) See BCUK’s Dirty List

Wai Hnin Pwint Thon is Campaigns Officer at Burma Campaign UK and her research and analysis focus on political prisoners and repressive laws. She writes for Frontier Myanmar on the controversy over offensive language used against Muslims in Burma: In defending “kalar” as a friendly term, many Myanmar social media users are failing to listen to …

The Burmese military has resurfaced on Facebook nearly two years after the social media giant removed numerous army accounts for spreading hatred, reports Radio Free Asia. The military has opened two Burmese-language Facebook accounts called “Tatmadaw True News Information Team” and “Zaw Min Tun”. Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, said the military set …

Kirin has ordered an independent probe into its beer businesses in Burma following pressure from human rights campaigners. The Financial Times says the case underscores the perils for companies operating in one of the world’s riskiest emerging markets. “There is no doubt that they are bowing to pressure from campaigns, but it looks like what …

A British civil engineering company is facing criticism for its involvement in resettling Rohingya refugees on a “prison island” in the Bay of Bengal, reports the Telegraph. The Bangladeshi Navy is sending refugees to the island as punishment for escaping the world’s largest refugee camp, Kutupalong in Cox’s Bazar. The island is prone to flooding …

Burma Campaign UK was one of several human rights and humanitarian organisations invited to give written evidence to the International Development Committee of the British Parliament on the Rohingya crisis. All the evidence is now available to read on the Parliament website. Read BCUK’s evidence

The risk of large-scale community spread of the COVID-19 virus is extremely high in Rakhine State, where tens of thousands of people are displaced as a result of conflict, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya are confined in camps and villages and the government has imposed an internet blackout. Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK reiterated …

Anna Roberts, Burma Campaign UK’s Executive Director, was interviewed on VOA Burmese News about BCUK’s Dirty List and Boycott List campaigns. Watch Anna Roberts interview (in Burmese, translated from English) See BCUK’s Dirty List See BCUK’s Boycott List

Campaigners have called on the UK-based Portia Management Services to end its relationship with KT Services and Logistics, which leases the TMT Ports shipping terminal in Yangon from a military-owned company. Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, said: “As the company managing the port on behalf of KT Services, Portia Management is critical to …

Today the British ambassador to Myanmar said: “The increased violence in Rakhine State over the past few days is causing misery for many of the people living there. Today’s reported shelling of a school on Myanmar’s Children’s Day, following recent deaths of women and children, highlights the impact this is having on innocent people. The …

In a special report, World Finance weighs up the pros and cons of investing in Burma. The article points out that companies that have any connection to the military, which is usually held responsible for the crisis’ worst atrocities, have found themselves on Burma Campaign UK’s Dirty List. Facebook, in particular, has been singled out …

The United Nations’ top court has ordered Burma to do all it can to prevent genocide against the Rohingya people, reports the New York based Associated Press. Anna Roberts, executive director of Burma Campaign UK, called the order “a major blow to Aung San Suu Kyi and her anti-Rohingya policies.” Anna Roberts urged the international …

The New York Times reports on the International Court of Justice at The Hague’s ruling that Burma must take action to protect Rohingya Muslims, who have been killed and driven from their homes in what the country’s accusers call a campaign of genocide. The decision is the first international court ruling against Burma over its …

Frontier Myanmar’s new daily email briefing reports on Burma Campaign UK’s new “boycott list” encouraging consumers and companies to avoid military-linked businesses. “Buying goods and services from the military increases their revenue and this revenue is used to fund their operations, building their military capacity,” said Burma Campaign UK. The boycott list includes Red Ruby cigarettes, …

MPs today debated the foreign policy priorities set out by the new British government. Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry MP called out Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s “shameful inaction in holding Myanmar to account for its genocidal treatment of the Rohingya” during his time as Foreign Secretary. Bob Blackman MP raised how the UK need …

The Irrawaddy Business Roundup reports that Western Union, a US-based global financial transfer service, has cut ties with the military–owned Myawaddy Bank in light of accusations that the military is responsible for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. In December 2018, Burma Campaign UK named and shamed a total of 49 companies worldwide that do …

Western Union announced this week that the company decided to stop using Myawaddy Bank, owned by the military, as one of its agents. The bank has come under fire for the relationship given that the Myanmar military has been accused by the United Nations of genocide. The decision comes nearly three months after Western Union’s CEO …

After U.S.-based Western Union terminated its agent contract with Myawaddy Bank, a Burmese military spokesman played down the effect that the decision would have, according to a report by Radio Free Asia. Western Union was one of about 80 companies worldwide on Burma Campaign UK’s  “Dirty List” of firms doing business with Myanmar’s military. BCUK …

Myanmar Times reports that Western Union has terminated its contract with the Tatmadaw-owned Myawaddy Bank, becoming the latest foreign company to disassociate itself from military-associated companies. “This is a significant step forward in our campaign to stop international companies funding genocide and crimes against humanity in Burma,” said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK. …