Campaign News

Minn Tent Bo, Burma Campaign UK’s Advocacy and Communications Officer, spoke at this year’s Myanmar documentary film screening and Burmese food fundraiser in Bristol. Minn spoke about how we can stand together in solidarity against the military, the impact of the UK visa ban on Burmese students, and what Burmese students in Bristol can do …

“The UK’s ban on student visas for Myanmar students is an insult to a nation in turmoil”, writes Minn Tent Bo, Burma Campaign UK’s Advocacy and Communications Officer, for the Diplomat. “The decision contradicts the values that the U.K. claims to represent, to say nothing of its supposed support for democracy in Myanmar. The United …

Myanmar, Afghanistan, Sudan and Cameroon citizens will be barred from obtaining UK university visas, reports Turkiye’s TRT World. The British government said asylum applications by visiting students had “rocketed” nearly 500 percent from 2021 to 2025. Burma Campaign UK called the visa ban “exceptionally cruel and shortsighted”. Programme director Zoya Phan said “The opportunity to come …

Myanmar’s military junta yesterday announced that it had granted an amnesty to more than 7,000 prisoners convicted of financing or sheltering “terrorists,” its designation for the various groups opposing its rule, reports the Diplomat. Burma Campaign U.K. said that it was important for the outside world to recognize that the releases were “not a sign …

The Burmese military have announced an ‘amnesty’ for more than 7,000 people convicted under terrorism laws, reports Progressive Voice. The mass release of political prisoners was expected as part of propaganda efforts by the Burmese military as they rebrand themselves following sham elections at the end of 2025 and early 2026. The releases are not …

Burma Campaign UK is urging the British government to sanction the Arakan Army (AA) for carrying out international human rights violations against the people of Burma, reports the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB). The AA has allegedly targeted regime soldiers and civilians, including the Rohingya, with summary executions, beheadings, torture, and sexual violence. “Allowing the …

1 February will mark five years since the military re-took control in Myanmar in a coup that ousted elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The military celebrated the anniversary by declaring a sweeping win for their political party in a general election, widely denounced as a sham. But according to Mark Farmaner, director of Burma …

The International Development Committee, a Commons Select Committee, has published Burma Campaign UK’s evidence submission to its new inquiry into the future of UK aid. The inquiry was set up to examine how the UK can continue to deliver high impact international aid and development assistance in the face of a 40% budget cut as …

Burma Campaign UK’s Programme Director, Zoya Phan, shares her incredible story of growing up under military dictatorship in Burma with LADbible TV. “Born in the remote jungle, Zoya’s childhood ended the moment she saw a decomposing body floating down the river where her siblings played. Years later, under a brutal regime of ethnic cleansing Zoya …

Today the British Parliament held a debate on religious persecution in Myanmar, moved by Jim Shannon MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief. Burma Campaign UK briefed MPs beforehand and many raised issues we had highlighted, including it being more than a year since any new sanctions on …

“When western countries impose targeted sanctions or take other steps to promote human rights and democracy in Burma, China complains”, writes Burma Campaign UK’s Director Mark Farmaner in Labour Hub. “Western countries are interfering in the internal affairs of another country, they say. “China interferes in the internal affairs of Burma more than any country …

Burma Campaign UK’s Programme Director, Zoya Phan, was interviewed about the military dictatorship’s sham elections by Thailand-based Karen Vibes, which aims to inform, educate, and entertain with Sgaw Karen, Pwo Karen, English and Burmese language. Watch Karen Vibes interview (in Karen)

Burma Campaign UK has called for a revision of the British government’s approach to Myanmar, warning that the UK has slipped from “leaders to laggards” on human rights, reports Mizzima. The call comes as Myanmar’s junta moves ahead with what are widely seen as “sham elections” beginning 28 December. “When British government ministers have the …

Across the country in areas freed from Burmese military occupation, a bottom-up federal nation is being built, writes Naw Wahkushee, Director of Advance Myanmar’s partner Karen Peace Support Network, for Mizzima. Local people are finally in charge of their land and natural resources, and for the first time have a say in how they will …

A UN expert today urged the UK to help mobilise international opposition to the Myanmar military junta’s claim that the election that it will stage later this month is legitimate, while taking other measures to strengthen its support of human rights in Myanmar. “I am heartened by the United Kingdom’s rejection of the junta’s election …

Twenty-five Karen civil society groups “overseas,” led by the Karen National Union (KNU), have condemned the regime’s 2025-26 elections which are scheduled to begin on December 28, reports the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB). “This sham election is not about political reform or genuine peace in the country. History has already shown that the Burmese …

Myanmar’s military rulers have pardoned or dropped charges against 8,665 people locked up for opposing army rule as the country prepares for next month’s elections, reports Al Jazeera. Critics have asserted that the upcoming election will be neither free nor fair because there is no free media and most of the leaders of Aung San …

After more than a decade of rapacious scam activity, reports Asia Sentinel, dual pressure from the US and China has caused the Myanmar military to raid Shwe Kokko, a notorious compound 40 km from the Thai border town of Mae Sot where enslaved workers defraud online victims globally, although analysts are skeptical over the junta’s …

“The Burmese military use foreign jets and bombs to kill civilians”, says Zoya Phan, Burma Campaign UK’s Programme Director, in her social media post. “You must stop arms and equipment reaching them. “The UK, EU, USA, ASEAN and other countries must do more to cut off the supply of money, arms and aviation fuel reaching the …

At least 26 people died in Myanmar at a combined festival and protest against the brutal military junta, when a motor-powered paraglider (paramotor) dropped bombs. Northeast Bylines asked Zoya Phan from Burma Campaign UK for her comment on this paramotor bombing incident. Zoya said: “The Burmese military have been escalating airstrikes and military offensives across Burma in recent weeks …

Aid agencies are warning that Rakhine State will soon see people starving, reports Northeast Bylines. As a result, the World Food Programme has issued an urgent appeal for more donations to avoid a “full-blown disaster”. Zoya Phan, BCUK’s Programme Director, told Northeast Bylines: “International donors must immediately reverse long term aid cuts to camps hosting Rohingya …

Mark Farmaner, Burma Campaign UK’s Director, told RFI: “For the refugees in Bangladesh and the Rohingya still in Burma, there is no hope that the situation will improve and that they can go home. In fact, every day, more and more refugees try to flee Rakhine State. “We have seen the Arakan Army, a resistance …

New elections are planned by the Burmese military for the end of this year, reports Northeast Bylines, quoting Burma Campaign UK’s new briefing paper: ‘The Burmese Military’s ‘Elections’: New Date, New Danger, Same Sham.’ Zoya Phan, BCUK’s Programme Director, commented: “The Burmese military is so desperate for international legitimacy. This coming sham election is nothing …

Airbus has divested from AVIC, a Chinese aircraft and arms manufacturer which supplies the Burmese military with the jets they use to bomb schools, hospitals and homes. Justice for Myanmar and Blood Money Campaign groups including Burma Campaign UK have welcomed the withdrawal of investment. Thank you all for taking action on this. Too many …