Burma Campaign UK
UK retailer John Lewis and Partners will stop sourcing gems from Myanmar, reports the Irrawaddy. “John Lewis have done the right thing by deciding to stop sourcing from Burma,” said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK. Burma Campaign UK is not calling for a blanket ban on gems from Myanmar. Rather, it is calling …
National department store, John Lewis Partnership, has informed Burma Campaign UK that it will cease gem sourcing from Burma, reports the Professional Jeweller. Burma Campaign UK had written to John Lewis, along with approximately 40 other retailers, asking them to ensure that – if they sell gems from Burma – they make sure that their …
Anna Roberts, Executive Director at Burma Campaign UK, was interviewed on Sky News at lunchtime today. “There are daily airstrikes by the military against civilians across the country. But those airstrikes rely on aviation fuel and Britain can play an important part by imposing sanctions on the supply of aviation fuel”, said Anna Roberts. “This …
Burma’s export of minerals including jade fell by about 28% in the first three months of this fiscal year, reports Mizzima. Global Witness has urged the international community to boycott gems and jade mined in Myanmar and called for banning the export of these precious stones and minerals. Burma Campaign UK says that the army …
Junta troops raided the office of state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) in Naypyitaw yesterday, detaining some senior officials for interrogation, reports the Irrawaddy. The raid was allegedly prompted by the leak of information about a secret bank account set up by the office to allow the regime to bypass international financial sanctions. MOGE …
The junta rely more on the use of jet fighters and helicopter gunships, reports Mizzima, since the People’s Defence Forces (PDFs) have gained significant ground. Well over 50 per cent of the country is effectively out of the control of the junta and the military have suffered ground troop losses. Amnesty International’s research for their …
One of Britain’s biggest TV shopping channels and online jewellery retailers, TJC, is withdrawing Burmese rubies from sale, reports the Irrawaddy. TJC’s move came after Burma Campaign UK challenged 40 of the UK’s major jewellery firms to prove the gems they sell are not sourced from Myanmar in ways that help fund the military regime. …
VOA Burmese interviews Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, about our new gems campaign. BCUK has written to 40 of the biggest and highest profile jewellery retailers in the UK asking them to demonstrate that the gems they sell are not sourced from Burma/Myanmar in ways which help fund the Burmese military. One retailer, …
The arrest of Byuhar, a popular rapper in Myanmar who strongly criticized the junta, has caused widespread alarm among his loved ones and fellow artists, reports VOA News. VOA News quotes Burma Campaign UK: “More than 22,000 people have been detained [since the beginning of the coup], and political prisoners have been subjected to torture …
Mizzima’s Spring Revolution Daily News includes Burma Campaign UK’s announcement that 5 UK insurance companies have been blacklisted for their services on the fuel oil import to Myanmar’s military junta. Mizzima reports on the military junta’s claim that they have started the provision of assistance to storm victims. In reality, local people stated that they …
Five British insurance companies have been added by Burma Campaign UK to its ‘dirty list’, reports Insurance Business, due to the insurers’ role in aviation fuel deliveries to Burma. Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, said: “The Burmese military are using airstrikes indiscriminately against civilians, even against schools and hospitals, and insurance is a …
Burma Campaign UK has welcomed the passing of a European Parliament Resolution, which called on the European Union to impose sanctions on the supply of aviation fuel to the Burmese military. The calls were made in a new Resolution condemning the back-door ban on 40 political parties in Burma. “The European Parliament has called on …
Russia has shipped three million barrels of crude oil, over 100,000 barrels per day, to China via a Myanmar pipeline since February, reports the Irrawaddy. The pipeline is operated by China National Petroleum Corp, the parent company of PetroChina, with a 50.9 per cent interest in the company. The remaining shares are held by the …
Burma Campaign UK has called on five British insurance companies to stop providing cover for deliveries of aviation fuel to Burma, a call that comes 10 days after the aerial massacre in Sagaing’s Pazigyi village, reports Mizzima. “Insurers largely operate behind the scenes but play a vital role in the delivery of aviation fuel to …
Burma Campaign UK has called on five British insurance companies to stop covering aviation fuel deliveries to Myanmar following the airstrike on Sagaing Region that caused an estimated 168 deaths, reports the Irrawaddy. “Any company involved in the supply chain delivering aviation fuel to Burma is potentially complicit in airstrikes against civilians and should stop …
The G7 just issued a communiqué which condemned airstrikes, and called for an arms embargo and the release of all political prisoners, writes Burma Campaign UK\’s Director Mark Farmaner for the Democratic Voice of Burma. However, the foreign ministers didn’t pledge to do a single thing about the human rights violations they condemn, or the …
The UK Parliament today held a Westminster Hall debate on human rights in Myanmar. Rushanara Ali MP, the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Burma, said “I welcome some of the steps that our Government have taken, but the fact remains that sanctions against the Burmese military’s sources of incomes are too slow to …
Myanmar’s junta has granted amnesty to 3,015 prisoners to mark the Burmese New Year, reports Radio Free Asia, but only one political prisoner was among them. “If any political prisoners have been released it is obviously good news for them and their families, but there are still thousands of political prisoners in jail. None of …
Burma Campaign UK’s Amy Rosenberg at the NASUWT conference this weekend. Many thanks to NASUWT, the teachers’ union, for their continuing support.
“Undaunted: My Struggle for Freedom and Survival in Burma”, by Zoya Phan, our Programme Director, will be featuring at Kivu Immigration Law’s Summer Book Club, reports The Globe. Selected books will center around immigration and international conflict and will feature nationalities and cultures that are represented in Worthington, Minnesota, USA. “Undaunted: My Struggle for Freedom …
The sole owner and director of UK-sanctioned, Singapore-registered Shoon Energy Pte Ltd (formerly Asia Sun Aviation), is the director of at least 10 companies in Myanmar, reports the Irrawaddy. Burma Campaign UK has welcomed new UK sanctions targeting companies supplying aviation fuel, arms and aircraft parts to the Myanmar military. “These sanctions are well targeted, …
Burma Campaign UK welcomed new UK sanctions targeting companies supplying aviation fuel, arms and aircraft parts to the Burmese military, reports Mizzima. The sanctions follow similar sanctions targeting aviation fuel announced by the USA. “These sanctions are well targeted, prioritising suppliers of aviation fuel and arms brokers, but a complete ban on British companies supplying …
Jet fuel for Myanmar’s armed forces has been targeted in the latest sanctions imposed by the United States on the military regime and crony businesses, reports Al Jazeera. The US imposed sanctions on two people and six entities connected to Myanmar’s military, who had enabled the regime’s continuing atrocities. These sanctions were the latest by …
BBC Burmese interviews Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK, about the recent private hearing on Myanmar affairs in the UN Security Council. “Yet another UN Security Council meeting on Myanmar,” Mark Farmaner told BBC Burmese. “The people of Myanmar are not even allowed to know what was being discussed about their own country. It …