Burma Campaign UK
Newly released figures have revealed that the British government has cut aid to around one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, most of them children, by a staggering 82%, reports Mizzima. Burma Campaign UK is calling on UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to provide life-saving aid to Rohingya children by urgently reversing the cuts. Karin Valtersson, …
Unmarked UN boats were used to ferry junta officials to refugee camps in preparation for a pilot project that would repatriate about 1,000 Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh to Myanmar, reports Radio Free Asia. The trip, a “public relations stunt”, created a “reputational risk” for all UN agencies and could jeopardize staff security. Karin Valtersson, Burma …
The US and the UK have announced humanitarian support packages worth 30 million dollars for Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh, reports Myanmar Now. Burma Campaign UK has added five entities to its boycott list of Myanmar military-owned companies and brands. “All embassies and aid donors in Burma should have policies not to buy goods and …
Calls for a no-fly zone over Myanmar are justified but will not result in a no-fly zone. The obstacles are too big to overcome. Efforts spent on calling for a no-fly zone will be wasted, writes Mark Farmaner, Burma Campaign UK’s Director, for Mizzima. Options for stopping or reducing airstrikes are limited. One of the …
A new report by Amnesty International, Global Witness, and Burma Campaign UK into the continued sale of aviation fuel to Myanmar’s military has exposed more firms involved in the country’s supply chain, reports Aviation International News. This includes insurance, shipping, and financial services firms, exemplifying claims that a vast web of foreign and multinational companies …
The need to secure women’s participation in peacebuilding has been recognised for decades by the UN, but it fails to acknowledge the role of refugee women in peacebuilding, reports News Drum. Refugee women from Myanmar have been active in peacebuilding for many years: Naw Zoya Phan (Burma Campaign UK’s Campaigns Manager) was elected as a …
Aviation fuel shipments to Myanmar have continued despite ongoing war crimes, Amnesty International and Global Witness said after they identified more companies involved in the supply chain, reports Mizzima. In November 2022 Amnesty International published Deadly Cargo, a report on the country’s aviation fuel supply chain that links national, regional and global companies to the …
The Myanmar military continues to secure supplies of aviation fuel — involving companies from Asia and Europe — despite air raids that have killed and maimed civilians and forced thousands from their homes, reports Al Jazeera. Amnesty International, Global Witness and Burma Campaign UK said they had identified more companies involved in aviation fuel transactions, …
The latest round of EU sanctions imposed on the junta were welcomed by advocacy groups, reports the Voice of America (VOA). Burma Campaign UK said, “This round of sanctions is well targeted, focusing on suppliers of aviation fuel, arms brokers, military procurement entities and members of the Burmese military and associated bodies.” “These sanctions will …
Myanmar’s energy minister, businessmen, high-ranking military officers and private companies will be subject to asset freezes and travel bans, reports Al Jazeera. “These new EU sanctions are right on target, aimed at limiting air strikes and supplies of arms and equipment, as well as targeting individuals responsible for serious human rights violations,” said Anna Roberts, …
The Ukraine war has dominated Western attention but a fraction of the same support could tip the conflict’s balance in favor of pro-democracy forces, reports the Asia Times. “For many countries around the world, the Myanmar crisis has been forgotten,” said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK. “It may be understandable that a crisis …
The regional bloc is more likely than the EU or the US to accept the military regime’s planned sham poll as legitimate, reports the Asia Times. “There is simply no question of the British government accepting whatever regime which follows any military-organised elections as legitimately representing the will of the people,” said Mark Farmaner, director …
Zoya Phan, Burma Campaign UK’s Campaigns Manager, an ethnic Karen and long-time political activist, briefly met with King Charles III on 1 February, reports Mizzima. The exchange took place at a reception at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the contribution of East and Southeast Asian communities to the United Kingdom. Charles III was quick to recognize Zoya …
Two years after the coup, women are defying the generals’ misogyny by overturning gender stereotypes and mounting political and armed resistance, writes Zoya Phan, Burma Campaign UK’s Campaigns Manager, for Chatham House. Despite having killed at least 2,300 pro-democracy activists and arbitrarily detaining 16,000 more, the country’s military rulers, the Tatmadaw, are facing unprecedented resistance. …
Burma Campaign UK welcomed new UK sanctions targeting suppliers of aviation fuel to the Burmese military, but claimed they do not go far enough, reports Mizzima. Anna Roberts, BCUK’s Executive Director said: “The British government is spot on, targeting suppliers of aviation fuel to the military, but they need to go further and faster to …
Thank you to all our supporters that wrote to the Foreign Secretary calling on the UK government to impose sanctions on aviation fuel. Here is their response:
The streets of Yangon were completely empty today as citizens carried out a nationwide “silent strike” to protest the military coup that plunged the country into a deadly civil war exactly two years ago, reports the Telegraph. The junta announced a six-month extension to the state of emergency, likely delaying elections. Read Telegraph article (behind …
“The military is boasting about nationalism and independence but they are ultimately dependent on Russia and China for their survival” says Zoya Phan, Burma Campaign UK’s Campaigns Manager, in a recent interview with the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. “At the same time, Western countries are still involved in the supply chain in …
Following another sell-out year the Vale Earth Fair collective has been able to donate £9,000 each to three humanitarian causes, reports Channel Eye. One of these is Burma Campaign UK, and Karin Valtersson, their Campaigns Officer, attended the Vale Earth Fair on behalf of the organisation last year. Karin Valtersson said: “Campaigning works, but successes …
Guernsey’s Vale Earth Fair 2022 was the event’s most profitable year since it began 46 years ago, reports the BBC. The annual music festival is run by volunteers and all profits are donated to charity. The 2022 festival sold out and was able to donate £27,000, split equally between three humanitarian causes. Burma Campaign UK …
Global action is needed to topple Myanmar’s criminal junta boss, reports New Zealand’s Otago Daily Times, quoting the Guardian article below. Burma Campaign UK’s director Mark Farmaner said the UN security council’s first-ever resolution on Myanmar does not go far enough, with no mention, for example, of a long-sought global arms embargo. “Russia, China and …
Self-serving calculations explain China’s decision not to veto last month’s first-ever UN security council resolution on Myanmar, which called for an end to violence and the freeing of all political prisoners, says the Guardian. Following Beijing’s lead, Russia also abstained. Now comes the hard part: ensuring the junta complies. Burma Campaign UK complains the UN …
BBC Burmese interviews Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK, about the UN Security Council Resolution on Burma. Mark Farmaner said it is a very significant, historic moment, but the resolution does not go far enough. Neither calling for a global arms embargo nor addressing the genocide of the Rohingya, it will have no practical …
The United Nations Security Council has adopted its first resolution on Myanmar in 74 years, which demands an end to violence and calls on the country’s military rulers to release all political prisoners, reports Al Jazeera. Burma Campaign UK welcomed the resolution but said it would have “no practical impact” and that imposing a global …