Leeds United Football Club’s announcement that it will be bringing the squad to Burma next month was met with widespread condemnation, reports the Democratic Voice of Burma.
Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, told DVB “There has been no call for a cultural or sports boycott of Burma, but clearly Leeds United haven’t clearly thought through how a visit to Burma at this time would be perceived.”
He added that Burma Campaign UK’s main concern was that the tour is sponsored by AYA Bank, a lender owned by Burmese tycoon Zaw Zaw, who “appears to be involved in the government’s so-called development programme in Rakhine State where the villages of Rohingya forced to flee ethnic cleansing are now being built over.”