UN investigators are calling for sanctions on Burmese military-owned companies.
Dear John
Sanction Burmese military-owned companies. That is the recommendation of UN investigators who have been looking into human rights violations in Burma. They were specifically tasked with making recommendations to the international community on what action should be taken in response to the attacks on the Rohingya, and in Kachin and Shan States.
It’s something we at Burma Campaign UK have been asking the British government to do for years. So far the British government has refused.
The British government does not want to stop British companies doing business with the Burmese military.
The Burmese military own a huge number of companies in Burma. They are involved in everything from toothpaste to cement, supermarkets to ports, mining to taxi firms. All of their businesses depend on foreign companies supplying them with equipment or expertise.
And these companies provide revenue for the military which they spend on more advanced military equipment.
When a company does business with Burma’s military, it helps fund them to commit human rights violations.
So far the only action on Burma’s military which the British government has supported is banning some junior officers from taking holidays in the EU.
