A member of the Burmese military is living in a multi-million pound home in South London.
Captain Soe Aung, a serving officer in the Burmese Navy, is a military attaché. In April he was responsible for locking the Burmese Ambassador to the UK out of the Burmese embassy, because the Ambassador had refused to accept the military as the legitimate government after the coup.
Members of the Burmese community in the UK have told Burma Campaign UK that his presence makes them concerned for their security and the security of their families in Burma. These concerns have grown since the FBI in the US uncovered a plot to assassinate the Burmese Ambassador to the UN, who has sided with Burma’s democracy movement.
Burma Campaign UK is calling on Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to expel the Burmese military attaché from the UK.
Captain Soe Aung represents a military responsible for genocide and child rape, and killing more than 1,000 people since the coup.
There is no diplomatic reason to allow him to stay in the UK. He is not a channel of communication to the military, and the UK does not have an attaché in Burma. He is the eyes and ears of the military in the UK, free to spy on human rights activists. It is not safe to allow him to stay in the UK.
Allowing the genocidal Burmese military to keep an attaché in the UK is also sending the wrong message to the military, that we accept them and that they are welcome in the UK. They are not welcome!
