Arms (Military Expenditure, Arms Transfers, Arms Production Etc)

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Description: Archive from 2004
Source/publisher: Various sources via "BurmaNet News"
Date of entry/update: 2012-04-18
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Language: English
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Description: "Monsieur Le Président de la République Emmanuel Macron Palais de l’Elysée 55 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré 75008 Paris July 10, 2023 Subject: Seeking French support to stop Indian arms sales to Myanmar junta ‍ Dear President Macron, We are writing this open letter to you from Justice For Myanmar, a covert group of activists using research, data visualisation, and reporting to expose and dismantle the business networks that fuel the Myanmar military’s international crimes, brutality and corruption. We request that you raise concerns regarding the sale of arms, dual use goods and technology from India to the Myanmar junta with Prime Minister Modi during his upcoming visit to France. We also request that you require India to ban further exports of arms, dual use goods and technology to the junta as a condition on the export of French arms and technology to India. After Russia and China, India is the third biggest supplier of arms to the Myanmar military. The flow of arms and dual use goods and technology from India to Myanmar has continued following the military’s illegal coup attempt of February 1, 2021, notably including from Indian state-owned companies. Since the military’s coup attempt, India’s majority state-owned Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), a joint venture partner of Thalès, transferred multiple items to the Myanmar military, including: A coastal surveillance system; A remote-controlled weapon station; Slip rings that can be used in any electromechanical system that requires rotation while transmitting power or signals, such as for shipborne radar turntables, rotating turrets on military armoured vehicles, airborne radar turntables or guidance systems; Mounting base plates (true north) with the harmonised system (HS) code 8529.90, confirming that the item is a part for use with radio transmission or radar equipment; A sonar transducer and associated main equipment (specified to be wet end) for likely use in a junta submarine; A directing gear system that would support transducer arrays of hull mounted ship sonar systems, such as those developed by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation; An underwater telephony system, coupled with three sets of unspecified technical documents and test equipment; An expendable bathy thermograph, which can be launched from a ship or submarine to measure the temperature as it falls through the water; MHS-355 and 20W HF SSB manpack radios. In the same period, items supplied by other Indian companies to the Myanmar military include: 3,000 fuzes supplied by Sandeep Metalcraft, a private arms manufacturer; Spare parts and an alarm monitoring and control system supplied by Larsen & Toubro; 122mm gun barrels supplied by Yantra India Limited, a state-owned arms manufacturer; Motors, timing belts and laboratory items from Jainkoch Corporation. The Myanmar military junta is a terrorist organisation under Myanmar law and as defined in international law. Since the attempted coup, the junta has killed more than 3,700 people and arrested over 23,700 more. It has conducted deliberate armed attacks on people across Myanmar including children and launches regular indiscriminate airstrikes and shelling as part of a campaign of terror. These actions constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law, for which the military has yet to be held accountable. While the military junta is directly responsible for these attacks, they have been enabled by the continued supply of arms, equipment and technology from international suppliers such as India, and the insufficient level of action taken by the international community to prevent this support from continuing. We note that in November 2022, H.E. Mr Sébastien Lecornu, Minister for the Armed Forces of France, paid his first official visit to India to hold the Indo-French Annual Defence Dialogue and to strengthen Indo-French strategic ties. The Armed Forces Minister’s visit to India reaffirms France’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific and India’s centrality in the French strategy for the region and came in a year that has seen an acceleration of the French and Indian armed forces’ endeavours towards greater interoperability through joint air, navy, and army exercises. Minister Lecornu also held wide-ranging talks with his counterpart, Rajnath Singh, covering industrial and technological partnerships in line with the Make in India policy, under which the Indian government has brought in reforms to encourage design, development and manufacture of defence equipment in India. Without adequate safeguards in place, France may find itself indirectly supporting the Indian government’s exports of arms and dual use goods and technology to Myanmar as a result of its defence cooperation with India, including through links to India’s domestic production of arms. India, like France, is a member of the Wassenaar Arrangement. Under this arrangement, India is expected to apply export controls on transfers of arms and dual-use goods and technologies. India also has obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law to not transfer weapons when there is an expectation that these weapons could be used in violation of the Geneva Conventions, or to aid and abet atrocity crimes. The fact that that Indian companies have continued to supply weapons, dual use goods and technology after the attempted coup in Myanmar shows a serious disregard by the Indian government for its obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law, and its commitments under the Wassenaar Arrangement. In a May 2023 report on the junta’s procurement of arms and equipment, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar found that India’s supply of materials used in surveillance technology and artillery, as well as likely for missiles, contravenes its obligations under international law. He noted, “India has the requisite knowledge that the Myanmar military is committing probable war crimes given the substantial international reporting on this subject. India should therefore be aware that the arms it provides to the Myanmar military – though relatively limited – are likely to be used in the commission of international crimes.” Our request for France to take action on Indian arms sales to Myanmar is consistent with the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar in his reports on arms, and UN General Assembly resolution A/75/L.85, which “calls upon all member States to prevent the flow of arms into Myanmar.” We further note that in your joint statement regarding the official visit of Prime Minister Modi, it is stated, “France and India have a shared vision on peace and security, especially in Europe and the Indo-Pacific and uphold the objectives and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, which are also the basis of our cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region”. The UN Charter states that the first purpose of the United Nations is “to maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace”. Your action in support of the human rights and democratic aspirations of the people of Myanmar is in line with this commitment, as well as the French values of liberty, equality and fraternity. We look forward to your response..."
Source/publisher: Justice For Myanmar
2023-07-10
Date of entry/update: 2023-07-10
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Sub-title: Observers say such sales abet junta war crimes and suppliers should be held accountable.
Description: "Companies in India are supplying weapons to Myanmar’s junta while Prime Minister Narendra Modi expresses concern about the political crisis in Myanmar on the international stage, observers said Monday, highlighting the two-faced nature of the strategy. Indian arms manufacturer Bharat Electronics Limited, or BEL, transferred military equipment worth more than US$5.1 million to Myanmar’s army or known Myanmar arms brokers Alliance Engineering Consultancy and Mega Hill General Trading over a period of six months from November 2022 to April 2023, the rights group Justice for Myanmar reported in June. The military equipment included metallic sonar domes; transducers and gaskets for the domes to be used on frigates, warships or submarines; directing gear systems; technical documents; various items for radio transmission or radar equipment; and manpack radios for battlefield communication. Justice for Myanmar called the shipments “part of a pattern of Indian support for the Myanmar military and its domestic arms industry” and called on India’s allies to use their leverage to “pressure India to stop the supply of arms and dual use goods and technology” to the regime, including during Modi’s state visits to the U.S. and France this year. The weapons sales come even as Modi and U.S. President Joe Biden issued a joint statement following their meeting at the White House on June 22 expressing concern about the worsening rights situation in Myanmar and calling for the release of the country’s political prisoners. Than Soe Naing, a political analyst, pointed out the hypocrisy of India selling weapons to the junta with one hand while saying it is concerned with the situation in Myanmar on the other. He noted that India has stayed neutral amid the ongoing conflict in Myanmar and neglected or even arrested refugees who have fled fighting across its border. “But on the international arena, when making a statement as a democratic country, it uses the terms ‘democracy and human rights,’” he told RFA. “It doesn’t make any sense. It is a government that is indirectly supporting the crimes committed by the Myanmar military by willfully ignoring them.” Justice for Myanmar’s report came on the heels of one released in May by U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Tom Andrews, who said the junta had imported at least US$1 billion in arms and raw materials to manufacture weapons between the Feb. 1, 2021, military coup d’etat and December 2022. Rights groups say the junta is using such weapons against the people of Myanmar, including to attack the armed resistance and civilians who oppose its rule. While Russia, China and Singapore were the major sources by far, the U.N. report found that Indian entities, including state-owned entities, had transferred US$51 million in arms and related materials to the junta over the same period. That followed Russia’s US$406 million, China’s US$267 million, and Singapore’s US$254 million. Selling weapons for war crimes Ko Mike, a spokesman for the Blood Money Campaign, a collective of Myanmar activists campaigning to stop revenues reaching the junta, said that Indian companies selling weapons to Myanmar are abetting war crimes. “They are supporting killings by a terrorist group [the junta] that is committing the worst crimes in the world,” he said. “Sometime in the future, it will be necessary to do something internationally about accountability [for such entities].” Ye Tun, a political analyst, said that Modi appears to believe the junta is responsible for maintaining stability in Myanmar. “So if you [maintain stability] by using weapons, India will sell weapons to Myanmar’s military [to support such alleged efforts].” Prior to the sales detailed in Justice for Myanmar’s latest report, the group noted that Indian state-owned arms producer Yantra India Limited shipped multiple 122mm howitzer barrels to the junta in October 2022 in an apparent breach of international law. The Indian government has so far ignored calls by civil society organizations and the people of Myanmar, including the shadow National Unity Government, or NUG, and failed to comply with U.N. resolutions and its responsibilities under international law, said Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadana Maung. Radio Free Asia attempted to contact the Indian Embassy in Myanmar by email for comment but received no response. Calls to junta Deputy Information Minister Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun, seeking comment on the claims, went unanswered Monday. Regional stability at risk Thein Tun Oo, the executive director of the Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies, which is made up of former military officers, called it “normal” for India to assist its neighbor. “India can stand on its own two feet and cooperate with anyone it wants to,” he said. “India has taken Myanmar as a partner ... [because] Myanmar is the best country for India to cooperate with on the security of the Indian Ocean. So, it is normal for India to cooperate with Myanmar.” But NUG spokesman Kyaw Zaw said that as the world’s largest democracy, India is expected to embrace democratic values and not prop up regimes that oppress their own people. “We hope that India will try to understand the will of the people of Myanmar and help them to fulfill that will,” he said. If India instead continues to support the junta, he said, there will be no resolution to the conflict in Myanmar and the stability of the region will be at risk..."
Source/publisher: "Radio Free Asia" (USA)
2023-07-03
Date of entry/update: 2023-07-03
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Description: "It does not surprise one any longer when news relating to the persecution of minorities surfaces in India. In yet another development, the BJP’s Hindutva-backed regime has been found to be expanding its network of terror beyond India’s borders by colluding with Myanmar’s outlawed junta. The military govt that staged a coup in February 2021 overthrew the civilian government of Noble laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, putting her and her party behind bars. The military junta in charge faces a grave legitimacy crisis from the global community at large with India being an exception. When the 2021 issue was debated in the UN General Assembly, India abstained from voting against it evincing its tacit support for the military setup in Naypyidaw. UN’s recent report titled Billion Dollar Death Trade exposed India’s massive arms shipments to the ports of Myanmar which the military junta is potentially using against its civilian population committing gross atrocities to suppress democratic voices in the country. The volume of arms exports from India increased significantly when an organised genocide began in the country against the Rohingya community in 2017. International bodies such as Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and New Global Report on Arms Expenditure have claimed that half of India’s arms exports between the years 2017-21 have gone to Myanmar. The supplies included surveillance equipment, artillery, and missiles manufactured by Indian state-owned enterprises like Bharat Dynamics Limited. Not only has India become an abettor of crimes against humanity in Myanmar but also a violator of the Wassenaar Arrangement which makes it incumbent on the signatories to increase transparency in their arms exports. The arrangement also prohibits its members from supplying and acquiring ‘dual use items’ meaning those that can be used for civilian as well as military purposes to and from a state that is a cause of concern for the region in which Myanmar is. There is overwhelming evidence available that the junta is involved in heinous war crimes yet the Indian state continues to aid and arm them knowing well to what ends they are being used. The UN’s Special Rapporteur has reported that $51 million worth of arms has been supplied directly to Myanmar’s military and arms dealers by Indian firms. Another state-owned enterprise named Bharat Electronics Limited is reported to have despatched Remote Controlled Weapons Station (RCWS) according to export data. A further six HJT-16 Kiran-1 light attack aircrafts were flown to former Burma with which India shares over a thousand-mile border. The Indian representative claimed that any defence exports made to Myanmar over the period in question were part of the deal signed with the civilian government before the coup for the security interests of both nations. India could have suspended these supplies till democracy was restored in the country, yet it continues to empower the junta through this enormous flow of arms. The impact of this arms influx has been grievous for the civilians who are subjected to mass slaughter and destruction of their homes and villages. For instance, the fuses in the recoilless rifles used by the military to fire on people of the Kayin state where more than 10,000 were forced to flee from their homes were produced by Maharashtra-based Sandeep Metalcraft. Another firm called Yantra India supplied 122 mm gun barrels for Howitzers manufactured by Ka Pa Sa defence industries that were used by the artillery to shell villages. The rapid militarization of the junta is only resulting in instability and civil war in the ASEAN member state. Not only is it wreaking havoc on innocent minorities but also this bellicose group surfeiting on Indian supplies is posing a glaring threat to other countries in the region as well as those part of the Wassenaar Arrangement which prohibits this sort of unchecked outflow of weapons and military technology. If the rogue regime in Myanmar gets hold of strategic weapons it could be a recipe for disaster and a compromise on global security. As a result of the crisis in Myanmar, India has refused to host the Rohingya refugees and those already in their custody are discriminately denied even the basic safeguards listed under International Refugee Law. If the Indian state has any regard for the dignity of human life, it must halt this multi-layered siphoning of military hardware until a stable, popular and legitimate government is established in Myanmar..."
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Source/publisher: Daily Times
2023-07-03
Date of entry/update: 2023-07-03
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Description: "Justice For Myanmar calls on India’s Quad partners and other allies to use their leverage to pressure India to stop the supply of arms and dual use goods and technology to the Myanmar military junta. A Justice For Myanmar investigation of Indian export records has revealed over US$5 million in new exports to the Myanmar military and its arms brokers from Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) in the six months from November 2022 to April 2023. The shipments consisted of military end-use goods, technology and technical documents to be used by the Myanmar military. Items included metallic sonar domes, transducers and gaskets for the domes to be used on frigates, warships or submarines; directing gear systems; various items for radio transmission or radar equipment; and manpack radios for battlefield communications. BEL, which maintains a branch office in Myanmar, transferred the equipment knowing that the Myanmar military is the end user, and that it is committing ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity with total impunity. Through its campaign of terror against the people, the Myanmar military junta has so far murdered over 3,600, arbitrarily arrested 23,300 more, committed indiscriminate airstrikes and shelling, torture, sexual violence and displaced at least 1.5 million. The shipments may aid and abet the junta’s international crimes and are a continuation of India’s flagrant disregard for its obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law and its commitments under the Wassenaar Arrangement. India and the Myanmar military have long-standing ties. In his speech on 25 December 2022, war criminal and junta head Min Aung Hlaing stated a need for large warships with high combat capabilities and the training of navy officers to operate them, noting that naval officers had been sent to other countries, including India, to enhance their individual capabilities. The USA and France, which are honouring Prime Minister Narendra Modi in state visits this year, have a particular responsibility to address India’s support for the junta, and to push for India to impose an arms embargo on Myanmar. BEL’s exports to Myanmar during the six-month period were spread across seven shipments, with three being sent to the Myanmar military directly, three sent to the arms brokers Mega Hill General Trading, and one sent to Alliance Engineering Services. Alliance Engineering Services is connected to the family of the junta’s former air force chief Maung Maung Kyaw. Mega Hill General Trading is a private Myanmar military contractor that has a history of procuring technology and providing services to the army’s Directorate of Procurement, including a remote-controlled weapon station supplied by BEL in 2021 and exposed by Justice For Myanmar. Justice For Myanmar also exposed BEL’s supply of a coastal surveillance system to the Myanmar military before and after its illegal coup attempt. Justice For Myanmar calls for urgent targeted sanctions against Mega Hill General Trading, Alliance Engineering Services, their associated business, directors and shareholders. BEL is 51.14% owned by the Indian government and is publicly listed. Other shareholders include Nippon Life India Asset Management, Goldman Sachs, Vanguard, BlackRock, Fidelity, Canada Pension Plan, California Public Employees' Retirement System, California State Teachers Retirement System, Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec and the Swedish pension funds, AP-fonden (AP1), Andra AP-fonden (AP2) and Sjunde AP-fonden (AP7). BEL’s institutional shareholders should divest from the company because of its continued supply of dual use goods and technology to the Myanmar military, in line with their international human rights responsibilities. Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “The Indian government and its state-owned arms companies are continuing business as usual in Myanmar, equipping and profiting from the junta as it commits acts of terror against the people. “These new and significant exports to Myanmar from Bharat Electronics Limited make India further complicit in the junta’s ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity. “By selling arms and equipment to the junta, India is choosing to ignore the voices of the Myanmar people, the legitimate National Unity Government, civil society, UN resolutions and its responsibilities under international law. “It is crucial that India’s Quad partners and other allies step up and start using their leverage to stop India’s abhorrent support for the junta. “The Biden administration is this week honouring Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a state visit to the White House. “We urge President Biden and his government to push Prime Minister Modi to immediately stop all shipments of arms and dual use goods and technology to the Myanmar junta. “The US should impose conditions on military aid to India to help end Indian support for the junta. “President Macron should raise India’s complicity in the junta’s international crimes when Modi makes a state visit to Paris in July, and push India to impose an arms embargo on Myanmar.”..."
Source/publisher: Justice For Myanmar
2023-06-21
Date of entry/update: 2023-06-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Sweden must act on recent Indian arms sales to the Myanmar military and investigate how components of Swedish arms are once again being exported from India to Myanmar, despite the EU arms embargo. Justice For Myanmar calls on the Swedish government and its arms control authority, the Inspectorate of Strategic Products (ISP), to take necessary measures to ensure that Swedish arms do not end up in the hands of the illegal Myanmar military junta that is committing atrocities throughout the country with total impunity. On 29 March 2023, Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström responded to an inquiry by Member of Parliament, Håkan Svenneling, on measures taken by the Swedish government to prevent the re-export of weapons produced under Swedish licence in India. The inquiry follows an investigation by Justice For Myanmar that found that some of the arms and associated components sold from India to the Myanmar military have been Swedish designed, including fuses for Carl Gustaf recoilless rifles, developed and produced by Saab Group. As an EU member state, it is prohibited for Sweden to transfer arms and dual use items and technologies to the Myanmar military. In responding to MP Håkan Svenneling’s question, Billström confirmed that Swedish Carl Gustaf recoilless rifles have been manufactured in India under licence since the 1970s. He also confirmed that Sweden has transferred Carl Gustaf recoilless rifles to India and that some of these transferred arms have been diverted from India to Myanmar. In 2012, this diversion was subject to an official investigation by the ISP. According to Billström, the ISP concluded that India was respecting its commitments to not re-export weapons manufactured under Swedish licence and that the Indian government had taken sufficient measures to reduce the risk of diversion. However, since the 2012 investigation concluded, Indian firm Sandeep Metalcraft Private Limited has supplied the Myanmar military with time mechanical fuse 447 designed for 84 mm Carl Gustaf recoilless rifles, despite the Myanmar military’s genocide against the Rohingya and ongoing international crimes. One shipment of fuse 447 was sent to Myanmar in 2019 and a second shipment likely of fuse 447 was shipped after the Myanmar military’s attempted coup, directly supporting its campaign of terror. Sandeep Metalcraft still advertises Carl Gustaf fuses on its website. The information exposed by Justice For Myanmar therefore suggests that key components for ammunition for Carl Gustaf recoilless rifles once again have been diverted from India to Myanmar. This casts doubt on the Indian government’s willingness to comply with end-user commitments and take appropriate measures to reduce the risk of diversion. Billström’s response did not address the questions raised about the recent transfer of fuses for Carl Gustaf rifles from India to Myanmar. In response to Justice For Myanmar’s earlier investigation, Saab declined to respond to questions on whether the transferred fuses would require a Saab licence to be produced, and whether Saab’s licence production agreements with Indian companies prohibit or restrict onward exports from India to other countries. It is unclear whether Sandeep Metalcraft is in a position to manufacture the fuses in India without licensable parts and assistance from the Saab Group. India has continued to export military hardware, including 122 mm barrels for howitzers, to the Myanmar military as late as October 2022. The manufacturer of these barrels is Yantra India Limited, a state-owned public sector undertaking associated with the Indian Ministry of Defence. Yantra India Limited’s ordnance factory in Ambajhari currently produces 84 mm mark-III FFV 551 Carl Gustaf ammunition. The FFV551 is the primary high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) round and is a rocket-assisted projectile. Billström, in his response, also noted a new system, in place as of March 1, 2022, that implies supervisory controls in foreign countries that have received transfers of light weapons made in Sweden, such as Carl Gustaf recoilless rifles and ammunition for this category of weapon. This system may include post-transfer verification visits in recipient countries to reduce risks of diversion, including the risk of re-export to other countries without prior and explicit permission from Sweden. The new system also implies that countries that have not acted in accordance with commitments to not re-export Swedish light arms without prior consent from Sweden should not be considered eligible as recipients of new transfers of arms made in Sweden or of transfers foreseen as part of prior deals made with Sweden, as long as the commitments continue to be contravened or where a recipient country refuses to accept a post-transfer verification visit. It is not clear whether ISP has undertaken, or intends to undertake, an official investigation into the transfer by Sandeep Metalcraft fuses for Carl Gustaf rifles to Myanmar. ISP should urgently investigate if any of the Sandeep Metalcraft shipments to Myanmar contain Swedish technology and make public any past or future investigation carried out to this end. Justice For Myanmar supports the proposal made by members of Parliament Håkan Svenneling et al of April 28, 2023, asking the Swedish government to adopt a strategy to prevent the re-export of Swedish arms to Myanmar. Justice For Myanmar notes with concern that in September 2022, Saab announced its decision to set up a production facility in India for its Carl-Gustaf M4 shoulder-fired weapon system. For this venture, Saab FFV India is being established as a new company to make the rocket launchers for the Indian military, as well as parts of other weapons platforms for foreign states. This move is particularly alarming in light of India’s increasing military co-operation with the Myanmar military after its campaign of genocide against the Rohingya in 2017. In July 2019, India and Myanmar signed a Memorandum of Understanding to increase defence co-operation and has continued to support the Myanmar military after its coup attempt. According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India was the third largest supplier of weapons to Myanmar for the years 2017-2021, accounting for 17% of Myanmar’s arms imports after China (36%) and Russia (27%). Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “We are deeply concerned about Sweden’s apparent ties to the supply of weapons to the Myanmar military, which is intensifying its indiscriminate attacks against the people. “The ISP must fully investigate how components of Swedish light arms and their ammunition are still being exported from India to Myanmar, including from Sandeep Metalcraft, and ensure that Sweden abides by the EU arms embargo, which prohibits Sweden from transferring arms and dual use goods to the Myanmar military. “The Swedish government needs to take urgent action to prevent further diversion, including a suspension of export and production agreements with Indian arms manufacturers in light of India’s blatant disregard for he norms of conduct contained in the Wassenaar Arrangement and in international humanitarian law, as seen in the continued business Indian arms manufacturers have with the illegal Myanmar military junta. “We demand that the ISP evaluation leading to a decision to grant Saab the right to establish an M4 manufacturing plant in India be made public in light of India’s well-known track record of exporting conventional arms, ammunition, parts and components to Myanmar, including from Swedish designed weapons.”..."
Source/publisher: Justice For Myanmar
2023-06-20
Date of entry/update: 2023-06-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "A Justice For Myanmar investigation has uncovered new details of Austria’s Diamond Aircraft Industries’ project with the Myanmar military to locally assemble and produce DART-450 aircraft, in an apparent breach of the EU arms embargo. The DART-450 are training and reconnaissance planes that would provide the military with support to train Myanmar Air Force pilots, who are essential to the junta’s large-scale indiscriminate airstrikes, part of its campaign of terror against the people. The aircraft would also provide the military with aerial surveillance capabilities. Through a transfer of technology deal, Diamond Aircraft Industries supplied the Myanmar military with composites and parts, as well as technical assistance in Myanmar and the training of military personnel in Austria to assemble aircraft and manufacture key parts. Diamond Aircraft Industries is an Austrian based aircraft manufacturer owned by the Chinese corporation, Wanfeng Aviation Industry via a UK holding company. Wanfeng Aviation Industry’s ultimate owner is the Shenzhen-listed Zhejiang Wanfeng Auto Wheel Company Limited. Diamond Aircraft Industries’ support for the Myanmar military took place after its campaign of genocide against the Rohingya and while it was committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in other ethnic areas with total impunity. The project was running between 2017 and 2020, when it was temporarily disrupted as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Under the EU’s arms embargo on Myanmar, in force during the project period, it is illegal to provide arms, dual use goods, and equipment used for internal repression to Myanmar, in addition to restrictions on military training and military cooperation. Justice for Myanmar has obtained confidential records that confirm that the project would result in the Myanmar air force obtaining DART aircraft that would be locally assembled, with the military producing key composite components and parts in Myanmar over six apparent phases. In the first phase of the DART-450 project in Myanmar, six DART-450 aircrafts were to be manufactured in Austria and shipped, bulk-packed and by airfreight, to Myanmar for final assembly from 2019. The assembly of one aircraft has been completed in Myanmar with the on-site support of Diamond Aircraft technicians from Austria and Germany. Justice For Myanmar has identified companies from multiple countries implicated in the project that may also be in breach of sanctions. The companies whose key technical components have been used for the DART-450 project in Myanmar and are based in countries with arms embargoes on Myanmar include Garmin (Switzerland), SIRS Navigation (UK), Electronics International (USA) and Safran (France). Composite materials have been supplied to Myanmar by Engineered Cramer Composites (ECC) (Germany). According to information obtained for Justice For Myanmar, negotiations between Diamond Aircraft Industries and Swedish company DST Control AB to equip the DART-450 aircrafts with OTUS-U250 sensors have also been initiated. Justice For Myanmar identified companies whose computer numerical control machines have been used to manufacture and assemble the DART-450 aircrafts at the Shante air base in Myanmar, including Schuko (Germany), Styrotec (Germany) and Felder (Austria). The Diamond Aircraft Industries deal with the Myanmar military was brokered by Miya Win International, a Myanmar company that has been sanctioned by the UK and has been involved in the procurement of other military end-use equipment from Austria for the Myanmar military, including unmanned aerial vehicles from Schiebel Corporation and a flight simulator from Axis Simulation. Justice For Myanmar has submitted evidence of the Diamond Aircraft Industries business with the Myanmar military to the European Union’s sanctions whistleblower tool and calls for a swift investigation into Diamond and associated companies. Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “Diamond Aircraft Industries’ deep engagement with the Myanmar military is a shocking failure of the Austrian government to enforce the EU arms embargo on Myanmar. “While the Myanmar military was carrying out indiscriminate airstrikes and committing genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity with total impunity, Diamond Aircraft Industries was equipping and training Myanmar military personnel to locally assemble aircrafts that would clearly be used to repress the Myanmar people. “This is not a standalone case but part of a pattern of Austria’s failures to stop its companies from supplying the Myanmar military with equipment and technology, including after the military’s illegal coup attempt on February 1, 2021 “Austria needs to urgently investigate all those that have violated EU restrictive measures on Myanmar, hold them accountable, and take concrete steps to prevent the further complicity of Austrian companies and citizens in the Myanmar military’s international crimes. “The UK, Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden and the USA should also investigate companies in their jurisdictions that are implicated in the Myanmar military’s DART-450 project and take action against all breaches of sanctions. “The EU and its allies should sanction Miya Win International and its owners to help prevent further European transfers of arms and equipment to the murderous junta.”..."
Source/publisher: Justice For Myanmar
2023-06-12
Date of entry/update: 2023-06-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "An application for a criminal investigation into the activities of the Israeli arms manufacturer CAA Industries and officials from the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been filed with Israel’s Attorney General, over the suspected aiding and abetting of the Myanmar military’s war crimes and crimes against humanity. The application is based on leaked shipment records showing that in July 2019, CAA Industries dispatched injection moulds and tooling used for the upgrading of the Myanmar military’s small arms, via known arms broker Star Sapphire Trading. Star Sapphire Trading is a company ultimately controlled by Dr Tun Min Latt, a Myanmar arms broker who has been indicted on money laundering, transnational organised crime and drug trafficking charges in Thailand. The application: argues that CAA Industries and officials in Israel’s Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Foreign Affairs aided and abetted war crimes and crimes against humanity by supplying the Myanmar military with machinery to manufacture accessories for the Myanmar military’s domestic small arms production lines, knowing that the military was committing atrocity crimes; calls for concerned individuals to be prosecuted under Israel’s Penal Code; calls on Israeli authorities to immediately seize relevant documents from the offices of CAA Industries, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to avoid the concealment of evidence and potential disruption to the investigation. The application was filed with Israel’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara on June 6 by the advocate Eitay Mack on behalf of more than 60 Israeli citizens, among them the former speaker of the Knesset Avraham ("Avrum") Burg, prominent academics including Prof. Daphna Golan-Agnon and Prof. Ruth HaCohen Pinczower, and human rights activists. In addition to the complaint for a criminal investigation, a letter has been sent to Israel’s Defense Exports Controls Agency (DECA) of the Ministry of Defense demanding it immediately cancel export and marketing licences granted to CAA Industries for sales to Myanmar. The application for a criminal investigation follows a similar 2018 submission by Eitay Mack into the aiding and abetting of atrocity crimes by Israelis who exported arms to Myanmar; a 2022 application requesting a criminal investigation into corruption over Israeli arms companies’ dealings with the Myanmar broker Dr Tun Min Latt and his conglomerate, Star Sapphire Group; and a 2023 application into the aiding and abetting of atrocity crimes by Cognyte for its sale of spyware to Myanmar. Justice For Myanmar is concerned that the 2018 complaint has not yet led to a criminal investigation and calls for an investigation to be expedited. Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “CAA Industries’ support for the Myanmar military’s arms industry is unconscionable, and amounts to aiding and abetting the military’s war crimes and crimes against humanity, which are continuing on a daily basis. “The fact that this transfer took place after the Israeli government claimed to have stopped selling arms to Myanmar raises serious questions that should be urgently addressed through a criminal investigation of both CAA Industries and officials from the ministries of defence and foreign affairs for their role in the 2019 shipment of equipment to Myanmar. “By providing moulds and tooling, CAA Industries has helped boost the military’s in-country arms production capabilities, which has lasting consequences for the people of Myanmar who are subject to daily acts of terror at the hands of the illegal junta, which is committing mass murder, indiscriminate airstrikes and shelling, torture, property destruction and forced displacement. “Israeli officials and those in CAA Industries who have enabled the supply of arms and dual use goods and technology to the Myanmar military, aiding and abetting international crimes, must be held accountable.” Eitay Mack, Advocate, says: “Thanks to Justice For Myanmar's investigations, we repeatedly discover that Israeli military exports to the country did not stop, but continued in more sophisticated ways. “This is illegal, immoral and shameful conduct by the Israeli government that approves licenses to Israeli military companies to continue doing business as usual with the murderous military in Myanmar. “This time it is not a one-time export of weapons but equipment that enables the production of weapon parts and therefore requires ongoing licenses for export and the provision of services to the junta. “Therefore, in addition to demanding a criminal investigation against the CAA company and the Israeli officials involved in the scandal, we also demand that the ongoing licenses granted to the CAA company be revoked.”..."
Source/publisher: Justice For Myanmar
2023-06-08
Date of entry/update: 2023-06-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Myanmar’s ruling military junta has imported at least $1 billion in weapons and military-related equipment since its bloody coup, according to a new United Nations report which said much of the equipment was coming from individuals and businesses in Russia, China and Singapore. Army general Min Aung Hlaing seized power in February 2021, ending Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy, jailing former leader Aung San Suu Kyi and plunging the impoverished Southeast Asian nation into a raging civil conflict that continues to this day. Battles between the military and resistance groups unfold daily across the country. Airstrikes and ground attacks on what the military calls “terrorist” targets occur regularly and have killed thousands of civilians, often including children, according to monitoring group. Whole villages have been burned down by junta soldiers and schools, clinics and hospitals destroyed as a result of the attacks, according to local monitoring groups. Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, published a new report on Wednesday that detailed transfers of arms and raw materials and identified “254 unique suppliers” to the Myanmar military since the coup. “Since the coup, the Myanmar military has imported at least $1 billion worth of arms and dual use goods to support the military’s domestic arms manufacturing,” Andrews wrote. In 94% of the transactions Myanmar’s military was listed as the ultimate receiver “eliminating any doubt of who the end recipient would be,” Andrews added. The report, which used trade data and spanned more than 50 pages, listed $406 million in sales from Russian entities and $267 million from China, including some state-owned companies. The report also found $254 million in imports originating from Singapore. Andrews said he received no informatio indicating that the government of Singapore had approved military sales or transferred arms to Myanmar’s military – unlike with Russia and China. In response to a request for comment from CNN, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the special rapporteur of going “beyond his own authorization to smear normal military trade of sovereign countries without warrant, distorting facts and confusing the public.” The comments did not address the specific allegations or transactions detailed in Andrews’ report. CNN has also approached authorities in Russia and Singapore for a response on the report’s findings. Citing a recent deadly attack carried out last month by the Myanmar Air Force on a village in the northwestern Sagaing region, the UN report listed several weapons which were used that included Yak-130 aircraft and Mi-35 helicopters supplied by Russia and raw materials from “private entities in Singapore, China and Thailand.” “Bombs were released over Pazigyi village in the Kanbalu township, Sagaing region… hitting their intended target: a ceremony attended by approximately 300 people, including dozens of children, marking the opening of a (local) administrativae office,” the report said. “The ordinance detonated with deadly impact – ripping the bodies of men, women and children open, turning their skin to ash and inflicting critical shrapnel wounds.” “The attack is yet another example of the Myanmar junta’s probable crimes against humanity and war crimes… and also how (it) is using internationally supplied arms and associated materials to commit atrocities,” the UN said. Andrews said sanctions against Myanmar’s generals were “easily circumvented” and ineffective. “Those providing these weapons are able to avoid sanctions by using front companies and creating new ones while counting on lax enforcement,” Andrews said. “The good news is that we now know who is supplying these arms and the jurisdictions in which they operate. Member states now need to step up and stop the flow of these arms.” He called on the international community to stop more arms from going to the Myanmar military. Singapore has previously addressed the topic of arms sales to Myanmar since the coup. Speaking during a parliamentary session in February, Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan addressed allegations from experts at the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) who claimed that Singapore was “functioning as a strategic transit point for potentially significant volumes of items” contributing toward military production by the Myanmar military. “Singapore complies strictly with our international obligations on international arms sales and transfers, as well as UN sanctions and embargoes against any country,” Balakrishnan said. “Singapore submits regular reports to the UN Register of Conventional Arms… the government of Singapore decided to prohibit the transfer of arms to Myanmar and also decided not to authorize the transfer of dual-use items assessed to have potential military application to Myanmar.” “We will not hesitate to take action against those who contravene our laws.”...ဓ
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Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
2023-05-19
Date of entry/update: 2023-05-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The Myanmar military junta has imported at least US$1 billion worth of weapons and related materials from Russia, China and other countries in less than two years, according to a new UN report. “Despite overwhelming evidence of the Myanmar military’s atrocity crimes against the people of Myanmar, the generals continue to have access to advanced weapons systems, spare parts for fighter jets, raw materials and manufacturing equipment for domestic weapons production,” Tom Andrews, the UN independent investigator on human rights in Myanmar, said in a press release. Launched on Wednesday, the report, “The Billion Dollar Death Trade: The International Arms Networks that Enable Human Rights Violations in Myanmar”, documented over 12,500 purchases that were shipped directly to the Myanmar military or known Myanmar arms dealers working for the military from Feb. 1, 2021 to December 2022. The report identified $406 million worth of arms-related trade from entities in Russia including state-owned entities, $267 million from China including state-owned entities, $254 million from entities operating in Singapore, $51 million from entities in India including state-owned entities and $28 million from entities operating in Thailand. Andrews said at a press conference that the diversity and volume of goods provided to the Myanmar military since the coup is staggering. He identified transfers of fighter jets, attack helicopters, reconnaissance and attack drones, advanced missile systems, tank upgrades, radio and communication equipment, radar complexes, and components for naval ships in the report. The deadly items were used by the junta to commit atrocities against the people of Myanmar, the UN Special Rapporteur said. He gave examples of the junta’s air attack on Pazi Gyi Village in Sagaing Region, a resistance stronghold, in which the junta used a Russian Yak-130 fighter jet followed by an attack by Russian Mi-35 helicopters. At least 160 people including 40 children were killed in the attack. And the junta’s Directorate of Defense Industries domestically manufactured bombs and machine guns, relying in part on raw materials supplied by private entities from Singapore, China and Thailand, the report stated. Since the coup, 28 Russian entities, including state-owned entities, have transferred fighter jets, advanced missile systems, reconnaissance and attack drones, and spare parts for fighter jets, attack helicopters, and other systems, it said. Additionally, 41 private and state-owned companies registered in China and Hong Kong continued to supply the Myanmar military with an extensive array of arms, equipment, and raw materials between October 2021 and December 2022 including advanced trainer jets/light attack aircraft, upgrades to tanks, and overhaul and repair work for the older Chinese fighter jets that make up the Myanmar Air Force fleet. Chinese firms also provided essential raw materials directly to the Myanmar military for domestic weapons manufacturing, including aluminum, copper, steel, rubber, and lubricants, it said. The report also stated that Singapore has become a major source for spare parts, raw materials, and manufacturing equipment especially for the continued operation of Myanmar’s KaPaSa weapons factories. At least 138 Singapore-based firms have served as intermediaries for the Myanmar military since the coup. Andrews requested the government of Singapore use the information in the report and enforce its own policies to the maximum extent possible. The government of Singapore has stated that its policy is to, “prohibit the transfer of arms to Myanmar” and that it has decided “not to authorize the transfer of dual-use items which have been assessed to have potential military application to Myanmar.” Unlike Russia, China, and—to a much lesser extent—India, Andrews said he has received no information indicating that the governments of Singapore or Thailand have approved or transferred arms to the Myanmar military. Rather, arms dealing organizations appear to be using the jurisdictions of Thailand and Singapore, and specifically the banking and shipping sectors there, to facilitate arms transfers, he said. The report suggest arm dealers may be seeking to use Thailand as an alternative route. It said 12 Thai companies exporting arms and related materials to the Myanmar military were established following the coup, and many were established by sanctioned arms networks already operating in Singapore. Andrews said that the Myanmar military and its arms dealers have figured out how to game the system because sanctions are not being adequately enforced. “Those providing these weapons are able to avoid sanctions by using front companies and creating new ones while counting on lax enforcement.” The UN Special Rapporteur urged a complete ban on the sale and transfer of weapons to the military, and urged governments to enforce existing bans while coordinating sanctions on arms dealers and foreign currency sources. “The good news is that we now know who is supplying these arms and the jurisdictions in which they operate. Member states now need to step up and stop the flow of these arms,” the expert said..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2023-05-18
Date of entry/update: 2023-05-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "NEW YORK / GENEVA (17 May 2023) – The Myanmar military has imported at least $1 billion USD in arms and raw materials to manufacture weapons since the coup in February 2021, according to a new report today by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews. UN Member States are enabling this trade either through outright complicity, lax enforcement of existing bans, and easily circumvented sanctions, according to the report. “Despite overwhelming evidence of the Myanmar military’s atrocity crimes against the people of Myanmar, the generals continue to have access to advanced weapons systems, spare parts for fighter jets, raw materials and manufacturing equipment for domestic weapons production,” Andrews said. “Those providing these weapons are able to avoid sanctions by using front companies and creating new ones while counting on lax enforcement. “The good news is that we now know who is supplying these arms and the jurisdictions in which they operate. Member States now need to step up and stop the flow of these arms,” the expert said. While calling for a complete ban on the sale or transfer of weapons to the Myanmar military, Andrews pleaded for Member States to enforce existing bans while coordinating sanctions on arms dealers and foreign currency sources. The Special Rapporteur’s paper, “The Billion Dollar Death Trade: International Arms Networks that Enable Human Rights Violations in Myanmar” is the most detailed study on post-coup arms transfers to the military to date. Accompanied by a detailed infographic, it identifies the major networks and companies involved in these transactions, known values of the transfers, and jurisdictions in which the networks operate, namely Russia, China, Singapore, Thailand, and India. “Russia and China continue to be the main suppliers of advanced weapons systems to the Myanmar military, accounting for over $400 million and $260 million respectively since the coup, with much of the trade originating from state-owned entities. However, arms dealers operating out of Singapore are critical to the continued operation of the Myanmar military’s deadly weapons factories (commonly referred to as KaPaSa),” Andrews said. The report reveals that $254 million USD of supplies have been shipped from dozens of entities in Singapore to the Myanmar military from February 2021 to December 2022. Singaporean banks have been used extensively by arms dealers. Andrews recalled that the Government of Singapore has stated that its policy is to, “prohibit the transfer of arms to Myanmar” and that it has decided “not to authorise the transfer of dual-use items which have been assessed to have potential military application to Myanmar.” “I implore leaders of Singapore to seize the information within this report and enforce its policies to the maximum extent possible,” the Special Rapporteur said. “If the Singapore Government were to stop all shipments and facilitation of arms and associated materials to the Myanmar military from its jurisdiction, the impact on the junta’s ability to commit war crimes would be significantly disrupted,” he said. The report also documents $28 million USD in arms transfers from Thai-based entities to the Myanmar military since the coup. India-based entities have supplied $51 million worth of arms and related materials to the military since February 2021. The report examines why international sanctions on arms dealing networks have failed to stop or slow the flow of weapons to the Myanmar military. “The Myanmar military and its arms dealers have figured out how to game the system. That’s because sanctions are not being adequately enforced and because arms dealers linked to the junta have been able to create shell companies to avoid them. The expert said the ad hoc, uncoordinated nature of current sanctions were allowing payments to be made in other currencies and jurisdictions. “By expanding and retooling sanctions and eliminating loopholes, governments can disrupt junta-linked weapons dealers,” Andrews said. The report also focuses on the main sources of foreign currency that have enabled the Myanmar junta to purchase over $1 billion in arms since the coup. “Member States have not adequately targeted key sources of foreign currency that the junta relies on to purchase arms, including most significantly Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise,” Andrews said. Andrews highlighted that no Member State has imposed sanctions on Myanma Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB) since the coup. “My findings demonstrate that MFTB is not only important for receiving foreign currency but is also being used extensively by the junta to purchase arms. It should be a prime target for international sanctions,” the expert said. ENDS Mr. Thomas Andrews (United States of America) is the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. A former member of the US Congress from Maine, Andrews is a Robina Senior Human Rights Fellow at Yale Law School and an Associate of Harvard University’s Asia Center. He has worked with the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and parliamentarians, NGOs and political parties in Cambodia, Indonesia, Algeria, Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine and Yemen. He has been a consultant for the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma and the Euro-Burma Network and has run advocacy NGOs including Win Without War and United to End Genocide. The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Comprising the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, Special Procedures is the general name of the Council's independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity..."
Source/publisher: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Geneva)
2023-05-17
Date of entry/update: 2023-05-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The Myanmar military’s budget has increased every year since Min Aung Hlaing became its chief in 2011. The budget of the air force in particular has jumped significantly, as new aircraft have been purchased and the military regime has become increasingly reliant on air attacks to combat the resistance movement. For the 2023-24 fiscal year, the junta has approved a defense budget of almost US$2.7 billion, an increase of US$920 million on the previous year. However, until very recently the air force budget was comparatively small. According to a separate defense expenditure list acquired by The Irrawaddy that the military did not submit to parliament, the air force’s expenditure for the 2019-20 fiscal year totaled US$376 million. That amount did not include aviation fuel bills and salaries. At that time, Myanmar was dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and holding the 2020 general election. There were some clashes between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army in northern Rakhine State. But overall the period saw the fewest clashes since Min Aung Hlaing became the military chief in 2011. As the air force’s spending was around US$376 million during that period of relative calm, its spending might reach US$1 billion per year between 2021 and 2023. But half of the budget usually ends up in the pockets of generals, officers and cronies. U Kyaw Min Oo, the owner of Sky Aviator Co, who was born to an ordinary family in Ayeyarwady Region’s Mawlamyinegyun Township, amassed huge wealth in the decade after he was awarded licenses to supply the air force. The crony has limited edition Mercedes cars in his garage. Brigadier-General Kyaw Moe Thet, who served as the commander of an air base in Mandalay’s Tada-U Township, is one of the beneficiaries of business deals involving the air force. He sponsors artists with millions of kyats. Among the artists are Yone Lay and J Fire. The general also owns dozens of land plots in Mandalay, each worth hundreds of thousands of US dollars. Even richer are the air force chief and his relatives who have accumulated immense wealth within a few years to join the country’s ‘League of Cronies.’ The structure of the Myanmar Air Force was based on the UK’s Royal Air Force, with three key departments — procurement, engineering and administration — designed to exercise checks and balances in procurement and usage of equipment, thereby preventing corruption. But the air force has become increasingly corrupt since 1988. Under the previous military regime, the State Law and Order Restoration Council, the air force stopped inviting open tenders for the procurement of new aircraft, spare parts and maintenance. Instead, licenses were awarded to those who were close to the air force leadership. Back then, the sister-in-law of Vice Senior General Maung Aye, known as Daw Daisy, was the key middleperson in procuring aircraft for the air force. Business owners awarded licenses paid commission to the likes of Daw Daisy and the generals. But under Min Aung Hlaing, the children of generals have established their own companies to supply the military. Notable examples include Ivan Htet, the son of former air force chief General Maung Maung Kyaw, who established Alliance Engineering Service to supply the air force. General Maung Maung Kyaw’s nephew and niece, U Lin Htet and Daw Mon Yee, also made fortunes by supplying and providing maintenance services for the air force. It was easy money for the generals and their suppliers, as all they need to do is to cook the books by charging higher prices for items and services provided to the air force. So the generals awarded licenses to supply the air force to their relatives. Companies have to give commission to both the military chief and air force chief for business deals made with the air force. The head of the air force reportedly gets at least five per cent of the value of each deal. Among the middlemen who helped purchase aircraft, helicopters and parts under former military dictator Than Shwe were U Tay Za, who runs the Htoo Group of Companies, and Dr. Naing Htut Aung, who owns Gate Way International. U Tay Za has close ties with former air force head General Myat Hein. The general’s son worked for U Tay Za’s company. Since Min Aung Hlaing became the military chief in 2011, his son and daughter, General Maung Maung Kyaw’s children and U Kyaw Min Oo have monopolized business with the air force. U Kyaw Min Oo previously worked for U Tay Za, while his younger brother served as the commander of an air force Mi-17 squadron. Mahar Sit Thu Gyi Co, which supplies the air force, is owned by Min Aung Hlaing’s daughter Khin Thiri Thet Mon. Aircraft need different types of maintenance after flying for certain hours. It is a business with huge profits. The annual maintenance cost for a MiG-29 fighter is over US$4.6 million, while a Yak-130 bomber’s maintenance costs US$2.1 million, according to air force figures. But the actual cost is 50 per cent less, according to some air force officers. In the 2019-20 fiscal year, the Myanmar military spent US$2.4 million on two Mi-35P assault helicopters from Belarus. One of them crashed in 2021 because they were substandard, according to air force officials. The military regime is increasingly reliant on its air force to combat the growing resistance movement. But while the junta’s airstrikes cause ever-greater civilian casualties, senior air force officers and their cronies are getting even richer..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2023-05-09
Date of entry/update: 2023-05-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Serbia has continued to supply arms to the Myanmar military since the coup, despite the fact that those weapons are being used to attack and kill civilians, including children. Tom Andrews, the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, identified Serbia, along with China and Russia, as UN member states that are continuing to sell arms to the junta in a report issued on Tuesday. On the same day, the independent rights group Myanmar Witness also issued its own report revealing that air-launched rockets were exported by Serbia to Myanmar after the February 1, 2021 coup. Serbia and the Myanmar military have a close relationship that goes back decades to when Serbia was part of the former Yugoslavia. A Serbian delegation reportedly visited Myanmar in January 2022 to discuss sales of artillery to the junta. The Myanmar Witness report said that a Belarussian plane carrying some 1,644 80mm aerial rockets from Serbia landed at Yangon Airport at 6.30pm on February 9 last year, eight days after the junta’s coup. The rights group also revealed that the rockets were exported officially by Serbian arms manufacturer Jugoimport-SDPR, which was granted an export license by Serbia’s Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Communication. Images from social media appear to show crates of rockets being unloaded from the plane at Yangon Airport on February 10, 2021. 80mm aerial rockets are used by the Myanmar military’s Russian-made Yak-130 fighter jets and Mi-24/35 attack helicopters, which have been involved in numerous airstrikes against civilian targets, especially in Sagaing Region and Kayah, Karen and Chin states, where armed resistance to the junta is strongest. On Wednesday afternoon two civilians were killed when junta jets bombed villages in Kayah State’s Demoso Township. “Serbia’s transfers of these arms likely breach Serbia’s Geneva Convention obligations and may also violate Serbia’s responsibility under customary international law given the virtual certainty that rockets of the sort Serbia has authorized would be used against civilians and the prominent role that rockets have played in Myanmar’s attacks on civilians,” said Tom Andrews in the UN report. Last June, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on member states to stop the flow of arms to the junta. However, the UN report identified China and Russia – both permanent members of the UN Security Council – as having supplied fighter jets and armored vehicles to the regime since the coup. Serbia has supplied artillery shells, as well as aerial rockets. Andrews urged weapons exporting nations to suspend immediately all arms sales to the junta, and called for the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution banning the transfer of arms that the regime is using to attack and kill civilians. “It should be incontrovertible that weapons used to kill civilians should no longer be transferred to Myanmar. These transfers truly shock the conscience,” Andrews said. “Stopping the junta’s atrocity crimes begins with blocking their access to weapons. The more the world delays, the more innocent people, including children, will die in Myanmar.” The London-based rights group Burma Campaign UK condemned the Serbian government for its sales of rockets being used to target civilians. “By supplying arms to the Burmese military, Serbia is complicit in violations of international law,” said Anna Roberts, Executive Director of Burma Campaign UK. “The Serbian government knows that the weapons it supplies to the Burmese military are used against civilians, with children and babies being injured and killed.”..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2022-02-25
Date of entry/update: 2022-02-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Myanmar and the investigative organisation Myanmar Witness have both published evidence this week exposing arms sales to the Burmese military since the military coup last year. This follows a Briefing paper from Burma Campaign UK last month detailing the decades long relationship between the Burmese military and Serbia. “By supplying arms to the Burmese military, Serbia is complicit in violations of international law,” said Anna Roberts, Executive Director of Burma Campaign UK. “The Serbian government knows that the weapons it supplies to the Burmese military are used against civilians, with children and babies being injured and killed.” Tom Andrews, The UN Special Rapporteur, stated in a new report, Enabling Atrocities: UN Member States’ Arms Transfers to the Myanmar Military: “The Special Rapporteur has learned through credible sources that throughout at least 2020 and even after the coup, the Serbian Government has granted arms export licenses to Serbian arms manufacturers to sell thousands of rockets (57mm and 80mm) and artillery shells (105mm, 122mm, and 155mm) to the Myanmar military. Specifically, since the coup, Serbia authorized export licenses for multiple shipments of rockets and artillery in February 2021, March 2021, April 2021 and June 2021. Credible information indicates that at least one shipment of 80mm rockets was transferred to the Myanmar military on 9 February 2021. The 80mm rockets are used in the Yak-130 trainer/fighter jets and Mi-24/35 attack helicopters that are actively bombing civilians in Myanmar, while large calibre artillery shells of the sort Serbia has authorized have killed numerous civilians.” The report is available here. Tom Andrews states that: “Arms transfers to the Myanmar military after 2018 were done with the full knowledge that they would likely be used in attacks against civilians. As such, Member States had an obligation under international humanitarian law, customary international law, and the Arms Trade Treaty to prevent arms transfers from their respective jurisdictions to Myanmar…” “Serbia’s transfers of these arms likely breach Serbia’s Geneva Convention obligations and may also violate Serbia’s responsibility under customary international law given the virtual certainty that rockets of the sort Serbia has authorized would be used against civilians and the prominent role that rockets have played in Myanmar’s attacks on civilians.” Myanmar Witness, with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and the Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia (CINS), have also published a new investigation confirming the export of missiles to the Burmese military since the attempted military coup in 2021. The report is available here. They stated that they have: “…identified information indicating that Serbian-manufactured air-launched rockets were exported from Serbia to Myanmar, using a Belarussian airline, after the military coup of 1 February 2021.” “Official documentation from the Serbian Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Communication, flight tracking data, and analysis of social media footage shows that two batches of unguided aerial rockets are likely to have been flown by Belarussian air company Rada Airlines from Serbia’s Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade to Myanmar’s Yangon Airport on 9 February 2021.” Serbia, which is supposed to be aligning itself with European Union foreign policy, including an arms embargo on Burma, is ignoring its obligations and violating international law. “The government of Serbia appears to be saying one thing and doing another,” said Anna Roberts. “Serbia must now unequivocally state that it is imposing an arms embargo and make public details of equipment it had been supplying to the Burmese military.”..."
Source/publisher: "Burma Campaign UK" (London)
2022-02-25
Date of entry/update: 2022-02-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Sovereign wealth fund’s holdings include 14 companies that have done business with military which has killed more than 1,200 since coup
Description: "Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Future Fund, has invested in a Chinese state-controlled weapons manufacturer that has sold combat aircraft to the Myanmar military, which is accused of crimes against humanity. A weapons company controlled by India is also among companies the fund has invested in that are linked with the Myanmar military, documents released under freedom of information laws show. Myanmar’s military seized control of the country in a coup in February and has since killed more than 1,200 civilians in a crackdown on pro-democracy protests. In total, Australia’s Future Fund has invested $157m in 14 publicly traded companies that have done business with the Myanmar military. The fund’s holdings include $4.9m invested in five subsidiaries of the Chinese arms conglomerate Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). It also has $17.8m invested in Bharat Electronics, a company controlled by the Indian government that has supplied materiel to the Myanmar military and was sanctioned between 1998 and 2001 by the US over allegations it was involved in developing nuclear weapons. The sanctions were lifted in 2001 due to India’s cooperation with the US in an anti-terrorism campaign. The Future Fund holds about $200bn in investments made on behalf of the Australian government. It is overseen by a board of guardians chaired by Peter Costello, who was treasurer in the Howard government. Myanmar’s military, known as the Tatmadaw, has faced international condemnation over its 2017 “clearance operations” – executed with “genocidal intent”, according to UN investigators – against the ethnic minority Rohingya in Rakhine state, which included mass killings, including of children, as well as gang rapes, arson and torture. More than 25,000 Rohingya were killed, and 700,000 driven over Myanmar’s border into Bangladesh. In 2019, a UN fact-finding mission said China was breaching international humanitarian law because of AVIC’s transfers of military supplies to the Tatmadaw. The bulk of Australia’s investment in AVIC is through subsidiary AviChina, in which it has invested $3.2m. AviChina manufactures the K-8 light combat aircraft, which have been used in military operations in the state of Kachin in Myanmar. In 2015, the Myanmar military ordered 16 JF-17M combat aircraft from AVIC under a US$560m contract. The first four planes were commissioned in 2018, a year after the Myanmar military’s genocidal campaign against the Rohingya. AVIC also delivered 40 short-range PL-5E missiles and 24 longer-range PL-12 missiles, both of which can be fitted to the JF-17M aircraft, to the Myanmar military in 2018-19, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Arms Transfers Database. Bharat Electronics has continued to sell military supplies to the Tatmadaw since the coup. The company has supplied the Tatmadaw with radar, sonar, a coastal surveillance system and a remote-controlled weapons station, according to export data. The Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung said that since the 1 February coup, the military had killed more than 1,200 civilians, including children, had tortured thousands, committed rape, torched villages and launched indiscriminate airstrikes on homes. “It is deplorable that Australia’s Future Fund is seeking to profit from companies arming the Myanmar military and effectively financing its campaign of terror. “In the name of Australia’s ‘future’, taxpayer funds are being invested in companies that supply the Myanmar military with fighter jets, missiles, radar and provide millions in annual revenue to war criminals. It is time Australia stops profiting at the expense of the lives of Myanmar people and Myanmar’s future.” Other companies in which the Future Fund has investments that have links to the regime include Sinotruk, which makes trucks used by the Tatmadaw but has denied selling the vehicles to the military. The fund has invested $4.4m in Sinotruk, which did not respond to Guardian Australia’s questions. The Future Fund’s largest Tatmadaw-linked investment is in Korean steel giant Posco, which operators the Shwe gas project, a major revenue earner for the Myanmar military. A Posco subsidiary also brokered the sale of a warship for the Myanmar navy. Posco has not responded to questions from the Guardian but Jeong Joon-sung, a Posco director, has previously said: “We don’t think that the gas field business is connected to the military junta.” The Future Fund has also invested $33m in Kirin, which is in joint venture with a Tatmadaw-controlled company in a brewery business in Myanmar. After the coup, Kirin suspended dividend payments to the Tatmadaw company, MEHL, and promised it would stop doing business with it. It has not yet done so and earlier this month MEHL applied to the courts in Myanmar to have the joint venture liquidated – a move Kirin said it opposed “because of doubts about the fairness and appropriateness of the liquidation process”. A Kirin spokesperson, Russell Roll, said the company “has made every effort to negotiate the termination of the joint venture with MEHL”. “However, MEHL has been uncooperative in the negotiations, effectively rejecting our proposals,” he said. “We have been and continue to be deeply concerned by the recent actions of the military in Myanmar, which are against our standards and human rights policy.” The Future Fund did not answer questions about its investments in companies linked to the Tatmadaw. In a statement, a spokesperson said: “In line with its mandate from government, the Future Fund has built a broadly diversified portfolio which includes passive investments through external investment managers in thousands of entities globally. “The fund has a well-established policy on environmental, social and governance matters and exclusions which takes account of its objectives, legislation, investment strategy, Australian law and the treaties that the Australian government has entered and ratified.”..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
2021-11-28
Date of entry/update: 2021-11-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "November 29, 2021, Myanmar: Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Future Fund, has equity holdings valued at AUD$157.9 million across 14 publicly listed companies directly linked to the Myanmar military, according to a Freedom of Information request and new research by Justice For Myanmar. Six of the companies are connected to the arms trade with Myanmar, while others span real estate, tourism, transportation and beverage sectors, providing the military with diverse sources of revenue and equipment to finance their continued atrocity crimes. Justice For Myanmar calls on the Future Fund and all other institutional investors to immediately divest from companies doing business with the military and its conglomerates, and selling arms and related equipment. Justice For Myanmar also calls on the Australian government to impose immediate targeted sanctions against the Myanmar military junta, their businesses and significant business associates, and to advocate for a global arms embargo. Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “It is deplorable that Australia’s Future Fund is seeking to profit from companies arming the Myanmar military and financing its campaign of terror. Since the illegal February 1 attempted coup, the military has murdered more than 1200 people, including children, tortured thousands, committed rape, torched whole villages and launched indiscriminate airstrikes against civilians. In the name of Australia’s “future”, taxpayer funds are being invested in companies that supply the Myanmar military with fighter jets, missiles, radar and provide millions in annual revenue to war criminals. It is time Australia stops profiting at the expense of the lives of Myanmar people and Myanmar’s future.” International guidelines for responsible investing developed by the UN and OECD are clear that investors have a human rights obligation. Investors are expected to divest from companies that have repeatedly failed to respect human rights and to encourage all of their investee companies to act responsibly, including stopping payments to and business with Myanmar military-controlled entities. If they do not do so, the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct indicates that they risk deepening their relationship to and responsibility for the atrocities in Myanmar. Under the OECD Guidelines, the asset manager may no longer simply be considered to be “linked” to the abuses, but could be considered to be “contributing” to them, and they may be subject to a formal complaint to this effect under the OECD Guidelines’ complaint mechanism. A 2019 report by the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar revealed that the military in Myanmar owns and operates two large holding companies: Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC). This business empire provides the military with enormous financial resources to fund their atrocity crimes and maintain their autonomy. The UN Fact-Finding Mission called on companies and investors to cut ties with the Myanmar military and its businesses and business relationships, and for a halt to the transfer of arms to Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: Justice For Myanmar
2021-11-29
Date of entry/update: 2021-11-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 180.58 KB 126.59 KB
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Topic: KIA, Kachin Independence Army, Myanmar military, Kachin State
Sub-title: The Myanmar military launches air attacks on Kachin and Karen villages after losing strategic bases to ethnic armed organisations
Topic: KIA, Kachin Independence Army, Myanmar military, Kachin State
Description: "The Myanmar military continued to launch lethal air attacks on villages in Kachin State’s Momauk Township after one of its helicopters was shot down by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) on Monday. KIA spokesperson Col Naw Bu told Myanmar Now that Kachin forces shot and destroyed a junta helicopter between the villages of Myo Thit and Kone Law in Momauk at around 8am. “We shot it down during a battle. Fighter jets also came to the area,” Col Naw Bu said. “The battles are not on the ground—the military are launching airstrikes and using sophisticated weapons.” After losing the helicopter, the regime’s armed forces continued its air attacks on Myo Thit, Kone Law and Si Hat villages, he added. A 60-year-old man and a Buddhist monk, whose age was not known at the time of reporting, were killed in the strikes, local media reported. At least 10 villagers were injured, according to the Kachinwaves news outlet. Fighting has intensified between the KIA and the military’s 77th Light Infantry Division in Momauk in recent days. A battle on April 29 killed 20 regime soldiers and led to a KIA seizure of junta weaponry, according to a KIA source. The clash took place below Alaw Bum, a strategically important hill base that the KIA seized on March 25. The Tatmadaw has launched numerous air and ground attacks in a bid to reclaim it but has suffered heavy losses. At the time of reporting, Alaw Bum was still in KIA hands. The Myanmar military has also launched around 30 airstrikes since late March in Mutraw (Hpapun) District, Karen State. The territory is controlled by the 5th Brigade of the Karen National Union’s armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). The airstrikes and heavy artillery fire, largely aimed at civilian targets, had driven more than 3,000 people to seek refuge across the border in Thailand as of Saturday, according to the Karen Peace Support Network. The most recent round of regime air attacks followed the KNLA’s seizure of a junta base in the Thaw Le Hta area of Mutraw, across the Salween River from Thailand’s Mae Hong Son province, on April 27. Many of the airstrikes have taken place near the Ei Htu Hta internally displaced people’s camp near the Salween River, forcing the camp’s population of more than 2,000 into hiding. Many are among the recent refugees in Thailand. More displaced villagers from Karen State are expected to flee to Thailand if the regime’s airstrikes continue..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
2021-05-03
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Authors: Artyom Lukin, Far Eastern Federal University and Andrey Gubin, Russian Institute for Strategic Studies On 1 February 2021, Myanmar’s military junta declared a state of emergency and seized power from the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. The coup immediately created a political crisis and resulted in mass bloodshed, but the international response has been divided. While the US-led West and its key Asian allies such as Japan and South Korea condemn the coup and imposed sanctions on the junta, other key powers are more ambivalent. In the UN Security Council, China, India and Russia have made efforts to shield the perpetrators from harsher censure and potential UN sanctions. From the very beginning Russia has refused to condemn the coup, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs merely expressing hope for ‘a peaceful settlement of the situation through the resumption of political dialogue’. In the same statement, Moscow noted as an encouraging sign that the military intended to hold a new parliamentary election. Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti justified the coup by arguing that the Myanmar army, the Tatmadaw, is the only viable guarantor of the multi-ethnic country’s unity and peace. The most visible manifestation of Russian support for the junta came in late March, when Deputy Minister of Defence Alexander Fomin became the highest-ranking foreign official to attend Myanmar’s Armed Forces Day parade in the capital Naypyidaw. While the military was violently cracking down on protestors, Fomin held talks with junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. He called Myanmar ‘Russia’s reliable ally and strategic partner in Southeast Asia and the Asia Pacific’ and emphasised that Moscow ‘adheres to the strategic course of enhancing relations between the two countries’. There are several reasons why Russia is emerging as the most high-profile supporter of the Myanmar military government. Moscow’s close ties with Myanmar date back to the 1950s. Given that for most of its modern history the Southeast Asian country has been governed by the military, Russia has developed a working relationship with its uniformed rulers. Incumbent strongman general Min Aung Hlaing has visited Russia on numerous occasions, most recently in June 2020 to attend the Victory Day parade in Moscow, and is known as a champion of Myanmar–Russia ties. Under Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar–Russia military cooperation has received a boost. After China, Russia is the country’s second largest supplier of arms, being the source of at least 16 per cent of weaponry procured by Myanmar from 2014–2019. Myanmar’s military is now awaiting the delivery of six Su-30 fighter jets ordered in 2019, and in January 2021 the two sides signed contracts for a Russian air defence system and a suite of surveillance drones. Thousands of Myanmar’s military officers have also received training in Russia’s military academies. Tellingly, the Myanmar commander-in-chief maintains an official account on Russia’s VK social network while being banned from Facebook and Twitter. It is not coincidental that the Kremlin’s main interlocutor with Myanmar is defence minister Sergey Shoigu, who happened to visit the country just several days before the 1 February coup. Given this long-standing and profitable relationship with the Myanmar military, it stands to reason that Russia is not going to condemn the coup, let alone sanction the junta. Russian President Vladimir Putin has never been known for his sympathies for pro-democracy movements backed by the West, and the Kremlin hardly sees the English-educated Aung Sang Suu Kyi, whose two sons are British nationals, as a desirable alternative to uniformed rulers. Moscow’s support for a military dictatorship could damage its international reputation, but with what has already transpired between Putin and the West, the Kremlin could hardly care less about its reputational fallout from Myanmar. In defence of its stance on Myanmar, Russia could also point to Western hypocrisy — neighbouring Thailand is ruled by generals with dubious democratic credentials, but the country remains in the West’s good graces due to being a ‘treaty ally’ of the United States. It is unclear to what extent Moscow will coordinate its Myanmar policies with Beijing, Russia’s main strategic partner and a fellow autocracy. The Chinese government has refrained from condemning the military takeover, but compared to Russia it has been conspicuously less supportive — China’s relationship with the Tatmadaw has always been complicated, and Beijing is hardly happy about the coup. Whereas Moscow’s relationship to Myanmar is mostly limited to military-to-military ties, with scant social and economic interactions, China’s relations with its southern neighbour are more multi-dimensional. Beijing cannot afford to antagonise pro-democracy segments of Myanmar’s population, so it needs to adopt a more complex approach. Moscow and Beijing are likely discussing the situation in Myanmar, but their strategies differ. Russia is driven by the desire to keep lucrative military contracts and possibly gain a foothold in the Indian Ocean. By contrast, Beijing is guided by more long-term strategic interests dictated by Myanmar’s immediate proximity to China’s Yunnan province. Viewing itself as a global great power, Russia has a stake in maintaining a strategic presence in Myanmar, a geopolitically important country in the Indo-Pacific. To retain and expand Russia’s links with Myanmar, the Kremlin has banked on the generals. It remains to be seen if Moscow’s calculus will turn out to be the right one..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "East Asia Forum" (Australia)
2021-04-27
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "Russia is assembling six Sukhoi SU-30SM fighter jets for Myanmar under a contract worth about US$204 million signed between the two nations last year, Russian news outlets reported on Wednesday. The news was unveiled during the latest visit to Russia by Myanmar military commander-in-chief Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing to attend the 8th Moscow Conference on International Security this week. Some military observer websites put the market price of one of the twin-turbine engine aircraft at about US$34 million. At a press conference, Sen-Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said Russia’s military hardware was “very useful” for his military in key locations in Myanmar. Sen-Gen. Min Aung Hlaing personally inspected the production of the planes at Irkustsk Aviation Plant on April 23. Before the Russia tour, he traveled to China and visited an armored vehicle training school in Beijing and met with senior officers of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on April 11..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2019-04-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Thailand and Myanmar on Tuesday agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation on transnational issues, including drug smuggling, the repatriation of Myanmar refugees, and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU). The issues were discussed at the 7th Thai-Myanmar High Level Committee (HLC) meeting, which was held in Bangkok on Tuesday. Established in 2010, the HLC meets once a year, which Thailand and Myanmar taking turns hosting the annual meeting. Thailand's delegation was led by Supreme Commander Gen Pornpipat Benyasri, while Myanmar's delegation was led by Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of Myanmar's Armed Forces..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post"
2019-09-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "In a visit to Russia’s Irkutsk Aviation Plant Corporation on Saturday, Myanmar military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing personally inspected the construction of an MC-21 narrow-body airliner, checked on piloting requirements for the plane and witnessing a test flight, according to the army’s website. The Office of the Commander-in-Chief released a brief statement accompanied by three photos showing Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing sitting in a cockpit next to a test pilot from the Irkutsk company. The senior general asked the pilot about flying the MC-21 as well as installation processes for the aircraft. Last Thursday, Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing flew to Russia with a delegation from Myanmar ahead of the Aug. 18 closing ceremony of the International Army Games 2019 hosted by the Russian Army. He had a meeting with Russian General Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, minister of defense of the Russian Federation, but no details were released. Irkutsk is the same company that is assembling six Sukhoi Su-30 SM multi-role advanced fighter jets for Myanmar under a contract worth about US$204 million (310.85 billion kyats) signed by the two nations last year. The market price of one of the twin-turbine engine fighter jets is around $34 million. It remains unclear whether the military chief discussed the progress of the assembly of the fighter jets with the Russian defense minister, or discussed future arms deals. During Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing’s visit to the Irkutsk plant in April, he told journalists that Russa’s military hardware is “very useful” for his military in key locations in Myanmar..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
2019-08-19
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "Ethnic Nagas in remote northern Myanmar have long provided sanctuary to insurgents who launch armed raids into northeastern India and then retreat back across the border beyond the reach of Indian security forces. Myanmar’s inability or unwillingness to uproot those rebel sanctuaries have been a persistent thorn in the side of the two neighbors’ bilateral relations, contributing to mutual mistrust and suspicion over the years. But that arguably began to change in January, when more than 400 Myanmar troops drove the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) from its headquarters at Taga in the northern Sagaing Region. NSCN-K shared the camp with militants from the United Liberation Front of Asom [Assam] (ULFA) and other rebel outfits from Manipur in northeastern India fighting against New Delhi’s rule in the Seven Sisters region, a term for the contiguous states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. On June 3, during a press briefing at the Defense Services Museum in the capital of Naypyitaw, Myanmar army Major General Tun Tun Nyi said operations will continue against the NSCN-K and the other India-based insurgent groups it is sheltering. There have been few reported casualties in the assault so far, as the Myanmar military has relied mainly on heavy artillery fire rather than ground offensives to drive the rebels from their camp. Still, the attack has deprived the insurgents of their important camp and sanctuary in Myanmar, and thus will certainly affect their ability to launch cross-border assaults into India as they attempt to regroup while on the run..."
Creator/author: Bertil Lintner.
Source/publisher: Asia Times
2019-06-12
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Myanmar is located in Band F, which indicates critical corruption risk in its national defence and security establishments. No branch of the state - the legislative, executive, or judicial branches - may exercise oversight over the military. Article 20 of the 2008 constitution states, ?The Defence Services has the right to independently administer ... all affairs of the armed forces.” In practice, Myanmar has two parallel power structures: the civil government and the military, with the latter also having significant influence in the former. There is a complete lack of transparency regarding military activities and no public disclosure of any key information on defence spending, strategy, or procurement plans - precluding any opportunities for civilian oversight...".....Under Political, Financial, Personnel, Operational and Procurement, you will find a number of questions and answers headed: COMMENTS; SOURCES; RESEARCHER AND PEER REVIEWERS.
Source/publisher: Transparency International - Defence and Security
2015-11-00
Date of entry/update: 2016-01-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Includes a 2-hour 51 minute MRTV video of the 2015 Myanmar Armed Forces Day parade....."Since the accession of President Thein Sein in 2011, the Tatmadaw?s continuing political role has been examined closely. Less attention has been given to strictly military issues, yet the Tatmadaw?s combat capabilities not only underpin its domestic position but also help determine Burma?s strategic influence. Despite its dominance of Burma?s national affairs for decades, the Tatmadaw remains in many respects a closed book. Even the most basic data is beyond the reach of analysts and other observers. For example, the Tatmadaw?s current size is a mystery, although most estimates range between 300,000 and 350,000. Official statistics put Burma?s defence expenditure this year at 3.7 % of GDP, but the actual level is unknown . Given this uncertainty, all reports about the Tatmadaw need careful handling. It is clear, however, that since 2011 Commander-in Chief Min Aung Hlaing has implemented wide-ranging plans to make the Tatmadaw more professional and to improve its order of battle. The latter includes an ambitious arms acquisition program that some have compared with the dramatic expansion and modernisation of Burma?s armed forces during the 1990s..."
Creator/author: Andrew Selth
Source/publisher: "Lowey Interpreter"
2015-10-22
Date of entry/update: 2015-10-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Global military expenditure in 2014 was an estimated $1776 billion, repre- senting a marginal fall of about 0.4 per cent in real terms compared to 2013. 1 Total expenditure was equivalent to 2.3 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP). This is the third consecutive year that total global military expenditure has decreased. However, the falls during the previous two years have been comparatively small; world military expenditure is still only 1.7 per cent below its 2011 peak, and it remains signifi cantly above the levels of the late 1980s (see fi gure 1). The pattern of the past few years—whereby military expenditure has fallen in the United States and Western Europe, but increased elsewhere— largely continued in 2014, although spending in Latin America was essen- tially unchanged. Spending in Central Europe broke with recent trends and began to rise again following the large falls in previous years resulting from the global fi nancial crisis that began in 2008. Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East continued to see large increases. Excluding the USA, total military expenditure for the ?rest of the world? has increased continuously since 1998 and was up by 3.1 per cent in 2014..."
Creator/author: Sam Perlo-freeman, Aude Fleurant, Pieter D. Wezeman, Siemon T. Wezeman
Source/publisher: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
2015-04-00
Date of entry/update: 2015-05-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "If a press statement from the US Department of Defense is to be believed, President Barack Obama is quite pleased with the reform process underway in Myanmar, especially recent progress ??that?s been made on human rights??. The message was conveyed by US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in late August when he met with his counterparts from the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Brunei, including Lieutenant-General Wai Lwin, the current defense minister of Myanmar, a former pariah state turned darling of the West. But there was an important caveat in Hagel?s statement that indicated Washington?s main concern in Myanmar is not democracy and human rights. Rather, he stressed ??it?s important that Myanmar sever ties with North Korea??. Evidently Myanmar has not rolled back relations with Pyongyang despite persistent pressure from Washington, including during then secretary of state Hillary Clinton?s historic visit to Myanmar in December 2011, and believed behind-the-scenes prodding from Japan and South Korea..."
Creator/author: Bertil Lintner
Source/publisher: "Asia Times Online"
2013-09-05
Date of entry/update: 2014-05-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: SUMMARY: "North Korean workers are reportedly assembling ?SAM missiles” and constructing an underground facility at a Burmese military site in Magway Division, about 315 miles NNW of Rangoon, according to XXXXXXXXXXXX . This unsolicited account should not be taken as authoritative, but it tracks with other information garnered and reported via XXXXXXXXXXXX. End Summary."
Source/publisher: US Embassy, Rangoon, via Wikileaks
2004-08-27
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Mine Ban Policy; Casualties and Victim Assistance; Cluster Munition Ban Policy; Support for Mine Action; Mine Action; Complete Profile.
Source/publisher: Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor (2 October 2012 update)
2012-10-02
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Israeli consultants are helping Myanmar, formerly Burma, produce small arms and ordnance in a prefabricated factory built in Singapore, the London-based Jane?s Defense Weekly said yesterday.
Creator/author: Arieh O'Sullivan
Source/publisher: Jerusalem Post
1998-07-28
Date of entry/update: 2010-12-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Key developments March 1999-May 2000: Government forces and at least ten ethnic armed groups continue to lay antipersonnel landmines in significant numbers. Landmine Monitor estimates there were approximately 1,500 new mine victims in 1999. The Committee Representing the People?s Parliament endorsed the Mine Ban Treaty in January 2000." Includes chart of Ethnic Political Organizations with Armed Wings in Burma.
Source/publisher: International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL)
2000-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-07-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese
Format : pdf
Size: 199.82 KB
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Description: Regional rivalry for energy resources and China?s growing shadow are driving massive spending on weapons in Southeast Asia...Burma is in dispute with neighboring Bangladesh over maritime boundaries in the Bay of Bengal, where both countries want to explore for gas. Their small navies have already confronted one another over an exploratory drilling rig authorized by the Burmese junta in waters claimed by the Bangladeshis...The Burmese regime, however, had bought 12 MiGs from Russia in 2001 following a border clash with Thailand, and announced its plan to purcahse a new fleet of MiG-29s only a few weeks after a trip to Burma by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, whose public comments about strengthening economic ties probably masked the real reason for his visit: to persuade the junta to buy Chinese planes instead of the Russian MiGs... Some have seen the move as part of an effort to reduce the regime?s reliance on Chinese support, particularly in the wake of last year?s attack on the Chinese-speaking Kokang ethnic minority, which sent some 37,000 refugees into China and earned the Burmese junta a rare rebuke from Beijing..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 18, No. 2
2010-02-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-02-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "...Overall, the lack of specifics about many of the sites mentioned in the reports from opposition groups and defectors makes independent analysis using commercial satellite imagery very difficult. Those reporting the existence of secret nuclear sites in Burma should provide more direct and specific evidence, in addition to geographical coordinates, in order for some of the sites to be further investigated. ISIS does not want to overweigh the importance of debunking a few claims about secret nuclear activities in Burma. There remain valid suspicions about the existence of undeclared nuclear activities in Myanmar, particularly in the context of cooperation between Myanmar and North Korea. But the methods used in the public so far to allege secret nuclear facilities are flawed. Identification of suspect nuclear sites requires a more rigorous basis than is currently evident..."
Creator/author: ROBERT KELLEY, Andrea Scheel Stricker, Paul Brannan
Source/publisher: Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS)
2010-01-28
Date of entry/update: 2010-02-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: With its recent purchase of 20 MiG-29 fighter jets, Burma?s military junta has acquired a total of 230 military aircraft since seizing power in a bloody coup in 1988—nearly 100 more than the regime of former dictator Ne Win.
Creator/author: WAI MOE
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
2009-12-26
Date of entry/update: 2009-12-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Naypyidaw appears to be intent on setting up a missile defense sytem to deter po tential enemies... "Is Snr-Gen Than Shwe delusional? Subordinates of Burma?s paramount leader are said to have repeatedly heard him say how much he admires North Korea?s use of missile technology to bully and defy its neighbors and the West. The bad news is that Than Shwe?s hard-line military leaders and ministers may agree with him. However, Burmese opposition groups in exile suspect that army officers who disagree with Than Shwe?s policy deliberately leaked secret documents to exiled media groups, including The Irrawaddy. These documents throw light on Burma?s military ties with Pyongyang..."
Creator/author: Aung Zaw
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 5
2009-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2009-12-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Two years ago the world watched in dismay as Myanmar?s military junta brutally crushed the so-called Saffron Revolution. It was the only show of mass opposition to have occurred inside the country in almost 20 years. Filmmaker Hazel Chandler entered the country undercover for People & Power to find out how Myanmar?s people are fairing, and to investigate disturbing claims that the regime may be trying to develop nuclear weapons."
Creator/author: Hazel Chandler
Source/publisher: Al Jazeera (People and Power)
2009-12-23
Date of entry/update: 2009-12-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: New Delhi?s eagerness to supply Burma with weapons highlights new quid pro quo policies... "Increased contacts between senior military chiefs o ?n both sides of the Burma-India border, involving Indian weapons sales, are believed by analysts to have two primary objectives: to help flush out Burma-based Indian insurgents and to counter growing Chinese influence in Naypyidaw. But the sale of arms and related technical equipment is also likely to be linked to New Delhi"Look East" economic policy, including ambitions to buy huge quantities of Burma?s offshore gas in the Bay of Bengal. If the gas bid?€?against rivals China and Thailand?€?is successful, it will also involve building a costly pipeline through rebel-infested areas of northwest Burma and northeast India..."
Creator/author: Aung Lwin Oo
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 15, No. 1
2007-01-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-07-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: An illegal trade in live ammunition is thriving in Burma, where soldiers—often traded like commodities themselves—are selling anything they can to supplement their meager incomes... "Sergeant Hla Maung wanders cautiously into Mingaladon market and walks toward a small shop run by a friend of his. His friend smiles at him when he stops in front of the shop, and the sergeant gives him an inquiring look. On display in the shop is a mass of military equipment, such as uniforms and boots, stored in a big dirty showcase..."
Creator/author: Maung Maung Oo
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol 9. No. 6
2001-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2008-05-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Dem Informationsdienst Jane ?s zufolge setzt die birmanische Armee noch immer massiv auf die "Braut des deutschen Soldaten", die bis vor wenigen Jahren ihre Standardwaffe Nr. 1 war, und auf MG3-Maschinengewehre von Rheinmetall. Das FAL war nach Angaben des renommierten Experten Edward Ezell einst aus Altbeständen der Bundeswehr eingeführt worden; Waffenlieferungen nach Burma; Rolle Fritz Werners in Birma; Rolle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland in Birma; German Arms transfers to Burma; Role of German Government in Burma; Role of the Fritz Werner Company in Burma
Creator/author: Roman Deckert
Source/publisher: Berliner Informationszentrum fur transantlantische Sicherheit (BITS)
2007-11-00
Date of entry/update: 2007-12-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: German, Deutsch
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Description: "...The inner conflicts that have been ravaging Burma broke out long before its independence of 1948. Hundreds of Thousands got killed or maimed ever since, Millions were forced to flee their homes. All warring parties ? government troops, a multitude of rebels and drug lords ? recruit child soldiers; the so called small arms serve in fact as weapons of mass destruction. The recent commentaries of Western media criticise China as the most important arms supplier of the military dictatorship. Unfortunately, this criticism covers up the fact that West Germany used to be the main military partner of Burma for decades..." "Die inneren Konflikte Birmas begannen weit vor der Unabhängigkeit von 1948. Hunderttausende wurden seither getötet, Millionen vertrieben. Alle Kriegsparteien ? Regierung, untereinander verfeindete Rebellen und Drogenbarone ? setzen Kindersoldaten ein, gemordet wird in erster Linie mit "Kleinwaffen". In den jüngsten Berichten westlicher Medien wurde vor allem China als Waffenlieferant der Militärdiktatur kritisiert. Darüber wird aber vergessen, dass jahrzehntelang just die Bundesrepublik Deutschland Birmas wichtigster Rüstungspartner war:..."
Creator/author: Roman Deckert
Source/publisher: Berlin Information-center for Transatlantic Security (BITS)
2007-11-00
Date of entry/update: 2007-11-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Deutsch, German
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Description: Executive Summary" Before 2000, the idea that Burma might one day become a nuclear power was considered fanciful. Ever since it regained its independence in 1948, Burma had been a consistent supporter of global nuclear disarmament and had played an active role in international organisations dedicated to that end. Nor could it claim the strategic rationale, economic strength or technological expertise to support a nuclear industry, let alone develop a nuclear weapon. Yet, in 2000, the ruling State Peace and Development Council announced that it planned to purchase a small nuclear reactor from Russia. Construction was due to begin in 2003, but was repeatedly postponed, probably due to financial problems. A new agreement was signed in May 2007. The response to the regime?s announcement of a nuclear research program was almost uniformly negative. There was widespread scepticism that Burma could manage such a complex and demanding project, a sentiment shared by the International Atomic Energy Agency. There were also concerns that Burma would be unable to keep secure any radioactive materials produced by the program. There were even claims that the regime secretly planned to use the reactor to build a nuclear weapon. These claims were rightly dismissed as far-fetched and self-serving, but they seemed to be given some substance in 2003 by reports that Burma was developing close links with North Korea, a notorious proliferator of nuclear and ballistic missile technology. Despite the lack of any supporting evidence, some activist groups claim that Burma already possesses nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them. It is highly unlikely that Burma currently has any intention of acquiring nuclear weapons, from North Korea or anywhere else. Claims that it might try to do so in the future are equally speculative, but are made a little more credible by Burma?s exaggerated threat perceptions. Ever since the armed forces took back direct power in 1988, the regime has been the target of a range of external pressures, including from some of the world?s most powerful countries. The aggressive rhetoric that has accompanied these pressures, and the support openly shown for Burma?s opposition movement, has helped create a siege mentality among Burma?s leaders. Even now, they fear intervention by the United States and its allies ? possibly even an invasion ? to restore democracy to Burma. These concerns have already prompted the regime to consider the acquisition of ballistic missiles. There have also been suggestions that a few Burmese generals envy North Korea?s apparent ability to use its nuclear weapons capabilities to fend off its enemies and win concessions from the international community. It is important not to over-react to these reports. Even if confirmed, they probably reflect the views of a very small minority in Burma?s military hierarchy. Such reports, however, illustrate the scope for misperceptions, on both sides, which can lead in turn to policy errors and even more serious misunderstandings.
Creator/author: Andrew Selth
Source/publisher: Griffith Asia Institute
2007-05-00
Date of entry/update: 2007-05-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Key developments since May 2003: Myanmar"atrocity demining,"Halt Mine Use in Burma."... * Mine Ban Policy * Use; * Production, Transfer, Stockpiling; * Non-State Actors Use; * NSA-Production, Transfer, Stockpiling; * Landmine Problem; * Mine Clearance and Mine Risk Education; * Landmine Casualties68; * Survivor Assistance90; * Disability Policy and Practice.
Source/publisher: International campaign to ban landmines
2004-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2004-11-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese
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Description: "The Burmese military?s appetite for weapons appears insatiable. William Ashton details the regime?s recent purchases..."
Creator/author: William Ashton
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 12, No. 6
2004-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2004-10-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The former Soviet republic of the Ukraine is helping to satisfy the Rangoon regime?s apparently insatiable demand for modern weapon systems..." In May 2003 the Malyshev HMB plant in Kharkov reportedly signed a contract with Rangoon to provide the Burma Army with 1,000 new BTR-3U light armored personnel carriers, or APCs. The APCs will be supplied in component form over the next 10 years, and assembled in Burma. The size of the deal is estimated to be in excess of US $500 million. It is not known if it will be paid in hard currency, or whether an element of barter trade is involved. Some of Burma?s other arms suppliers—for example Russia and North Korea—have accepted part payment in rice, teak and marine products..."
Creator/author: William Ashton
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 12, No. 4, April 2004
2004-04-00
Date of entry/update: 2004-07-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "It has long been suspected that North Korea supplies Burma with weapons. But recent unconfirmed reports that the two secretive states are negotiating a nuclear deal are unsettling... Bilateral relations between Burma and North Korea were severed in 1983, after Pyongyang sent agents to Rangoon to conduct a terrorist attack against a visiting South Korean presidential delegation. Diplomatic ties have still not been restored. Over the past few years, however, these two economically stricken but highly militarized pariah states seem to have found some common ground. Depending on how it develops, this relationship could extend beyond mutual support to have wider strategic implications. Reports that the Rangoon regime has sought to acquire strategic weapon systems like submarines and ballistic missiles from Pyongyang have aroused concern in regional capitals and in Washington. There have even been suggestions that North Korea is secretly helping Burma to build a nuclear reactor, raising the spectre of a future atomic weapons program that could be used by Rangoon as a bargaining chip against the United States..."
Creator/author: Andrew Selth
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 12, No. 3
2004-03-00
Date of entry/update: 2004-06-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Key developments since May 2002: "Myanmar?s military has continued laying landmines. At least 15 rebel groups also used mines, two more than last year: the New Mon State Party and the Hongsawatoi Restoration Party. Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams and ICBL Coordinator Liz Bernstein visited the country in February 2003."..."Myanmar?s ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. Myanmar abstained from voting on the pro-Mine Ban Treaty UN General Assembly Resolution 57/74 in November 2002. SPDC delegates have not attended any of the annual meetings of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty or the intersessional Standing Committee meetings...Myanmar has been producing at least three types of antipersonnel mines: MM1, MM2, and Claymore-type mines...Myanmar?s military forces have used landmines extensively throughout the long running civil war...Nine out of fourteen states and divisions in Burma are mine-affected, with a heavy concentration in East Burma. Mines have been laid heavily in the Eastern Pegu Division in order to prevent insurgents from reaching central Burma. Mines have also been laid extensively to the east of the area between Swegin and Kyawgyi...No humanitarian demining activities have been implemented in Burma...SPDC military units operating in areas suspected of mine contamination have repeatedly been accused of forcing people, compelled to serve as porters, to walk in front of patrols in order to detonate mines..."
Source/publisher: International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL)
2003-09-09
Date of entry/update: 2003-09-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese
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Description: Despite economic crisis and simmering social unrest, Burma?s military leaders have continued to purchase more arms and ammunition over the past decade. With over 300,000 soldiers, and no external threats, the generals are determined to expand and maintain the largest army in Southeast Asia. Burma has begun manufacturing small arms, and possibly ordnance... [Sources: Bangkok Post, The Nation]
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 6, No. 4
1998-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: European Union (EU) foreign affairs ministers and the EU Commission have agreed to implement a range of "restrictive measures" against Burma, including strengthening an existing visa ban and freezing assets held abroad by persons to whom the ban applies.
Creator/author: Brian Kenety
Source/publisher: Asia Times
2000-05-25
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Landmines are weapons that kill and maim indiscriminately, whether it be civilians, soldiers, elderly, women, children or animals and cause injury and death long after the official end of a war. Contrary to trends in the rest of the world, rather than reduce or abolish the use of landmines, the SPDC has actually increased production of anti-personnel landmines and at least in the case of the Burma-Bangladesh border, is actively maintaining minefields. In Asia, Burma is currently second only to Afghanistan in the number of new landmine victims, surpassing even Cambodia and the SPDC was one of only three government military forces in Asia to use anti-personnel landmines in 2000, the others being Sri Lanka and Pakistan..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Documentation Unit, NCGUB
2001-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : htm htm
Size: 19.47 KB 6.04 KB
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Description: "Landmines are weapons that kill and maim indiscriminately, whether it be civilians, soldiers, elderly people, women, children or animals. They cause injury and death long after the official end of a war. Contrary to trends in the rest of the world, rather than reduce or abolish the use of landmines, the SPDC has actually increased production of anti-personnel landmines and at least in the case of the Burma-Bangladesh border, is actively maintaining minefields. In Asia, Burma is currently second only to Afghanistan in the number of new landmine victims, surpassing even Cambodia. The SPDC has not signed the Mine Ban Treaty and abstained from the 1999 UN General Assembly vote on the treaty, saying, ?A sweeping ban on landmines is unnecessary and unjustified. The problem is the indiscriminate use of mines, as well as the transfer of them.” Although the SPDC is not known to export landmines, mines from China, Israel, Italy, Russia and the United States have been found planted inside Burma, indicating past or present importation of them. By their own admission, accepting transferred (imported) landmines makes them part of the problem..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Documentation Unit of the NCGUB
2002-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : htm
Size: 31.4 KB
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Description: "Key developments since May 2000: Myanmar government forces and at least eleven ethnic armed groups continue to lay antipersonnel mines in significant numbers. The governments of Bangladesh and Thailand both protested use of mines by Myanmar forces inside their respective countries. In a disturbing new development, mine use is alleged to be taking place under the direction of loggers and narcotics traffickers, as well as by government and rebel forces."
Source/publisher: ICBL
2001-09-12
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese
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Description: "Key developments since May 2001: Myanmar?s military has continued laying landmines inside the country and along its borders with Thailand. As part of a new plan to ?fence the country,? the Coastal Region Command Headquarters gave orders to its troops from Tenasserim division to lay mines along the Thai-Burma border. Three rebel groups, not previously identified as mine users, were discovered using landmines in 2002: Pao People?s Liberation Front, All Burma Muslim Union and Wa National Army. Thirteen rebel groups are now using mines. Myanmar?s ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. Myanmar abstained from voting on the pro-Mine Ban Treaty UN General Assembly Resolution 56/24M in November 2001. SPDC delegates have not attended any of the annual meetings of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty or the intersessional Standing Committee meetings. Myanmar declined to attend the Regional Seminar of Stockpile Destruction of Anti-personnel Mines and other Munitions, held in Malaysia in August 2001. Myanmar did not respond to an invitation by the government of Malaysia to an informal meeting, held on the side of the January 2002 intersessional meetings in Geneva, to discuss the issue of landmines within the ASEAN context (other ASEAN non-signatories, such as Vietnam, did attend). Myanmar was one of the two ASEAN countries that did not participate in the seminar, ?Landmines in Southeast Asia,? hosted by Thailand from 13?15 May 2002. However, two observers from the Myanmar Ministry of Health attended the Regional Workshop on Victim Assistance in the Framework of the Mine Ban Treaty, held in Thailand from 6-8 November 2001, sponsored by Handicap International (HI). One health officer attending the meeting acknowledged that if Myanmar joined the mine ban it would be a good preventative health measure..."
Source/publisher: International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL)
2002-09-13
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese
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Source/publisher: Jane?s Intelligence Review
2000-10-01
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : html
Size: 22.98 KB
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