Business and the Military
Individual Documents
Description:
"Executive summary: Since the Burma Army attempted its military coup on February 1, the
Burma government systems have virtually imploded and civil war is
raging at unprecedented levels throughout the country.
Violent crackdowns on peaceful demonstrators have so far led to the
killing of over 1,250 people and over 7,200 currently in prison for demanding their basic rights. The banking system has been crippled by
paranoid military supervision, internet cuts and communication monitoring, all aimed at rooting out opposition. The Burma kyat has plummeted to an all-time low, and there is rampant inflation and shortage
of goods.
Meanwhile, the regime earns over US$ 1 billion annually from export
of Burma’s natural gas resources from four offshore projects to China
and Thailand, which are the single largest source of export revenues
keeping the military in power. It also receives approximately US$ 500
million worth of domestic gas annually, which means the regime earns
an estimated US$ 1.5 billion per year from these projects.
Demonstrators, civil society and the opposition National Unity Government (NUG) have therefore called on governments to impose economic sanctions on the state-owned and military controlled Myanmar
Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE). The NUG has also urged companies
to deposit all payments into a third-party escrow account, until an
elected federal government is in place.
In May, the French company Total, the operator of the Yadana offshore fields, responded by withholding the dividend to MOGE from its
Moattama Gas Transportation Company (MGTC), transporting gas
from these fields. However, the dividend constitutes only 10% of the
Yadana revenues paid to the regime, and only approximately 4% of
Burma’s total gas export revenues.
Meanwhile, Total and other companies currently exporting from offshore fields, including US Chevron, Thai PTTEP and Korean POSCO, are not only continuing to provide funds and legitimacy to the
regime, but also expanding their projects. Planning is also underway
to exploit recent discoveries of gas in three new areas off the Arakan
Coast and south of Yangon which would further entrench the regime.
16 oil and gas companies from 13 countries currently have major
shares in Burma’s oil and gas industry, and more are profiting through
sub-contracts, such as Swiss-based Transocean and USMcDermott
International. Only one company, Japan’s Mitsui Oil Exploration Company (MOECO), has divested from Burma’s offshore fields since the coup, withdrawing its investments from a planned new project in late
October.
By not heeding demands from the people of Burma, international oil
and gas companies are increasingly becoming branded as military
collaborators and placing their staff and operations at risk. A growing
number of People’s Defence Forces are targeting the regime’s infrastructure and revenue-generating projects, particularly in the communications, electricity and energy sectors, including attacks on several
gas pipeline projects. NUG has reported that PDFs conducted 950
attacks, including targeted explosions, between September 7 and October 6, of which 213 were against economic projects of the regime.
One option for international oil and gas companies is to unilaterally
suspend projects by declaring Force Majeure, for a period of up to
two years, citing “insurrection”, “active hostilities or imminent threat of
hostilities” or other reasons stated in their standard Production Sharing Contracts with the Burma government.
International governments, particularly those which claim to promote
democracy and human rights must place comprehensive economic
sanctions on MOGE – consistent with sanctions already placed on
other state-owned enterprises such as the Myanmar Timber Enterprise and Myanmar Gems Enterprise -- and ensure that no revenues
or taxes are paid by their oil and gas companies to the regime.
Oil and gas companies should immediately suspend all revenue and
tax payments to the regime and put these into a third-party escrow
account. Failing that, they must suspend or cancel their projects. All
companies must also stop exploration and development activities
aimed at exploiting additional or new gas discoveries.
This report provides an update of Burma’s offshore natural gas industry, its impacts on the people of Burma and recommendations for the
international community..."
Source/publisher:
Arakan Oil Watch
Date of publication:
2021-11-19
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-25
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Individual Documents
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2.78 MB
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"November 24, 2021, Myanmar: Indian publicly listed jewellery company Vaibhav Global Limited is continuing to trade in Myanmar gems, despite the illegal February 1 attempted military coup and US, EU and UK sanctions against state-owned Myanma Gems Enterprise (MGE), which is now under military control. Through MGE, the Myanmar military receives a share of revenue from all gemstones sold.
Vaibhav Global sells jewellery with Myanmar gems via major online retailers including Amazon and Overstock, as well as its own website and TV channel, The Jewellery Channel. In the US, Vaibhav Global also sells loose rubies from Mogok and Mong Shu, Myanmar, but list the country of origin as “India”.
A ban on Myanmar origin gems is urgently needed to stop the trade. Section 203 of the Burma Act of 2021, introduced in October and currently before Congress, authorises the prohibition of all US imports of Myanmar gemstones. Justice For Myanmar urges members of Congress to stand with the people of Myanmar by passing the Burma Act and prohibit imports of Myanmar gemstones.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “It is unacceptable that over six months since sanctions were imposed on MGE, companies are openly trading Myanmar gems in the US and other jurisdictions. This is a slap in the face of the Myanmar people, who are being subjected to immense suffering at the hands of the terrorist military junta. The US Government needs to do more, including imposing a total ban on the import of Myanmar gemstones and sanctioning Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise. We also call on other international governments to urgently impose targeted sanctions that will stop the flow of funds to the Myanmar military, which finance its campaign of terror. We appeal to members of the US Congress to swiftly pass the Burma Act and ban all imports of Myanmar gemstones. Vaibhav Global investors also must act in accordance with their obligations under the OECD Guidelines. If Vaibhav Global does not stop trading in Myanmar gems, shareholders must divest. These gems are stained with the blood of the people of Myanmar. US consumers have power to act. Boycott Myanmar gems and demand businesses like Amazon and Overstock stop selling these blood-stained products.”
According to filings, Vaibhav Global’s institutional shareholders include The Vanguard Group, Dimensional Fund Advisors, State Street Global Advisors, BlackRock and the Florida State Board of Administration, all based in the US. The USA is Vaibhav Global’s biggest market, with 2021 financial year revenue at US$234.9 million, according to its latest annual report..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-11-24
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-24
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"Major US online retailers are continuing to sell jewellery with rubies and jade sourced from Myanmar. The continued trade profits the Myanmar military junta, helping to finance its nationwide terror campaign against the Myanmar people. The US has sanctioned Myanma Gems Enterprise but has not banned the import of gems, allowing the trade to continue.
Justice For Myanmar found listings for jewellery with Myanmar gemstones produced by Indian publicly listed company Vaibhav Global Limited and sold through retailers Amazon, Walmart and Overstock. Vaibhav Global has actively traded in Myanmar gemstones since the February 1 attempted coup.
Shipping records since the attempted coup, found in the Panjiva trade database, show imports into India of jade from Vaibhav Global’s Hong Kong subsidiary and rubies from its Thai subsidiary. Some of the shipments originate in Myanmar, while others list precious stones with Myanmar as the country of origin.
Vaibhav Global did not respond to questions from Justice For Myanmar regarding its continued sourcing of jade and gems from Myanmar since the attempted coup.
Online retailers Amazon, Walmart and Overstock also did not respond to questions over the sale of Myanmar gemstones on their platforms and their human rights due diligence. Walmart has removed listings of Vaibhav Global jewellery with Myanmar gemstones, but continues to list Myanmar rubies and jade through other sellers.
Jade and gems are a lucrative source of revenue for the Myanmar military junta and its militias, financing the Myanmar military’s atrocity crimes, particularly in ethnic areas.
The state-owned Myanma Gems Enterprise (MGE), under military control during past regimes, has again come under military control since the attempted coup and controls all aspects of the gemstone industry in Myanmar. Through MGE, the Myanmar military receives a share of revenue from all gemstones sold.
The Myanmar military also profits from mining through its conglomerate, Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL). MEHL has its own jade and ruby businesses and controls the greatest number of licences. MEHL was sanctioned by the US and UK on March 25, and by the EU on April 19.
The US Treasury sanctioned MGE on April 8, followed by the UK on May 17 and EU on June 21.
Vaibhav Global’s international network
Vaibhav Global is a major seller of discounted jewellery, listed on the National Stock Exchange of India and the BSE. According to filings, institutional shareholders include The Vanguard Group, Dimensional Fund Advisors, State Street Global Advisors, BlackRock and the Florida State Board of Administration, all based in the US. The USA is Vaibhav Global’s biggest market, with 2021 financial year revenue at US$234.9 million, according to its latest annual report.
Justice For Myanmar found at least 8 shipments of cut and polished rubies from Vaibhav Global in India to Shop LC Global Inc. in the USA since sanctions were imposed on MGE, based on data from the Panjiva database. These were shipped between May 15 and July 14, 2021.
Other Vaibhav shipments to the USA, as recently as September 19, list unspecified precious and semi-precious stones, as well as manufactured jewellery. Justice For Myanmar asked Vaibhav Global for details about the source of gemstones in these shipments but did not receive a response.
Shipping records from Panjiva show that Vaibhav Global has imported at least 8 shipments of Myanmar rubies to India, where its jewellery is manufactured for export, including since the Myanmar military’s attempted coup and the sanctioning of MGE in Vaibhav Global’s key foreign markets. These shipments were received between February 19 and June 9.
Vaibhav Global primarily sources Myanmar gems from its Thai subsidiary, STS Gems, which lists Myanmar as a key market and claims to procure gems “directly from the source”. Vaibhav Global imports rubies via STS in Bangkok.
Additionally, on April 7, Vaibhav Global received two shipments of jade from Myanmar, sent from STS Gems in Hong Kong.
Vaibhav Global is selling jade and gems from Myanmar through its own websites, its home shopping TV channels, through third-party sites and wholesale to other jewellery businesses.
Vaibhav Global’s main platform for consumer sales in the US is Shop LC, formerly called The Jewellery Channel and Liquidation Channel. Shop LC is headquartered in Austin, Texas.
A search of Shop LC’s website shows at least six items for sale made with Myanmar rubies, including rings, earrings and a pendant, and at least ten items made with Myanmar jade, including necklaces, bracelets and rings. Shop LC also has loose jade available for sale.
Shop LC additionally sells Myanmar jade and ruby jewellery and loose gemstones through major US corporations Amazon, Overstock and until recently, Walmart, who facilitate the transactions and receive a commission on goods sold.
Amazon currently lists a large range of Shop LC jewellery, including Burmese ruby rings, bracelets and pendants, and Burmese jade rings and earrings. Where country of origin is listed, the items specify India.
Amazon also lists loose rubies described as from “Mogok and Mong Shu, Myanmar”. However, the product description lists the country of origin as India.
Overstock lists jade and ruby jewellery manufactured by Vaibhav Global, including rings and loose rubies. Like Amazon, listings specify India as the country of origin, even when the product description describes the stone as “Burmese jade” or “Burmese ruby”.
Overstock states they “require that our suppliers maintain high moral and ethical standards in producing and transporting products offered for sale on our websites”.
Walmart listed a smaller range of Shop LC Myanmar jade and ruby jewellery but appears to have removed listings after being contacted by Justice For Myanmar in October.
Justice For Myanmar asked Amazon, Walmart and Overstock about their business with Shop LC jewellery, their sale of gemstones sourced from Myanmar and their human rights due diligence on third party sellers. None of the companies responded.
Vaibhav Global also sells jade and gems sources from Myanmar through Shop LC in Germany (Shop LC GmBH), and The Jewellery Channel (TJC) in the UK.
In 2018, following the Myanmar military’s campaign of genocide against the Rohingya and the threat of a ban on Myanmar gems, Shop LC launched the promotion “Burmese Ruby Smackdown” with a lighthearted video encouraging increased sales before a ban could be imposed.
Pass the Burma Act and ban Myanmar gemstones
In a press release announcing sanctions, Office of the Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Director Andrea Gacki stated a commitment to “denying the Burmese military sources of funding” through the designation of MGE.
However, Vaibhav Global’s continued trade in Myanmar gemstones shows that US sanctions will have limited impact as the chain of intermediaries between US retailers and MGE may extinguish the sanctions interest, allowing the trade to continue.
A ban on Myanmar origin gems is essential. Section 203 of the Burma Act of 2021, introduced in October and currently before Congress, authorises the prohibition of all US imports of Myanmar gemstones. Justice For Myanmar urges members of Congress to stand with the people of Myanmar by passing the Burma Act and prohibit imports of Myanmar gemstones.
Consumers have an important role to play. Ask retailers to disclose the country of origin of gems they sell and boycott all gems from Myanmar.
Vaibhav Global’s investors must uphold their human rights responsibilities and divest unless the company stops trading in Myanmar gemstones.
The military’s sources of revenue must be cut off to stop the violence and support the rebuilding of a federal democracy..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-11-24
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Gems - mining and trade
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Description:
"Myanmar’s civilian National Unity Government (NUG) announced that it has blacklisted two junta-controlled conglomerates and their subsidiaries on Wednesday.
The NUG said its Commerce Ministry had found that the military-owned Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) committed high treason and control numerous businesses by abusing military power and exerting undue influence.
MEHL and MEC control a network of more than 100 businesses, including banking, trade, logistics, construction, mining, agriculture, tourism, tobacco and food and beverages, which generate revenue for the regime.
In late March, the US and UK sanctioned the conglomerates following the regime’s deadly crackdown on peaceful demonstrators.
Last month, India’s Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited said it would withdraw investment in the junta-owned Ahlone Port by June 2022 after it came under pressure for doing business with MEC which received US$90-million in rent for leasing land to the Indian port operator.
The NUG on Wednesday urged consumers and businesses not to store, distribute, sell and use MEHL and MEC products and services. Failure to comply would amount to supporting war crimes, it said, warning of punitive action.
“The junta must not be provided with access to funds that allow the generals to enrich themselves at the expense of Myanmar’s people and to continue their acts of terrorism against the people,” the NUG said, declaring its economic sanctions.
The NUG also called for the international community to implement stronger and coordinated measures targeting the junta’s economic interests, including urgent sanctions on Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise.
The state-owned conglomerate is now under regime control and is the military’s most important financial lifeline.
Public campaigns for boycotting military-linked products continue in Myanmar.
Since the February coup, at least 1,252 civilians have been killed by junta forces and more than 9,900 people have been detained, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners rights group..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-11-11
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military, National Unity Government (NUG)
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Description:
"၁။ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင် စစ်အာဏာရှင်စနစ် အလုံးစုံပျက်သုဉ်းရေးနှင့် ကာလရှည်ကြာ စိုးမိုးမှု မရှိစေရေး အတွက် စစ်အာဏာရှင်များ၏ စီးပွားရေးလုပ်ငန်းများနှင့် ဝင်ငွေရလမ်းများအား ပိတ်ဆို့အရေးယူ ဖြတ်တောက်ခြင်းသည် အလွန်အရေးပါသည့် လုပ်ငန်းစဉ်တစ်ရပ်ဖြစ်သည်။
၂။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စု၏ စီးပွားရေးအင်ပါယာသည် စျေးကွက်နယ်ပယ်စုံ၌ ထိုးဖောက် နေရာယူကာ စီးပွားအရေးအကျိုးအမြတ်များစွာ နှစ်စဥ်ရရှိနေသည်။ မြန်မာ့စီးပွားရေး ဦးပိုင်လီမိတက် (MEHL)နှင့် မြန်မာ့ စီးပွားရေးကော်ပိုရေးရှင်း(MEC)သည် နိုင်ငံတော်ပုန်ကန်မှုကို ထောက်ကူပြုပြီး၊ မလျော်သြဇာဖြင့် စစ်တပ်၏ လုပ်ပိုင်ခွင့်နှင့် အင်အားကို အသုံးပြုကာ စီးပွားရေးလုပ်ငန်းများစွာကို လုပ်ဆောင်လျက်ရှိကြောင်း စီးပွားရေးနှင့် ကူးသန်းရောင်းဝယ်ရေး ဝန်ကြီးဌာန၏ စီးပွားရေး ဆိုင်ရာထောက်လှမ်းရေး ညွှန်ကြားရေးမှူးရုံးမှ စိစစ်တွေ့ရှိ ရသည်။
၃။ ယင်းသို့ နိုင်ငံတော်ပုန်ကန်မှုနှင့် စစ်ရာဇဝတ်မှုများ ကျူးလွန်ထားသည့် အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်တပ်၏ စီးပွားရေး လုပ်ငန်းများဖြစ်သော မြန်မာ့စီးပွားရေးဦးပိုင်လီမိတက် (MEHL)နှင့် မြန်မာ့စီးပွားရေး ကော်ပိုရေးရှင်း(MEC) တို့နှင့် ဆက်စပ်စီးပွားရေးလုပ်ငန်းများအား အကြမ်းဖက် စီးပွားရေးလုပ်ငန်းများအဖြစ် သတ်မှတ်ပြီး အမည်ပျက်စာရင်းသွင်းကြောင်း ထုတ်ပြန် ကြေညာအပ်သည်။
၄။ သို့ဖြစ်ရာ မြန်မာ့စီးပွားရေးဦးပိုင်လီမိတက် (MEHL)နှင့် မြန်မာ့စီးပွားရေးကော်ပိုရေးရှင်း(MEC)တို့၏ ဆက်စပ်ထုတ်ကုန်ပစ္စည်းများ၊ ဝန်ဆောင်မှုများအား ဝယ်ယူသုံးစွဲခြင်း၊ ရောင်းဝယ်ဖောက်ကားခြင်း၊ သိုလှောင် ဖြန့်ဖြူးရောင်းချခြင်း အလျဉ်းမပြုလုပ်ကြရန်နှင့် အဆိုပါလုပ်ရပ်များကို စစ်ရာဇဝတ်မှုကျူးလွန်ရန် ထောက်ခံ အားပေးသော လုပ်ရပ်များအဖြစ် သတ်မှတ်အရေးယူသွားမည်ဖြစ်သည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Commerce , National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-11-10
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military
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"Over the eight months since the attempted military coup began, the situation in Myanmar
has continued to deteriorate. The National Unity Government (NUG) supports responsible
business investment that contributes to national development and respects the human rights
of Myanmar citizens. However, given the atrocities and human rights violations committed
by the illegitimate military junta on the people of Myanmar, the NUG also recognises that the
situation is such that it is now very difficult for foreign firms to operate responsibly in
Myanmar. In particular, NUG declared as a terrorist organization, to the SAC that pays no
respect to the rule of law, harms people and refuses to recognise the democratically elected
representatives of the Myanmar people. So foreign firms must not provide assistance,
support and communicate through their business activities to SAC.
To assist the international community and investors, the Ministry of Planning. Finance and
Investment (MoPFI) of the NUG published a 3 Pillar Framework Guiding Responsible
Investment and Continued Operations.1 This Framework recognises the contributions made
by investors to the economic and social development of Myanmar, and commits to protecting
investor interests in accordance with the rule of law. Under the Framework, the NUG calls on
business to
1. take every possible step to promote human rights
2. eliminate business interactions that support to the military junta's acts of terrorism
and sustain the military junta.
3. promote employee welfare and safety.
4. The NUG maintains that our first and foremost principle is to separate the military
from the economy. We want no military ownership or military-run businesses in the
Myanmar economy. For this reason, our call for sanctions focuses on military-owned
and military-linked businesses, entities, and individuals in order to starve the military
junta of income and to subject the military to full civilian control. The junta must not
be provided with access to funds that allow the generals to enrich themselves at the
expense of the Myanmar people and to continue their acts of terrorism against the
people of Myanmar.
Why sanctions and why is an NUG policy on sanctions needed?
The NUG would like the international community to know the NUG's stance on sanctions
against the military junta.
Currently, Myanmar finds itself facing multiple, simultaneous crises - an attempted coup and
a continuing people's revolution in response, ongoing atrocities including crimes against
humanity and possibly genocide, economic collapse, and a Covid-19 third wave that the
military junta has weaponised to eliminate political opponents. There is also a high possibility
of a fourth wave of Covid-19. Taken together, our country is on the brink of a humanitarian
catastrophe not seen in the region for the past half-century. The NUG would like to request ongoing aid from international donors and aid to be responsibly delivered bypassing the
military and its associates.
The NUG calls on the international community to implement stronger, tougher and
coordinated measures targeting the military's economic interests, in line with the findings of
the report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar. We are much encouraged by
sanctions so far imposed on the military-owned companies, individuals and other military
interests by some States but these measures need to be adopted by a larger number of
nations and strengthened to maximize their impact.
Beyond the military-owned conglomerates (Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and
Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC)) which have been sanctioned by some members of
the international community, there is a need to broaden sanctions to a wider number of
enterprises that have fallen under the control of the military junta since the coup. Only
broadening sanctions in this way will have a real impact on the military's income streams.
Sanctions should be imposed on state-owned enterprises that are now under military
control)2 At the foremost of the sanctions regime, as well as MEHL and MEC, should be the
Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), a Myanmar state-owned economic enterprise now
under military control. MOGE is the military's most important financial lifeline - one of a
handful of stable, predictable sources of finance used to procure weapons, surveillance
technologies and jet fuel. The military does not use the lucrative revenues from the oil and
gas sector for the benefit of the people of Myanmar, instead it uses the revenue to fund its
war against the civilian population. Therefore, it is extremely important and urgent to
sanction MOGE, a demand of the Myanmar people to the international community which is
yet to be answered.
In this instance, the NUG outlines below the sanctions measures where it calls for urgent
action:
The following business entities should be sanctioned:
• All state-owned enterprises now under the control of the junta, including MOGE;
• All businesses owned or controlled by or associated with the junta, especially MEHL
and MEC;
• All private businesses owned by individual members of the junta or by senior military
officers;
• All of the military's business partners and associates assisting the junta, including
private sector firms owned by individuals that are known 'cronies' of the military.
All payments, including taxes, dividends, profits and rents, that provide income to the junta
should be stopped.
Intent on targeting the military's economic interest, the sectors on which the NUG wants
the international community to impose sanctions are shown below in their priority order:
1. First priority: Oil and gas. This is because oil and gas companies provide a large and
steady stream of revenue to the junta.
2. Second priority: Mining. This is because the military has a large share of the mining
sector and profits directly flow to the military and their corrupt associates.
3. Third priority: Banking. Sanctioning international banks to prevent transactions
involving the Myanmar military will hurt the military's ability to buy weapons and also
to misappropriate the country's revenues for their personal gain.
What does the NUG want investors to do?
• Suspend all the business that are contributing to the military junta's acts of crimes
against humanity and cut off all the finance in any forms which are helping the military
acts of terrorism;
• Suspend all business dealings with all state-owned enterprises, including joint
ventures with state-owned enterprises;
• Suspend all business ventures with the military-owned or controlled holding
companies, including MEHL and MEC;
• Suspend all payments that provide income to the junta or to the military and instead
place owed funds into a third party account that cannot be accessed by the junta;
• Suspend all outstanding loans to Business Holdings Limited;
• Do not co-operate with the businesses owned by members of the junta or of the senior
military leadership or their families. Cancel the partnership if currently in business
with them;
• Do not co operate or do business with private sector firms owned by individuals that
are known 'cronies' of the military;
• Prohibit entry of members of the junta or of the senior military leadership and their
allies to other countries;
Responsible business operations and departure from Myanmar
In the event of businesses exiting Myanmar to relocate to another country and/or closing
down in Myanmar, the businesses must pay proper compensation to workers. However, the
NUG would like to remind that all business are Instructed NOT to pay any tax or provide any
income to the military regime of Myanmar. If it is not possible to avoid payment to the
military, then the only option is to suspend the business operation until democracy is fully
restored in Myanmar. In the case of exit from Myanmar and sale of an existing business, NUG
expects the investors to be vigilant and to conduct human rights due diligence, in line with
the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, to verify responsible business
conduct of the would-be buyer. It is vital that businesses are not sold to irresponsible buyers,
including companies implicated in human rights abuses or associated with the military junta,
as this would only exacerbate what is already a dire situation in Myanmar.
Overall, all businesses must conduct heightened human rights due diligence and be vigilant
to avoid working with a local business partner that is connected to the illegal military junta.
Under those circumstances, where there is a clear investment nexus, investors could be
culpable for indirectly providing support to the military junta that is violating the human rights
of the people of Myanmar. International investors should also carefully examine their own
business and human rights policies and, if their presence in Myanmar is in conflict with their
own principles and policies, they should consider responsible exit..."
Source/publisher:
National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-11-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Business and the Military, Sanctions, Sanctions - general
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"November 8, 2021, Myanmar: Peak accounting bodies CPA Australia and Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) have withdrawn their support from the upcoming ASEAN Federation of Accountants (AFA) annual conference, following a grassroots campaign. The Myanmar military junta’s auditor general, Dr Kan Zaw, is going to be a “Guest of Honour” at the conference. The conference is co-organised by the Myanmar Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA), a body affiliated with the Myanmar military junta.
In a joint response provided to Justice For Myanmar, CPA Australia and CA ANZ stated: “Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and CPA Australia recognize the importance of supporting the accounting profession in the ASEAN region and ASEAN Federation of Accountant’s (AFA) role in achieving this. However, we are concerned that the recent focus on our involvement in the upcoming ASEAN Federation of Accountants conference may distract from this important goal. So we have decided to withdraw our involvement in this event. We will continue to support AFA in other ways as it builds out the accounting capacity in the region and look forward to contributing into the future.”
On November 3, Justice For Myanmar released a statement demanding international accounting bodies withdraw from the conference unless the junta’s auditor general and MICPA are excluded. Justice For Myanmar further called on AFA to suspend MICPA’s membership. On November 5, Justice For Myanmar launched a change.org petition calling on CPA Australia and CA ANZ to help delegitimise the military junta. In less than four days, over 12,000 people had signed the petition.
Event partners for the AFA conference are the UK-based Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the US-based Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) and the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (JICPA). The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) is participating in the conference.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “We welcome the decision by CPA Australia and CA ANZ to withdraw their involvement in the AFA annual conference. This sends a strong message to ASEAN and its related organisations that it is untenable to recognise the terrorist Myanmar military junta as a government and to continue business as usual. The Myanmar military junta is trying to use the AFA platform to legitimise their illegal rule. We demand remaining international accounting bodies immediately withdraw from the AFA conference unless the Myanmar military junta and MICPA is excluded. The signature of more than 12,000 people calling for Australian accounting bodies to delegitimise the junta is a testimony to continuing grassroots resistance against the illegal military junta. Regional and international organisations must listen to the voices of the people of Myanmar.”..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-11-08
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Business and the Military, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
Justice For Myanmar reports that Mytel suffered major financial losses in the three months after the military coup due to a boycott campaign
Description:
"Telecommunications provider Mytel lost nearly US$25m in profits and millions of customers in the three months that followed the February 1 coup, activist group Justice for Myanmar (JFM) announced on Friday.
The losses were due to boycotts by both users and shops due to the company’s ties to the junta; Mytel is jointly owned by the Myanmar military and Viettel, under Vietnam’s defence ministry.
Boycotts launched after the coup by the public called for Mytel sim cards to be destroyed, a refusal to accept calls from those using Mytel mobile numbers, and a blacklisting of Mytel products by shops. Signboards and banners advertising Mytel were also removed and destroyed.
The company lost staff to mass resignations, too, according to JFM. Mytel’s sales representatives dropped by around 30 percent in six months from more than 54,400 in January to around 38,190 in July.
Citing leaked data, JFM said that some 80 percent of Mytel’s sales came from private mobile phone shops nationwide.
A mobile phone shop owner from Mawlamyaine in Mon State told Myanmar Now that they destroyed 700,000 kyat (nearly $390) worth of Mytel top-up cards and sim cards in the days immediately after the coup.
“We never used Mytel but we had to sell their products because we’re a phone shop,” the shop owner said. “We’re not going to sell them again. We don’t even accept phone calls from Mytel numbers.”
The owner said that some wholesale shops have continued to offer Mytel products, since the company has offered incentives—such as new phones, power banks, and even a new Hyundai car—if they meet certain sales benchmarks.
“Turning down their offers would mean great losses for the wholesale businesses. Therefore, I’m sure they won’t be boycotting them. Several retail stores are part of the movement, though,” he explained.
He said he hoped that other shops and users would participate in the boycott campaign.
“We can’t only think about our own interests at a time like this. The whole country is in peril and we can’t give them the money they will use to buy ammunition,” he said. “I am going to boycott them no matter how hard it gets for us or no matter what incentives they offer us.”
“I want everyone else to boycott them, too,” he added.
Another staff member from a Mytel shop in Mon State said that while users have widely stopped using the provider’s services in other states and regions, sales in Mon State had actually gone up around 30 percent since the coup.
He attributed this to the reliability of Mytel’s signal in rural areas where other operators, such as MPT, Ooredoo and Telenor, offer less stable connections.
Mytel has also been offering internet data packages and top-ups at half-price during the boycott campaign, the staff member added.
He estimated that use of Mytel’s wifi doubled in Mon State when the military council cut off mobile internet services on March 15, amid a crackdown on anti-coup protests.
“Mytel likely gained subscribers by selectively implementing the military’s own shutdown orders, maintaining internet access for users when other subscribers were in the dark,” JFM wrote, adding, “Mytel has deployed costly and illegal strategies that undercut the market, breach telecommunications regulations and hurt their own staff.”
JFM’s analysis of the Myanmar Investment Commission reveals that the junta is expected to earn more than $700m from Mytel over the next decade, according to the whistleblower site Distributed Denial of Secrets.
Mytel is 49 percent owned by Viettel, with the remaining shares owned by Star High—28 percent—under the junta-run Myanmar Economic Corporation, and 23 percent by Myanmar National Telecom Holding.
The company had not responded to JFM’s statement at the time of reporting.
Mytel telecoms towers have been targeted for attack nationwide by anti-junta resistance forces in recent months, using bombs and makeshift explosive devices at the sites. The military responded by laying landmines around towers, engineers on strike in accordance with the Civil Disobedience Movement told Myanmar Now.
Former military officer and Mytel executive Thein Aung was shot dead near his Yangon home on Thursday morning, in what some speculated was an inside job. Myanmar Now was unable to verify those claims..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-11-06
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
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Sub-title:
Coup and chaos have devastated the economy with GDP set to fall 18% and half the population plunged into poverty by 2022
Description:
"As Myanmar descends deeper and deeper into civil war, a conflict driven by nationwide resistance to the military’s disastrous democracy-suspending coup, the economy is taking the brunt of the chaotic collateral damage.
The February 1 coup sparked countrywide labor strikes, runs on banks and now rising warfare punctuated by bomb blasts in key urban areas including the commercial capital of Yangon.
That’s all put the economy in a tailspin while raising stability risks that have caused a growing number of foreign investors to either suspend or abandon their operations and outlays, many committed earlier on the belief Myanmar’s “last frontier” market was moving in a new hopeful democratic direction.
The opposite has happened since the coup. According to the World Bank’s Myanmar Economic Monitor, the economy contracted a whopping 18% in the year period spanning October 2020 to September 2021. The bank predicted the number of people living in poverty is likely to more than double by the beginning of 2022, compared to 2019 levels.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) predicted back in April, before the full impact of the coup had been registered, that the Covid-19 pandemic and political instability would by next year plunge almost half of Myanmar’s 54 million population into poverty, reversing gains made over the past 16 years.
The country’s dire economic straits is being reflected in the Myanmar currency, the kyat, which has lost more than 60% of its value since the coup. The official exchange rate on February 1 was 1,395 kyat to the US dollar but the money changers who are still operating are now asking for anywhere between 2,700 to 3,000 kyats per greenback.
The sharp depreciation is driving up prices on fuel and food, with gasoline prices nearly doubled and a 48-kilogram bag of rice up 40% since the coup.
Those economic pressures are raising concerns about the stability of the banking sector, which was already laden with non-performing loans before the coup and collapse of the economy. The regime has imposed hard limits on the amount account holders at banks may withdrawal daily, including at ATMs.
Aung Naing Oo, the junta’s minister for investment and foreign economic relations, blamed “foreign-backed sabotage” for the country’s rising economic plight in an October 19 interview with Reuters. However, the minister did not specify which foreign powers were allegedly sabotaging the economy, or how.
The minister also claimed that Myanmar’s foreign reserves stand at $6.04 billion; the World Bank estimated foreign reserves at $7.70 billion in March. But it is impossible to gauge the accuracy of those figures, nor do they indicate the junta’s true underlying financial position.
Myanmar’s recent history – notably the economic collapse that followed the military’s brutal 1988 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters — shows the Tatmadaw has a remarkable ability to stay in power in the face of economic and financial calamity.
Economists and academics familiar with the Tatmadaw’s ability to survive past crises note that much of Myanmar’s economy transacts in black and otherwise illicit markets, and thus revenues and profits do not appear in official statistics or are recorded by international economic monitoring outfits like the World Bank.
The Tatmadaw controls large swathes of the economy through its controlled Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited and the Myanmar Economic Corporation, massive conglomerates that are engaged in everything from banking, industrial parks, shipping, real estate, sugar factories, tobacco companies and supermarkets.
The US has imposed targeted sanctions on the conglomerates since the coup, though it’s not clear if and how those punitive measures have crimped the junta’s commercial interests.
The conglomerates are not the only economic resource keeping the regime afloat, far from it. The Tatmadaw is known to be deeply involved in the nation’s sprawling black economy, illicit gains that are often funneled to top generals and officers to maintain their loyalty and underwrite the political status quo.
According to the international environmental watchdog Global Witness, the jade trade in Myanmar’s far north is worth more than US$30 billion annually, representing nearly half of the country’s GDP.
“The industry buoys the weapons trade and enriches military officials, including the son of junta leader Min Aung Hlaing… Aung Pyae Son,” Global Witness stated in a June report, which added: “the generals enrich themselves and war continues to rage, the environment and the people who depend on it pay the ultimate price.”
Much of the jade trade is conducted off the books mainly Chinese buyers making bids and purchases on their mobile phones, far away from the mines in Myanmar’s north and market places on the Chinese border.
More insidiously, the illegal narcotics trade is also known to be worth billions of US dollars per year. While Myanmar’s production of opium and its derivative heroin has declined in recent decades due to reduced demand in China and Southeast Asia, methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs have replaced the old drugs.
Most of the narcotics are still being produced in Shan state and, to a lesser extent, Kachin, Kayah and Karen states, while the main manufacturers and dealers are local Tatmadaw-allied militia forces known as pyithusit.
It is impossible to quantify the total value of the narcotics trade, as it is conducted in an even more clandestine manner than the jade trade, but it is likewise believed to top $30 billion. The military is also believed to be involved in lucrative and largely unregulated exports of gold, primarily to China, the total value of which is unknown.
Despite all those hidden reserves and revenues, it remains to be seen how the current social, political and economic crisis will play out. The withdrawal of major foreign investors whose outlays were, directly and indirectly, enriching top generals and their subordinates is bound to have hit many where it hurts most.
In July, Norway’s telecom giant Telenor announced that it was selling its mobile operations to the M1 Group, a Lebanese investment firm, but the transaction was deemed invalid due to non-compliance with local regulations.
Telenor’s decision was apparently prompted by a demand that it had to install invasive technology that would allow the Tatmadaw to freely eavesdrop on user communications. Reports have indicated the firm has completely written off its $782 million investment in the country.
Other companies that have pulled out, or are in the process of doing so, include the French renewable energy firm Voltalia and Japanese beverage company Kirin, which has written off its $193 million investment in the country since the coup. Japan’s Suzuki announced shortly after the coup that it was suspending production at its two factories, which produced 13,300 vehicles in 2019, mainly for the local market.
Several global clothing suppliers have also ceased producing in Myanmar, among them Italy’s Benetton. Within days after the coup, Amata, Thailand’s largest industrial estate developer, suspended work on a $1 billion project on the outskirts of Yangon that was designed to kickstart more modern manufacturing in the country.
The junta may have enough resources, guns and money to survive in the months ahead. But that could change if or when the junta’s coffers start to run dry, meaning less trickle-down of resources to mid-ranking officers as well as the rank and file.
Morale inside the Tatmadaw is reported to be lower than ever, as soldiers are not only fighting against ethnic insurgents in frontier areas but also their own kin, the ethnic Bamars in the Myanmar heartland. Whether the confluence of battlefield losses and economic decline starts to crack military cohesion is yet to be seen.
But it’s by now plain for all to see, including inside the Tatmadaw, the spiraling economic disaster caused by a coup that could have been avoided by sharing rather than grabbing power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected democratic government..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2021-11-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Political History
Language:
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Description:
"November 3, 2021, Myanmar: Leading international and regional accounting bodies from Australia, Japan, New Zealand, UK, USA and across Southeast Asia are acting disgracefully by participating and sponsoring the upcoming ASEAN Federation of Accountants Conference, in which the junta’s auditor general is “Guest of Honour”.
This high-level accounting conference is co-organised by the Myanmar Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA), a semi-independent body that operates under the junta-controlled Myanmar Accountancy Council. The military junta is a systemically corrupt terrorist entity that continues to commit atrocity crimes, financed by the theft of public assets. Since February 1, the military junta has murdered 1,233 people, including children, and arrested over 9,600.
MICPA Chairperson Wan Tin is the current President of the ASEAN Federation of Accountants (AFA), an umbrella organisation of accounting bodies of ASEAN member states based in Jakarta. MICPA and AFA are co-organisers of AFA’s upcoming annual conference, where the Myanmar military junta’s auditor general, Dr Kan Zaw, is providing the welcome speech. Dr Kan Zaw was appointed auditor general following the military’s unlawful attempted coup. Dr Kan Zaw previously served as Minister for National Planning and Economic Development under the military’s proxy government led by the Union Solidarity and Development Party, prior to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy-led government.
The ASEAN Secretary General is following Dr Kan Zaw in giving the keynote speech, as ASEAN continues to give a free pass to the military junta, despite excluding war criminal Min Aung Hlaing from last week’s ASEAN Summit. ASEAN must exclude Myanmar military junta representatives and associates from all platforms and mechanisms.
The second keynote speech is being given by Alan Johnson of the US-based International Federation of Accountants.
AFA’s 22nd conference is facilitated by Ikatan Akuntan Indonesia (Indonesian Institute of Accountants) and supported by Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) and CPA Australia. Event partners are the UK-based Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the US-based Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) and the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (JICPA).
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “It is abhorrent that regional and international accounting bodies are reputation laundering for the Myanmar military junta through involvement in the 22nd AFA Conference. The junta is a terrorist organisation that has committed egregious international crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity. Dr Kan Zaw, the AFA’s “guest of honour”, is a key member of this international criminal cartel and, as auditor general, is directly implicated in the military’s theft of public assets. The junta’s auditor general must be rejected for his role in war crimes, crimes against humanity and grand corruption, not legitimised on the world stage by leading bodies of the accounting profession in the name of accountants across the world. These accounting bodies must act with integrity, not cosy up to international criminals. We demand the AFA immediately suspend MICPA’s membership and exclude Dr Kan Zaw from their conference. We demand international partners, sponsors and speakers boycott the AFA conference unless the Myanmar junta and MICPA is excluded. We stand in solidarity with the many Myanmar accountants who courageously resist the Myanmar military junta.”
MICPA was set up by the Myanmar military’s Ministry of Home Affairs in 2013. Under the 2015 Myanmar Accountancy Council Law, MICPA is required to support and report to the Myanmar Accountancy Council, chaired by Dr Kan Zaw..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-11-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military, Human Rights and international relations
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204.15 KB 156.8 KB
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"October 28, 2021: The Australian Centre for International Justice, Justice For Myanmar and Stop Adani cautiously welcome Adani Ports’ plans to divest from their Myanmar container port business, which is a testament to grassroots campaigns for corporate accountability in Myanmar and Australia, and the work of the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (FFM).
The groups say Adani Ports’ decision to withdraw from the project shows that the Adani Group can walk away from projects that are breaching human rights and have renewed calls for Adani to shelve its controversial Carmichael coal mine in Australia that is opposed by Traditional Owners, the Wangan and Jagalingou people. Traditional Owners have this week called for urgent intervention from the Queensland government to protect a significant cultural site that Adani is preparing to clear for its coal mine. Earlier this month Queensland Police refused Adani’s requests to remove Traditional Owners occupying Adani’s Carmichael mine site and acknowledged their cultural rights under the Queensland Human Rights Act.
The port project is a partnership with Myanmar military conglomerate Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) under a build-operate-transfer deal, which made Adani Ports complicit in ongoing atrocities. Adani Ports’ deal with MEC came after the Myanmar military’s 2017 campaign of genocide against the Rohingya and was identified by the FFM in their report on the Myanmar’s military’s economic interests, which called for all businesses to cut ties with the Myanmar military and its conglomerates.
In March 2021, ACIJ and JFM published Port of Complicity, a report into Adani Ports’ business in Myanmar that included new evidence of payments to the MEC and the company’s direct relationship with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, increasing pressure on investors. Adani Ports’ initial response was to deny the stark evidence of its business relationship with MEC.
In June, Adani Ports disclosed that they had paid US$90 million to MEC.
In August, ACIJ and JFM wrote to the US Treasury urging them to reject a request from Adani Ports for a general licence to exempt them from US sanctions on MEC.
Adani Ports’ business dealings in Myanmar and Australia have severely damaged the company’s reputation. In April, Adani Ports was removed from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index after human rights and environmental groups submitted a case for review due to Adani Ports’ links to the Myanmar port project and the Adani Carmichael coal project in Australia. Adani Ports set up the Bowen Rail Company who will soon begin hauling coal from Adani’s mine to Adani’s coal port on the Great Barrier Reef, the North Queensland Export Terminal, which is operated by Adani Ports. Investors continue to exclude the company citing environmental and human rights concerns.
Adani’s decision to divest comes amid increasing troop reinforcements and attacks against people in Sagaing and Magway Regions and Chin State in north-western Myanmar and as the UN reports fears of a spike in atrocities. As the military increases their campaign of terror, businesses and their investors must ensure that they are not complicit in financing the Myanmar military’s grave crimes.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says:
“Adani Ports’ plan to divest shows community and investor pressure works. Business with the terrorist Myanmar military does not pay. Adani Ports should never have gone into business with MEC, knowing they would be complicit in the Myanmar military’s atrocities. Adani Ports must now find a way to exit responsibly by mitigating the impact on their Myanmar workers and recovering what they can of their $90 million payment to MEC so they do not leave a windfall for the terrorist Myanmar military. Contractors on the port, including ITD Cementation India and Singapore firms HSL Constructor Pte Ltd and Asia Infrastructure Ptd Ltd must also ensure they cut all ties with the Myanmar military. Continuing work to develop the port creates an asset that the Myanmar military will use to further finance their campaign of terror.
While we recognise that Adani Ports has finally made the right call in Myanmar, Adani Group continues to do harm to the climate and communities elsewhere. We stand in solidarity with First Nations people, the Wangan & Jagalingou and all Australians in opposing Adani’s destructive Carmichael mine project.”
Rawan Arraf, Executive Director at the Australian Centre for International Justice said:
“We welcome the decision by Adani Ports to disengage from their deeply flawed investment in Myanmar. It was untenable for Adani Ports to maintain business with a sanctioned entity and after sustained pressure from the public and investors. It is a testament to the coordinated work of activists in Myanmar who were joined by campaigners in Australia and abroad to expose its dealings in Myanmar. For years, Adani Ports ignored the clear and direct public warnings before and after it entered into business in Myanmar.
It is positive that Adani Ports has shown an apparent willingness to engage in human rights due diligence obligations by divesting from Myanmar. However, there are massive failings connected to the Adani Group’s operations in India and Carmichael that it must reconcile. The impacts on the human rights of the Traditional Owners, the Wangan & Jagalingou are severe, they face destruction of their sacred places and cultural heritage. Adani Group companies must respect the rights of the Wangan & Jagalingou people and shelve its destructive Carmichael coal mine.”
Pablo Brait, Campaigner, Market Forces said:
“Adani finally announcing that it will walk away from its business with the Myanmar military shows that with enough pressure it can be convinced to do the right thing. The next project it needs to walk away from is the climate-wrecking Carmichael thermal coal mine. Building a new coal mine at a time when coal use needs to be urgently phased out sabotages efforts to limit global warming.”..."
Source/publisher:
Australian Centre for International Justice, Justice For Myanmar, Market Forces and Stop Adani
Date of publication:
2021-10-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-28
Grouping:
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Title: Singapore authorities must act urgently to cut business links with terrorist Myanmar military
Description:
"Oct. 25, 2021, Myanmar: As the military prepares to launch catastrophic clearance operations in north-western and upper Myanmar as part of the “Anawrahta” campaign, Singaporean radar engineer Lee Kar Heng is set to speak at the military’s annual Conference on Science and Technology Development. The conference takes place in Pyin Oo Lwin from October 26-27.
Lee Kar Heng is the sole proprietor of TBSS Group, a Singapore company that has provided equipment, training and support for the Myanmar military to development its radar capabilities, in partnership with Myanmar military broker Life and Challenge Company Limited. TBSS Group has involved its international partners in supplying equipment and training to the Myanmar military, including Keysight Technologies (USA), SkyRadar (Luxembourg/Germany), Dspnor (Norway) and RFBeam (Switzerland).
Recent engagement with US State Department Counselor Derek Chollet shows Singapore is considering using its financial leverage over the illegal military junta. Justice For Myanmar calls for concrete action now to stop the trade in arms, related materiel, training and support.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “It is deplorable that Singapore businesses are aiding the Myanmar military, which is a terrorist entity. Singaporean authorities should take immediate steps to end the use of their territory as the Myanmar military’s international business hub. This criminal military has been terrorising the people of Myanmar as they have continued to courageously resist the military's bloody and illegitimate coup attempt for nearly 9 months in the Spring Revolution. In response, the Myanmar military is attacking the people, committing inhumane acts, including deliberate killings, torture and rape. These crimes amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes. As of October 23, 1,196 people have been murdered, including children, and over 9,000 arrested. This is the backdrop in which Lee Kar Heng is speaking on radars and electronic warfare, continuing to pursue his business with war criminals. TBSS Group has also implicated businesses in Europe and the US, which have provided equipment and training. We demand an investigation into whether this training and supply of technology to Myanmar has breached EU or US arms controls. Myanmar arms dealers including Life and Challenge must be designated for targeted sanctions. The Myanmar military is about to commit a new wave of atrocity crimes against people of Chin State and Magway and Sagaing Regions. This yet again shows the urgency of a global arms embargo to end the international flow of arms to Myanmar military terrorists"..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-10-25
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Business and the Military, Economic activities of the Myanmar Military, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Description:
"Since Myanmar gained its independence on 4 January 1948, it has passed through several highly
distinct phases of development: decades of isolation, at fi rst self-imposed and later the result of sanctions, then the introduction of a market economy in the late 1980s, with various watershed moments
in the country’s politics, ushering in a period of transition which has recently gathered pace. Th is has
been accompanied by radical political and economic changes, mainly at the national level but also in
the international context as the country has opened up to the outside world. In Myanmar itself, at the
level of the Union Territory of Nay Pyi Taw, the 14 states and regions and the 330 townships, dramatic changes are taking place: the massive expansion of infrastructure, the intensive development
of formerly peripheral areas of the country, much of which has been driven by resource extraction,
and stronger links with neighbouring countries, all of which are focusing interest on the nature and
pace of, and potential for, development in individual regions. In this setting, the purpose of this
‘Socio-Economic Atlas of Myanmar’ is to provide, for the fi rst time, a geographical overview and
analysis of the country’s development progress and the spatial characteristics and disparities in its
socio-economic transition using maps and texts.
Th e idea for the Atlas evolved over the last 21 years, since February 1996, as a result of the increasingly intensive cooperation between the Departments of Geography at the University of Yangon,
Myanmar, and the University of Cologne, Germany. Th e signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Universities on 23 August 2003 – highly unusual at the time – led to even more
intensive cooperation in the fi elds of research and teaching. In 2011, the Centre of Excellence (CoE)
for Urban and Regional Development was established as a partnership between the University of
Yangon and the University of Cologne. Following various joint workshops between Germany and
Myanmar, a partnership was also established with the then Department of Human Settlement and
Housing Development (DHSHD), now the Department for Urban and Housing Development
(DUHD) at the Ministry of Construction. Here too, many years of positive and increasingly intensive cooperation culminated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on 13 June 2012 and
the founding of the Myanmar German Research Centre for Urban and Regional Development
(MGRC). Th e results of a joint research project – ‘Th e 81+ urban network system of Myanmar’ – were
also incorporated into the Socio-Economic Atlas.
Since 2011, an intensive partnership has also developed with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, which is a German federal enterprise and supports the German Government in international cooperation for sustainable development via technical advice and
capacity building. GIZ operates in more than 130 countries and employs approximately 17,000 staff
worldwide. On behalf of the Federal German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
(BMZ), GIZ resumed its activities in Myanmar in 2012 in the area of sustainable economic development. Th e GIZ Private Sector Development Project (PSD) in Myanmar aims to strengthen capacities
for sustainable private sector development with the focus on improved framework conditions for
small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Myanmar.
All parts of this atlas, from the single maps to the texts, have been created and written with the utmost diligence and care. However, the maps in particular are based on information and statistical
data which sometimes may contain errors and uncertainties. Th ey refl ect and visualise the current
state of knowledge. Any errors and shortcomings in data other than that provided to us by other institutions remain our own. In order to contribute to the further improvement of knowledge about
the country and the current socio-economic transformation processes, we encourage the readers of
the Atlas to notify and discuss with us any errors which may come to their attention.
Th is atlas could not have been produced without the trustful and fruitful collaboration and constant
support of countless dedicated individuals in numerous institutions in Myanmar and Germany. Th e
authors are indebted to their many colleagues, department heads, offi cials, staff members and other
individuals who, with great kindness and patience, provided information, data and advice, shared
knowledge, experience and passion, and listened and encouraged over many years and in many areas
of Myanmar.
First and foremost, we would like to express our profound thanks to the Ministry of Construction,
particularly the Department of Urban and Housing Development, and the University of Yangon
under the Ministry of Education for their trust, confi dence and invaluable support over many years
in which the Atlas gained shape.
At the Ministry of Construction, H. E. the Minister of Construction, U Win Khaing, H. E. the former Minister of Construction, U Kyaw Lwin, Permanent Secretary U Kyaw Linn, Director General
U Min Htein, former Deputy Director General U Win Myint and former Director U Win Zaw provided invaluable support for which we are sincerely grateful. Several staff members of the Ministry
of Construction are co-authors of the Atlas, others contributed indirectly.
In the Ministry of Education, we are deeply grateful to H. E. the Minister of Education, Professor Dr
Myo Th ein Gyi, H. E. the former Minister of Education, Professor Dr Khin San Yee, H. E. Chairman
of the National Education Policy Commission Professor Dr Myo Myint, H. E. and the former Vice
Minister of Science and Technology, Professor Dr Ba Shwe. We would like to thank the Rector of the
University of Yangon, Professor Dr Pho Kaung, his predecessors Professor Dr Aung Th u, Professor
Dr Tin Tun and Professor Dr Soe Yin, and Pro-Rectors Professor Dr Kyaw Naing and Professor Dr
Omar Kyaw for their excellent personal support and strong encouragement. Several heads of the
Department of Geography at the University of Yangon have done much to strengthen the growing
collaboration since 1996. Th e members of the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Urban and Regional
Development at the University of Yangon, established in 2011 as research institution and think tank,
were very supportive in respect to the generation of regional knowledge. Several members of various
universities in Myanmar under the Ministry of Education are co-authors of this atlas, others contributed indirectly.
We are sincerely grateful to the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH for the
excellent collaboration and their generous fi nancial support for parts of the cartographic work and the
publication of this atlas. Our thanks are also due to Irina Scheff mann, Cho Myat Nwe Tun and
Dominik Weidert for the trustful cooperation and creative exchange over recent years. We also thank
GIZ’s institutional partners, the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA),
especially Director General U Aung Naing Oo, Deputy Director General U San Myint, Director Dr
Marlar Myo Nyunt, Assistant Director Daw Aye Aye and Deputy Staff Offi cer Daw Yin Yin Mar. We are most grateful to numerous ministries and departments which contributed valuable information and data for the generation of the maps, namely the former Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Ministry
of Cooperatives, Ministry of Electric Power, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Home Aff airs, Ministry of
Hotels and Tourism, Ministry of Immigration and Population, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of
Information, Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries
and Rural Development, Ministry of Mines, Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development, Ministry of Rail Transportation, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Social Welfare and Ministry of Transport. Our sincere thanks also go to the Nay Pyi Taw City Development
Committee, Yangon City Development Committee and Mandalay City Development Committee,
the Myanmar Computer Federation and Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association (MGMA).
Th e German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) supported a two-year Visiting Professorship
(2012-2014) and several short-term stays at the University of Yangon. Th e German Research Foundation generously supported the research project ‘Th e urban system of Myanmar in the transformation
process’ (KR 1764/19-1) and provided a substitute professorship grant (2012-2014; KR 1764/23-1).
Sincere thanks go to the Rectorate, the Faculty of Science and the Institute of Geography of the University of Cologne for their support.
Sincere thanks are due to all our co-authors and contributors to the atlas, namely YCDC Secretary
Daw Hlaing Maw Oo, Pro-Rector Professor Dr Aung Kyaw, Pro-Rector (retir.) Professor Dr Win
Maung, Deputy Director General Professor Dr Nay Win Oo, Deputy Director General U Myint Naing, Director Dr Th an Th an Th we, Professor Dr Htun Ko, Professor Dr Khin Khin Han, Professor Dr
Nilar Aung, Associate Professor Dr Khin Khin Soe, Associate Professor Dr Saw Yu May, Associate
Professor Dr Zin Nwe Myint and Dr Zin Mar Th an, for their commitment to the book’s joint endeavour, namely to provide an up-to-date overview of a rapidly evolving development process.
We owe special thanks to Stefanie Naumann for the excellent layout and Christopher Hay, Ulli Huber, Dr Edel Sheridan-Quantz and Katharine Th omas for the thorough translation and English correction.
Finally, we would like to thank our families and friends in Myanmar and Germany for sharing their
love and passion and for strengthening the bridge between our cultures.
Th is book is dedicated to our teacher, friend and sister Sayama Gyi Professor Dr Mi Mi Kyi, without
whom none of this would have been possible..."
Source/publisher:
Franz Steiner Verlag
Date of publication:
2017-04-00
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Studies on the Burmese economy by individual Burmese economists, Economic History, Laws and regulations governing investment, Business and the Military
Language:
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pdf
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27.31 MB (190 Pages) - Original version
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"October 20, 2021
A legal memorandum has found that international law and guidance places due diligence obligations on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), and possible liability on the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Singapore Government, in relation to companies doing business with the Myanmar military.
The legal memo authored by Felicity Gerry QC, counsel on the list at the International Criminal Court and at the Bar of England and Wales and Victoria, Australia, and Daye Gang, also of the Victorian Bar in Australia, focussed on the listing of Emerging Towns & Cities Singapore (ETC), the developer of the Golden City complex, under a build-operate-transfer agreement with the Myanmar Army’s Quartermaster General’s Office (QMGO). The memo was written at the request of the Australian Centre for International Justice and Justice For Myanmar.
Read the Legal Memo
International Legal Issues Arising for the Singapore Stock Exchange from its Listing of the Singapore-domiciled Emerging Towns & Cities Singapore Ltd given its Financial Relationship with the Quartermaster General’s Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar army
While the memorandum should be read in full, we highlight some key quotes from the legal memorandum on International Legal Issues Arising for the Singapore Stock Exchange from its Listing of the Singapore-domiciled Emerging Towns & Cities Singapore Ltd given its Financial Relationship with the Quartermaster General’s Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar army.
Authored by Felicity Gerry QC and Daye Gang
Insufficiency of ETC’s independent reviews (para 34)
“Checks required are wide ranging but questions of broader compliance with international law do not appear to have been part of Nexia’s review and it is not certain whether the review by Kelvin Chia Partnership will consider international laws to be ‘applicable laws’. To the extent that SGX’s financial relationships with ETC, and with QMGO by extension, arise under international law, they may ultimately not be raised with SGX. This appears to be inconsistent with the expectations of SGX in its own guidance and the expectations of potential sponsors of listed entities.”
Due diligence in relation to SGX listings (para 48)
“We have focused on state responsibility for business and human rights, and risk-taking by SGX in its approval of listing arrangements, which in turn could affect its status on international markets.”
Singapore’s obligations under Principle 7 of the UN Guiding Principles (para 53)
“Singapore may not have fulfilled its obligations under Principle 7 of denying access to public support and services for a business enterprise involved in human rights violations. Given the ongoing relationship between ETC and the Myanmar military and, in light of the FFMM’s findings, it is at least arguable that Singapore can do more to comply with the Guiding Principles to ensure that it is not complicit in human rights abuses.”
SGX and ETC corporate responsibility obligations under the UN Guiding Principles (para 57; 62)
“Thus, to comply with this principle, ETC and SGX should avoid causing or contributing to adverse human rights impacts through their own activities, or activities linked to their business relationship, regardless of the multiple links in the supply chain of their funding for Golden City.”
“If there is insufficient due diligence in a supply chain, then investment entities put themselves at risk of both criminal law and commercial liability, ranging from corruption to complicity.”
Singapore and the OECD Guidelines (para 73)
“While Singapore is not an OECD member, SGX, RHT, and ETC should all be aware of these types of risks: due diligence is a routine practice among financial institutions, and adding effective human rights due diligence to those practices is a prudent fiscal decision in the face of increased scrutiny, particularly where companies are becoming more transparent about their due diligence policies and practices.”
Due diligence risks under the OECD Guidelines (para 78; 79)
“It is not clear whether ETC has conducted an impact assessment pursuant to the higher standard required by the Guiding Principles, nor whether ETC has grievance mechanisms in place to address any actual adverse impacts on human rights resulting from their investments.”
“Due diligence failures by ETC create risk which, in turn, should be of concern to SGX, as a corporation and arguably a state organ, and to the Singapore Government. Such failures are investment risks, as well as risks of being connected to human rights violations. It is not just about rebuffing external pressures.”
Legal risks related to the Myanmar-Singapore Bilateral Investment Treaty (para 85)
“Where MEC is already subject to sanctions and further financial penalties may apply in the future, the entry into force of a BIT is likely to further complicate matters as the parties will be able to seek recourse in the Investor Grievance Mechanism or arbitration, rather than litigation in a domestic court. Companies are already considering legal action arising from the consequences of the coup and the pandemic. We add this material to remind those concerned that avoiding the complications of litigation or arbitration are desirable from a reputation and costs management perspective but also to observe that the risk of future complications flowing from the eventual entry into force of the BIT are relevant at the current time given that Golden City is a long term investment with a lease back arrangement running for some decades. It follows that SGX is likely to want to carefully review the financial arrangements around Golden City, with a view to minimising the risk of future as well as present complications.”
Commercial liability related to contracts (para 87)
“It is not necessarily enough to say that payments on a contract were conducted with due diligence. By trading with a military organisation that the FFMM found had engaged in human rights abuses, the circumstances of a construction project within Myanmar ought to be the subject of very close oversight to be satisfied that investment in it does not carry the risk of fiscal imprudence through the execution and life of the project.”
Commercial liability under torts-based regimes (para 93; 95)
“The overarching point for multinational entities is that an examination of compliance with domestic regulations will not absolve those in the chain of control of corporate acts or omissions which lead to harm, even in other countries. In principle at least, the questions for Singaporean entities can be summarised as follows:
(a) Could it be argued that there are victims of human rights abuses that give rise to a tort- based claim by the actions of the Myanmar military?
(b) What are the connecting factors as between the Myanmar military within Myanmar and the entities within Singapore?
(c) Are there connecting factors as between the entities in Singapore and UK entities?
(d) Would the victims suffer a lack of substantial justice in Myanmar?”
“In terms of global governance by networks of connected businesses facing a compliance mesh in a range of jurisdictions, the approach of the UK and US Supreme Courts remain highly relevant to the assessment of corporate risk.”
Potential criminal liability (para 99-101)
“Laws on complicity can be wide enough so investigations can engage in the assessment of individual conduct, not only corporate conduct. This can encompass international or domestic criminal liability and liability in jurisdictions with extra-territorial or universal jurisdiction. Connection to war crimes, terrorism, organised crime or international bribery and corruption through financial institutions may be relevant crimes for investigation.”
“MAS has already fined Asiaciti Trust Singapore S$1.1million for serious breaches of its anti- money-laundering and counter-terrorism finance requirements between 2007 and 2018. It is likely to be watching SGX’s actions carefully, given that SGX exercises regulatory responsibilities delegated by MAS.”
“It is unclear whether these risks have been considered by SGX. It is also not clear if the enquiries by or into ETC have considered the wide scope of criminal law and what risks might arise for both corporate and individual liability.”
International sanctions risk (para 110; 112-113)
“Golden City lease payments are capable of being caught by international sanctions, attracting further unwanted attention about the probity and origins of funds. Where sanctions impose reporting obligations, confidential information may be released to third parties, potentially without the knowledge or consent of the business. This is a particular concern in the case of Singapore, which has since 1988 found Myanmar an attractive target for foreign investment. ETC and its chain of subsidiaries are theoretically a subject for sanction. What is publicly known about its lease payments to the QMGO has already been concerning enough for ETC to engage its own independent reviewers. There are likely to be more financial relationships under investigation that would, if substantiated and passed on to interested parties, place ETC at greater risk of being captured by sanctions.”
“SGX and RTE, as fundraiser and sponsor respectively for ETC, face a need to assess risk of sanctions-avoidant depression in funding for projects with companies known to be affiliated with the Myanmar military. Depending on the amount of funds it raises across its whole offering, Mainboard and Catalist alike, it is also theoretically a subject of sanction for having provided financial support for MEC.”
“On both fronts, it is desirable that SGX assess the risk of being sanctioned itself, or its risks arising from listing companies at risk of sanction.”
Implications for SGX and the Singapore government under the International Law Commission Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (para 118)
“Singapore in turn is faced with a correlated obligation to investigate, prevent and cease transactions that amount to wrongful acts. Accompanying this is also possible obligations to pay reparations for harm caused by funding the QMGO. In both instances, there may be likelihood that SGX, as the overseer of these actions, is condemned or further regulated as a result. The failure to further investigate or prevent ETC’s transactions may cause the MAS to shift to a stance of needing greater oversight over SGX than what SGX Reg-Co provides, and may even impact the discretion SGX have over its listing and oversight policies.”
Obligations under the Convention of the Rights of the Child (para 121-123)
“Singapore, therefore, has an obligation to ensure that SGX does not facilitate or aid the infringement of children’s rights. If Singapore fails to meet this obligation it is in breach of the Convention and may need to take necessary recourse to prevent this. This may include the imposition of penalties upon SGX for failing to meet human rights standards in allowing ETC to operate on the market.”
“Where ETC are engaging in commercial transactions which fund or otherwise support the Myanmar military – they are at risk of being complicit in the ongoing harm perpetuated against children within this conflict.”
“International law, through the Convention, recognises that every child has the right to life, and that states will do what is necessary to the extent possible to ensure their survival. The obligation on Singapore also extends to violations which occur in foreign territory, as the Convention does not limit jurisdiction. As stated by the Committee on the Rights of Child, states “must ensure that all business enterprises, including transnational corporations operating within their borders, are adequately regulated within a legal and institutional framework that ensures that they do not adversely impact on the rights of the child and/or aid and abet violations in foreign jurisdictions”. Therefore, where Singapore has the ability to regulate a transnational corporation, as it does in this instance with MAS regulating SGX and ETC, the state has the obligation to ensure that ETC does not engage in activities which aid breaches of Convention rights.”
Bribery and corruption (para 126)
“Bribery may be carefully disguised through a series of opaque transactions, such as in the recent conviction of Petrofac Limited and its former Head of Sales, and may therefore not have been detected among transactions audited for an independent review commissioned by ETC. It is therefore worth exploring how investigative findings of bribery may be addressed in the context of SGX’s financing of lease payments to the QMGO.”
Obligations under international humanitarian law (para 131)
“If there are findings of breach and the QMGO are financially implicated in those breaches, companies in financial relationships with the QMGO will have enabled them by financing breaches of international humanitarian law. General Assembly Resolution 60/147 of 16 December 2005 on “Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law” provides guidance that States should enable domestic judgments for reparation against entities liable for harm suffered because of gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law. Any such breach in which the QMGO is implicated attracts remedies that would be easily pursued and enforced in a situation such as the one in which SGX finds itself now: in a highly mature and competent jurisdiction with independent judicial authority, where the MAS is a regulator with teeth where necessary, and Singapore and its companies have been the largest foreign investor in Myanmar since 1988. SGX runs the real risk of being financially liable for reparations in a future where the Myanmar military and its financial organs, such as the QMGO and MEC, may be found responsible for grave breaches of international human rights or humanitarian law.”
Conclusion (para 133-135)
“Due diligence in a global marketplace is an onerous and important exercise that requires attention to a range of legal problems and risks and financial markets are at the core of ensuring corporate integrity and responsibility for human rights abuses.”
“There are remedies and risks which are very real for Singapore as a state, SGX as a holding company, global financial actor, and potential state organ, and ETC as a listed investment entity, together with its sponsor.”
“While the issues to be considered are broad and wide-ranging, in essence the global marketplace has developed to a stage where financial entities are expected to engage in the wider issues of corporate responsibility we have outlined.”..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-10-20
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Humanitarian Law (reports of violations in Burma), Business and the Military, Human Rights and international relations, Sanctions
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Format :
pdf
Size:
873.72 KB
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"October 20, 2021: A legal memorandum from leading international barrister Felicity Gerry QC found that international law and guidance places due diligence obligations on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), and possible liability on the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Singapore Government, in relation to companies doing business with the Myanmar military.
The legal memo found that Singapore has an international legal obligation “to investigate, prevent and cease transactions that amount to wrongful acts”, which are applicable to business transactions with the Myanmar military and its business interests.
Legal remedies would be “easily pursued and enforced” against SGX if the Myanmar military’s financial organs are found to be in breach of international laws and/or compliance regulations including international human rights and humanitarian law.
The legal memo authored by Felicity Gerry QC, counsel on the list at the International Criminal Court and at the Bar of England and Wales and Victoria, Australia, and Daye Gang, also of the Victorian Bar in Australia, focussed on the listing of Emerging Towns & Cities Singapore (ETC), the developer of the Golden City complex, under a build-operate-transfer agreement with the Myanmar Army’s Quartermaster General’s Office (QMGO). The memo was written at the request of the Australian Centre for International Justice and Justice For Myanmar.
In February, SGX initiated regulatory actions against ETC after Justice For Myanmar published an investigation into payments to the Myanmar army, implicating funds raised on the SGX. ETC has commissioned two independent reviews: one by Nexia TS Advisory into contractual payments to the QMGO and fundraising; and another by Kelvin Chia Partnership into the applicability of sanctions and compliance with “applicable laws”.
However, the legal memorandum finds these reviews may not address international law risks in light of the 2019 UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (FFMM) report into the Myanmar military’s economic interests, and ongoing atrocity crimes.
The legal memo also raised the possibility of reputational and sanctions risks for the SGX, its regulator the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and by extension, the Singapore Government, should it not prevent continued payments from ETC to the Myanmar army.
Yadanar Maung, Justice For Myanmar spokesperson:
“This legal memorandum raises urgent questions for SGX and the Singapore government. As the memo points out, Singapore has been the largest foreign investor in Myanmar. ETC is just one of many Singapore companies that have commercial ties to the Myanmar military junta and its conglomerates. The memo shows that there could be serious legal consequences for Singapore authorities if they continue to turn a blind eye to the complicity of Singapore companies in the Myanmar military’s atrocity crimes. We welcome SGX’s regulatory actions against ETC and appeal to SGX and MAS to stop ETC’s payments to the Myanmar army. The Singapore government must end the use of its territory as a base for business with the criminal Myanmar military.”
Rawan Arraf, Executive Director at the Australian Centre for International Justice:
“This wide-ranging legal memorandum demonstrates the necessity for the Singapore Exchange and Singaporean authorities to seriously examine their obligations under international law, to include global governance compliance. As part of their examination of the issues, consideration must be made to providing effective redress to those that may have been harmed by business with the Myanmar military. More broadly, businesses operating in Myanmar need to undertake their due-diligence obligations broadly and seriously, and to ensure they promptly end all commercial ties with the Myanmar military and its business interests.”
According to the memo, potential international law issues arising from ETC’s continued listing on the SGX include:
● state and corporate responsibility under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights;
● due diligence risks associated with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises;
● supply chains and modern slavery;
● state responsibility for internationally wrongful acts;
● implications arising out of the Singapore-Myanmar bilateral investment treaty;
● commercial liability risks in relation to genocide, construction contracts, torts and land disputes;
● criminal liability risks in relation to atrocities, the crime of genocide, human trafficking, terrorist financing and money laundering;
● international sanctions risks;
● risks arising out of applying bribery, corruption legal frameworks
● potential risks of breaches of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, of which Singapore is a signatory; and
● breaches of international humanitarian law.
The legal memo was published today by ACIJ and Justice For Myanmar, and has been sent to Singapore Exchange Limited, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Emerging Towns and Cities Singapore Limited and ETC’s sponsor, RHT Capital Pte. Ltd..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-10-20
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
275.56 KB
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"October 18, 2021, Myanmar: A leaked November 2020 Myanmar army procurement document shows attempts to procure parts for tactical radios from Barrett Communications, an Australian defence firm that has been selling equipment to Myanmar for almost twenty years.
The army’s request specifies handsets, battery packs, display modules, internal modems, antenna tuning units and power amplifier interfaces for Barrett’s PRC-2090 manpack. According to the Barrett Communications website, a feature of the unit is frequency hopping, which is a prohibited export under Australia’s sanctions regime on Myanmar. The company told Justice For Myanmar that frequency hopping is not a standard item on the PRC-2090.
Barrett Communications disclosed to Justice For Myanmar that their last sale to Myanmar was in 2017, with Australian government authorisation. The company would not provide further details, stating that "all business transactions are commercial in confidence." 2017 is the year that the military launched a campaign of genocide against the Rohingya.
A spokesperson for Barrett Communications acknowledged that PRC-2090 parts could have been sold to the Myanmar military by third party sellers without authorisation from Barrett Communications.
Justice For Myanmar found that Barrett radios are also deployed in military airports and airports with heavy military traffic. In addition to Barrett equipment, Myanmar has also procured radios from Codan Limited for use in airports and the army may have received ultra-long range telemetry radio modems from RFDesign Pty Ltd. Codan and RFDesign are also Australian companies.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “We are appalled that the Myanmar military is using Australian technology for troop communications and air force operations. It has been known for over a decade that Barrett Communications provides advanced technology to the Myanmar military, an organisation that has committed genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity against the people of Myanmar for decades with total impunity. Why then is the Australian government allowing this equipment to be sold to this terrorist organisation, which is waging a war against the Myanmar people? We want to know if the Australian government is complicit by approving these exports. If Barrett Communications is breaching Australia’s export controls, then they must be held accountable by law. It is appalling that successive Australian governments have courted the military and are now giving the junta a free pass, not even sanctioning coup leader and war criminal Min Aung Hlaing. Australia needs to immediately strengthen and reinforce its arms control regime to ensure that no more equipment is transferred to the Myanmar junta.”
Codan Ltd and RFDesign did not respond to a request from Justice For Myanmar for an explanation of their business with Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-10-18
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
202.37 KB 109.55 KB
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Description:
"Myanmar’s farmers are making losses as the prices of fertilizers and other agricultural inputs have doubled during the monsoon season amid ongoing turmoil under military rule.
A sack of fertilizer has jumped from 25,000 kyats (US$13) to 70,000 kyats and it costs more than 60,000 kyats to harvest an acre (0.4 hectares) as fuel prices have significantly increased, said a farmer from Kayan Township in Yangon Region, who did not want to be named.
Price hikes have forced many paddy farmers to use less fertilizer, which will directly affect the harvest, he said.
“Previously, we could buy goods on credit. But sellers can’t give credit now so we can’t fertilize our farms,” he said.
The military regime on Wednesday fixed a minimum or floor price for rice at 540,000 kyats for 100 baskets of paddy (the regime set one basket at 21kg, however on the market, it is around 22-23kg) for monsoon paddy this year and hot-season paddy next year.
A regime statement said the market can exceed the floor price but not fall below it.
Monsoon paddy harvest is just beginning and prices will depend on the merchants. Only when the rice fetches 700,000 kyats per 100 baskets at market can they have a profit of 70,000 kyats to 100,000 kyats, said farmers.
It costs more than 400,000 kyats per acre with an estimated harvest of 70 baskets, according to farmers. And the yield will decline with the limited use of fertilizer.
Rice prices are 500,000-600,000 kyats per 100 baskets in Myanmar. Current prices are only covering most farmers’ costs. Farmers in remote locations are making losses after earning only around 500,000 kyats after transport costs are paid to merchants.
If price hikes continue, it will be difficult for farmers to grow paddy in the coming hot season when there will be no rain and farmers rely on wells and irrigation, they said.
“Fuel prices have increased so the harvest may decline in farms that have to pump from wells in the hot season,” an Ayeyarwady Region farmer told The Irrawaddy.
Even in Ayeyarwady Region, farmers in Zalun, Danubyu, Kyonpyaw, Pantanaw and other townships have to use wells during the hot season, meaning the area being cultivated might decline, he said.
“Given the fertilizer and other prices, it will be hard for farmers to grow hot-season paddy,” said the Kayan Township farmer.
While the minimum price was set at 520,000 kyats per 100 baskets of paddy last year, fixing the price at 540,000 kyats this year will not help farmers, considering the current situation. Given the fixed prices, farmers who borrowed money from lenders or pawned their belongings to grow paddy will be forced to abandon their livelihoods, said Pakokku University Students Union..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-10-07
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military, Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Rice
Language:
more
Description:
"Burma Campaign UK today welcomed a call by the European Parliament for more European Union (EU) sanctions on state owned banks, gas revenue, and the State Administrative Council, a body set up by the military after the coup.
The European Parliament passed a Resolution on 7th October calling for further action by the EU.
It is now almost four months since the last round of EU sanctions targeting members of the military and revenue going to the military. During this time the military has stepped up repression of those opposing the coup, with more than 7,000 political prisoners in detention and more than 1,100 people killed. At least quarter of a million people have been displaced as a result of fighter jets bombing civilian areas and attacks by the Burmese Army.
“The EU had appeared to be on the right track with regular rounds of sanctions targeting revenue to the military, but now progress has stalled,” said Mark Farmaner. “The delay in new EU sanctions not only means more money for the military, but also sends the wrong signal to the military, that the EU won’t apply more pressure.”
Under the previous military dictatorship sanctions were not applied strategically, but rather as a kind of slap on the wrist every few years in response to atrocities. It had appeared that the European Union and others were applying a more strategic approach this time, with a more systematic effort to identify sources of revenue to the military and cut them off, and doing so on a continuous basis. This is essential in order to let the military and its business allies know that the economic noose will keep tightening around their neck, there will be no let-up in pressure.
However, in recent months only the British government has continued to implement new sanctions, with the USA also failing to take further action. With the Biden administration failing to act, a new Burma sanctions bill has been introduced in Congress.
There have been no new sanctions by any country targeting gas revenues, which are one of the single biggest sources of foreign currency for the military. Nor have there been any sanctions targeting the supply of aviation fuel to the military, despite bombings and flyovers by military jets and drones resulting in tens of thousands of people being displaced and creating a humanitarian crisis.
New sanctions have an important short term financial and political impact, but in addition there is a vital long term cumulative impact of sanctions which will be effective in not only reducing revenue to the military, but also undermining the crony nepotistic business infrastructure which is so important to the military support base.
“The European Parliament has sent an important reminder to the EU that they must keep identifying and sanctioning sources of revenue to the military,” said Mark Farmaner. “EU member states have to stand up to Macron, who is putting the financial interests of Total ahead of human rights and democracy in Burma, and opposing EU sanctions on gas revenue.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Burma Campaign UK" (London)
Date of publication:
2021-10-08
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, Sanctions, Business and the Military
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has attracted ridicule for airing grand development plans at a time when the economy is in crisis, but even the regime’s more rational economic goals are unlikely to be achievable.
Description:
"Coup leader and Tatmadaw Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has become the laughing-stock of Myanmar social media over his grand plans for the country.
The most outrageous example of his folly is the grandiose expansion of the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, that he proposed in August. His vision of a city of 20 million people with a subway system and electric buses for transport prompted The Irrawaddy to publish an editorial titled “Myanmar junta boss Min Aung Hlaing’s delusions of grandeur”.
At meetings of the Central Committee on Prevention, Control and Treatment of COVID-19, Min Aung Hlaing has also waxed lyrical about using traditional medicine to produce vaccines for use against the coronavirus. The domestically produced vaccines would save on the cost of imports, he said.
He has also given reassurances that despite rising inflation there will be no food shortages in Myanmar because it is mainly an agricultural country.
At a meeting of the National Planning Commission in Nay Pyi Taw on September 22, Min Aung Hlaing discussed using electric vehicles and trains to reduce reliance on fuel imports. He also said that Myanmar could become a middle-ranking member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations within five years, and one of the top ASEAN countries in a decade.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Min Aung Hlaing is like the head of a poor household whose small wooden house is going up in flames but instead of trying to put out the fire he is shouting loudly about building a grand mansion.
His comments reflect a lack of both basic knowledge of macroeconomics and the necessary skills for managing the economic turmoil he has unleashed on the country by overthrowing the elected government.
The World Bank has forecast a contraction in GDP of 18 percent in the 2020-21 fiscal year, amid a crisis in the banking sector and the rapid depreciation of the kyat against the US dollar. In recent days, the kyat has sunk to a record low of around K2,500 to the dollar, almost half what it was trading at on January 31. The crash has prompted many money changers to close their doors, only adding to the sense of turmoil and chaos.
The economic crisis will be devastating for the people of Myanmar. The United Nations Development Programme has forecast that the poverty rate could double by early 2022 and nearly half of the population will be below the poverty line. That prediction was made back in April, and the situation has only become more dire since then.
But we need to look past Min Aung Hlaing’s delusions to winnow the truth from falsehoods and understand why the senior general and his junta, which calls itself the State Administration Council, are articulating certain economic policies. We need to ask whether the policies can be successful, what impact they will have on the lives of the country’s people, and what trajectory the economy is likely to follow in months and years ahead.
An economic agenda, and its challenges
The SAC’s economic policies can be summarised as promoting the agricultural sector for self-sufficiency, import substitution and industrialisation through protectionism.
The junta’s draft Myanmar Economic Recovery Plan seeks to flatten a recession curve by focusing on the domestic economy and domestic consumption as a counter to supply chain disruptions. The plan also sets three objectives: promoting agricultural-based industrialisation, creating a stable market economy to attract direct foreign investment, and supporting domestic industries and businesses to create jobs.
Regarding the first goal, Min Aung Hlaing has repeatedly spoken of the need to export milled rice rather than paddy, and the draft MERP targets cultivation of value-added vegetables in greenhouses in the medium term. For the second objective, MERP emphasises relaxing rules and regulations, setting up one stop service offices to speed up processing of applications, and streamlined procedures for importing capital goods. To support domestic businesses, MERP says only essential goods should be imported, while non-essential goods should be produced domestically where possible.
Promoting self-sufficiency and import-substitution, and relying on domestic consumption are understandable policy responses to targeted sanctions, the suspension of international aid, dwindling revenues and declining foreign currency reserves.
These policies are the regime’s strategy for the long game. The generals are probably aware that economic recovery in the short to medium term is impossible given the scale of economic downturn and absence of international assistance. They will resist international pressure to make concessions and will instead isolate themselves, if necessary, regardless of the costs incurred on the society. In this context, these policies will be needed to help them hang on to power.
But the SAC will be unable to achieve these objectives unless it addresses more immediate challenges to the economy. In particular, the banking crisis has planted the seeds of destruction in the real economy and the value of the kyat. Some have predicted that the economic downturn could become more severe after the fiscal year ends on September 30. The kyat’s precipitous decline over the past week only hints at how bad the situation could get.
As an example of why the country’s financial crisis will make it impossible for the junta to realise its economic plans, consider the regime’s decision to give priority to the agriculture sector, particularly small-scale farming.
The output from monsoon season crops is predicted to decline significantly this year due to a sharp fall in fertiliser use by farmers. This occurred partly because of a global rise in fertiliser prices but mainly because of the disruption that the coup inflicted on the economy.
A survey of agricultural input retailers conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute in March found a range of factors had contributed to lower fertiliser use, including truck drivers going on strike, the disruption to banking services because of internet cuts and the Civil Disobedience Movement, the depreciation of the kyat (which made imports more expensive), and the decision of the SAC-controlled Central Bank to set limits on cash withdrawals from bank accounts.
In a working paper published in April, IFPRI predicted that fertiliser sales would be half that of a normal year. It said this would have an outsized impact on the rice harvest, particularly in the Ayeyarwady delta, which produces about half of the monsoon crop and usually accounts for half of the country’s annual fertiliser imports. In a normal year, Myanmar imports about US$500 of inorganic fertiliser. The assessment was based only on fertiliser sales and did not include other factors such as the cost of seeds and farm machinery.
Reduced spending on farm inputs will not only have implications for the macroeconomy, it will also have a huge impact on poverty, IFPRI said, because about 80pc of the country’s poor are linked to the agricultural sector, IFPRI said.
The impact of this is not yet being felt. Data published recently by the junta’s commerce ministry showed that agricultural products accounted for 34pc of all exports between October 2020 and September this year – an increase of 25pc on 2019-20.
Total trade between October 2020 and September 3 this year was $27.15 billion, a near-20 percent drop on the $33.55 billion in the same period last year, state media reported recently.
Agricultural products have thus helped to prop up Myanmar’s trade figures this year, but this is because of increased agricultural production before the coup. Decreased fertiliser use this year means agricultural outputs are likely to fall dramatically in the near future, hitting both exporters and importers hard next year.
Political problem, political solution
During eight months of SAC rule, all of the country’s economic indicators have become flashing red lights.
The junta leader’s import-substitution and industrialisation policies are relevant for the medium to long-term but they cannot address the immediate and worsening economic crisis.
The financial crisis is the result of a lack of trust and confidence in the economy, particularly private banks. The reason for this is the Tatmadaw’s seizure of power, and restoring confidence would almost certainly require a return to the status quo ante – a political settlement that enables the National League for Democracy to return to office.
Another possible solution is a massive injection of international funds – a bailout, essentially – but the Tatmadaw’s power grab and the human rights abuses it has inflicted over the past eight months mean there is little appetite to provide monetary assistance through the SAC.
Only the restoration of democracy and a legitimate government will unlock the international assistance Myanmar needs to alleviate the crisis.
With such a solution unlikely to materialise, the future for Myanmar’s economic is bleak. In the coming months we can expect to see increased poverty inflicting greater suffering on the people, while the state-controlled news media continues to fawn over more of Min Aung Hlaing’s delusions of grandeur.
Khine Win is a public policy analyst focusing on economic governance in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-09-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-30
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Individual Documents
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"Almost eight months after the military coup, Myanmar’s currency depreciated to a record low this week, prompting fears of worsening social and economic instability in the country, which has been devastated by the takeover.
On Tuesday, the US dollar exchange rate rose to a record high of around 2,500 to
2,700 kyats per dollar. Prior to the Feb. 1 coup, the exchange rate was between 1,300-
1,400 kyats per USD. The rates on Wednesday are the same as yesterday, according to sources from different money exchanges and the black market.
The value of gold on the domestic market reached a record high of more than 2.25
million kyats per tical on Tuesday, up sharply from a little over 2 million kyats the
previous day. Gold shops had to close on that day and the market reopened only on Wednesday afternoon with prices at 2.2 million kyat per tical. The tical is a traditional Burmese measurement of gold weight equal to16.33 grams (just over half an ounce). The gold price before the coup was 1.32 million kyats per tical.
People are only looking to buy US dollars in the currency market, with almost no one willing to resell, pushing the value of the greenback up sharply against the local currency, according to market sources.
“Dollar sales are almost nonexistent and demand [for US currency] is rising as more people want to buy than previously,” said a businessman who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Under the junta, the Central Bank of Myanmar has been selling reserve dollars to some companies importing key commodities such as petrol, cooking oil and pharmaceuticals through local private banks on a quota basis. However, the businessman said, there is a large demand for dollars in the market.
Since the coup, the central bank has sold more than 190 million US dollars to the market in an attempt to stabilize the exchange rate. Of that amount, some $60 million was sold in September alone.
However, unwilling to accept the drop in the Myanmar currency’s value, the junta set the official exchange rate at around 1,755 kyats per USD on Wednesday.
Economists told The Irrawaddy that the economic slowdown, the banking crisis and political instability in the aftermath of the coup have led to volatility in the US dollar/kyat exchange rate, adding that the banking crisis had escalated into a currency crisis.
A business analyst in Rangoon said, “It is mainly based on political instability. As the political situation becomes more volatile, some rich people will buy gold and dollars. The Central Bank also tries to monitor [the situation]. But as the bank does not have a lot of dollars, it can’t control things.”
He said the current economic problems in the Southeast Asian country could not be resolved through economic policies alone, but only through political change.
The rise of the US dollar/kyat exchange rate has seen petroleum prices increase steadily to more than 1,400 kyats per liter. At the end of January, fuel prices ranged between 660-770 kyat per liter.
As a consequence, transportation costs have risen, as well as domestic commodity prices and the prices of some imported goods. On Wednesday, some companies abruptly halted their sales of imports due to the serious drop in the kyat’s value.
An economist said: “People have lost faith in the kyat and are reluctant to deposit in banks. So they purchase the commodity they trust. People are trying to save dollars rather than spending.”
He said that due to a decline in exports, the cessation of foreign investment and the absence of international aid, the junta’s income from foreign currency had dried up, limiting its ability to control the US dollar/kyat exchange rate.
“They can’t solve this crisis. It is clear that they cannot do it. The whole economy is collapsing because of them,” he said..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-09-29
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Banking, Economic History, Business and the Military
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"Fuel prices in Myanmar have more than doubled since the junta’s February 1 coup, as the cost of crude oil has jumped in international markets and the kyat has weakened significantly against the US dollar amid post-coup political turmoil.
Before the coup, the price of a liter of octane or diesel fuel was around 700 kyats. Now, it has soared to over 1,500 kyats.
“Crude oil prices have hit a record high this year in the international market. Not only our country, but other countries are also experiencing price hikes. But in Myanmar it is coupled with the weakening kyat,” a manager of a Yangon fuel importer told The Irrawaddy.
On Tuesday, oil prices hit their highest level in three years, climbing above US$80 a barrel in the global market amid tight supply and surging demand.
This week, the US dollar exchange rate reached a record high in Myanmar of around 2,500 to 2,700 kyats per US dollar. Prior to the coup, the exchange rate was between 1,300 and 1,400 kyats per US dollar.
The Central Bank of Myanmar has been selling US dollars to oil importers through private banks, but the amounts are not sufficient for all the oil importers who are now finding it hard to purchase US dollars in the open market.
“It is mainly because of the exchange rate. And it is difficult to buy US dollars. Previously, you could buy US$1 million easily, but now you can only buy smaller amounts from several currency dealers,” the manager of a Mandalay-based oil importer told The Irrawaddy.
Despite the increase in global crude prices, fuel prices in Myanmar are unlikely to have more than doubled if the kyat had not depreciated steeply, added the manager.
On Monday, coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing urged regime ministers to find ways to reduce the use of imported fuel and to aim for the manufacture and operation of electric buses and vehicles..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-09-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
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Description:
"Sep. 27, 2021, Myanmar: Htoo Group of Companies (HGC) is a major crony conglomerate with deep ties to the Myanmar military. On September 2, 2021, the UK government imposed targeted sanctions against HGC and its chairperson, Tay Za, citing the group’s provision of financial support and arms to the Myanmar military. HGC responded with a press release on September 6, 2021, stating that they disagree with the sanctions designation and advised that they are seeking clarification “as there is no actionable data or detailed information”.
To advocate for further sanctions against Tay Za and HGC, and to support sanctions enforcement, Justice For Myanmar has published data on Tay Za’s business network and links to the Myanmar military and its junta. This includes a leaked meeting note sheet on business between the Myanmar Air Force and Yangon Aircraft Engineering Company Limited that provides further evidence of Tay Za’s involvement in the arms trade, as well as a spreadsheet detailing 131 directors and shareholders of 60 HGC subsidiaries and associated businesses.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “Tay Za and his network are close and longstanding business partners of the Myanmar military and have built immense wealth from the military’s systemic corruption. They stand complicit in the military’s ongoing atrocity crimes through their business with the junta and its conglomerates, including concessions, a joint venture, land leases and the sale of arms and related services. The illegitimate military junta is continuing its campaign of terror across Myanmar, murdering more than 1,100 and arresting more than 8,000 including children, committing torture, sexual violence, mass killings, looting and destroying properties, attacking medical workers and blocking humanitarian aid. Over 250,000 people have been forced to flee from the junta’s indiscriminate aerial assaults, shelling and mortar attacks and ground clearance operations in ethnic areas. These international crimes are enabled by Htoo Group and other crony conglomerates. We demand the international community act now to impose further sanctions against Tay Za, his family members and their businesses, as well as all other business associates of the Myanmar military. The international community must act to support the Myanmar people’s struggle for federal democracy and send a clear message that the criminal conduct of the military junta and its cronies will no longer be tolerated.”
Note to editors
See Justice For Myanmar’s page on Htoo Group and its business with the Myanmar military: www.justiceformyanmar.org/stories/htoo-groups-business-with-the-myanmar-military
See Justice For Myanmar’s list of military-owned businesses, directors and significant business associates that require targeted international sanctions here: www.justiceformyanmar.org/stories/myanmar-military-controlled-businesses-associates-that-require-targeted-sanctions
Justice For Myanmar, a group of covert activists campaigning for justice and accountability for the people of Myanmar, is calling for an end to military business and for federal democracy and a sustainable peace..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-09-27
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Business and the Military, Sanctions, Sanctions - general
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178.41 KB 98.3 KB
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"Sep. 24, 2021, Myanmar: Singapore Stock Exchange-listed company Emerging Towns & Cities Singapore (ETC) has released an extract of the first of two independent review reports into the company’s payments to the Myanmar military and its fundraising. The review is a response to regulatory actions taken by the Singapore Stock Exchange following Justice For Myanmar’s publication of an investigation into ETC’s business with the office of the quartermaster general of the Myanmar army for the Golden City real estate development. Justice For Myanmar found that ETC’s payments to the quartermaster general, which is the office tasked with weapons purchases, finances the military’s international crimes.
In its announcement of regulatory actions, SGX asked ETC to respond to Justice For Myanmar’s report and for the company and its sponsor, RHT Capital Pte. Ltd., to confirm that ETC is suitable for listing, citing Practice Note 2B, paragraph 8(b), “entities that may be involved in or connected with any money laundering, terrorist financing, or other illicit activities should not be listed”.
The review of transactions, carried out by Nexia TS (associated with the UK firm Smith & Williamson), looked at payment transactions in relation to ETC’s Myanmar subsidiary, Golden Land Real Estate Development, one of the lessees of the Golden City development. The reviewers identified two payments to the office of the quartermaster general in 2018 and one in 2020, totalling US$5.035 million. According to the summary of findings, payments to the army were communicated “verbally and there were no formal written invoices”.
The review also found that annual payments to the army were made in MMK using a below market exchange rate of 830 MMK to the USD agreed to with the quartermaster general’s office, although the reviewers noted that there is “no formal written agreement or notification”. ETC has kept the balance as an accrued land lease premium. Justice For Myanmar asked ETC to explain why the army agreed to deflate the exchange rate, where the accrued land lease premium account is kept and whether ETC has paid or intends to pay these funds in another way. The company has yet to provide a response.
The reviewers concluded that “based on our agreed upon scope of work and summary of findings, the payment transactions extracted and reviewed were conducted in the ordinary course of business.”
Nexia TS did not investigate connections between payments to the Myanmar army and “money laundering, terrorist financing, or other illicit activities”.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “ETC’s independent review provides further evidence of the company’s financing of the Myanmar military, an international criminal entity that continues to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Myanmar army is systemically corrupt, so it is unsurprising that they do not even issue invoices for payments received. The army is exempt from Auditor-General scrutiny and ETC’s independent review demonstrates that the funds paid to the army are untraceable. ETC must explain the exchange rate discrepancy, which is particularly concerning given the military’s history of exchange rate corruption. The Myanmar army’s ongoing atrocities include mass killings, torture and rape, crimes that ETC is aiding and abetting through its business dealings, supported by its listing on the SGX. We therefore urge the SGX to delist ETC from the stock exchange.”
Note to editors
See Justice For Myanmar’s report into ETC here: https://www.justiceformyanmar.org/stories/singapore-stock-exchange-listed-real-estate-firm-contributes-millions-for-myanmar-army
Justice For Myanmar, a group of covert activists campaigning for justice and accountability for the people of Myanmar, is calling for an end to military business and for federal democracy and a sustainable peace..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-09-24
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Business and the Military, Inside the Tatmadaw
Language:
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pdf pdf
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212.69 KB 109.73 KB
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"80% of the natural gas produced in Myanmar is exported (75% to Thailand and 25% to China as of 2016) [1].
Four large-scale offshore fields (Shwe, Yadana, Yetagun, and Zawtika) have played a significant role in earning
foreign currency for the government. Among them, the Yetagun field has been closely connected to Japanese
government and corporations since its development.
Nippon Oil Exploration (Myanmar), a Japanese
company, acquired working interests in the M13
and M14 blocks in 1991 and M12 block in 1992
[2]. The company developed the Yetagun field
located in these blocks through exploration,
assessment, and construction of production and
shipping facilities including pipeline.
The Yetagun field, which began production in
2000, also produces light liquid hydrocarbon
(liquid natural gas similar in nature to oil) called
condensate, a byproduct of natural gas. The
shareholders of the field are Malaysia’s stateowned Petronas Carigali, the operator (40.9%);
Myanma Oil Gas Enterprise (MOGE) (20.5%);
Nippon Oil Exploration (Myanmar) (19.3%) , and
Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production
(PTTEP) which is a subsidiary of state-owned
PTT (19.3%)[3].
In Myanmar, a production sharing contract for offshore natural gas development [4] may allocate as much as
60% to 90% for the Myanmar government [5]. Further, there are numerous payments to be made to the
government under such a contract, including a surface fee, signature bonus, production bonus, 12.5% royalty,
25% corporate tax, and 8% special goods tax [6]. Because MOGE is currently under control of the military that
staged the coup d’état in February 2021, payments made now would benefit the military.
All of the natural gas from the Yetagun field is sold to Thailand’s state-owned PTT and exported to Thailand,
but it has been used for electricity projects implemented by and have generated profit for Japanese companies
in Thailand. The gas is supplied to the Ratchaburi and Wangnoi power plants as fuel for generating electricity
[7]. The Ratchaburi power plant is an independent power producer (IPP) in which JERA (a Japanese joint
venture by Tokyo Electric Power Corporation and Chubu Electric Power Corporation) and Toyota Tsusho
Corporation hold shares along with PTT and other corporations [8]. This plant was originally planned as Hin
Krut Coal-fired Power Plant, but the plan was scrapped due to strong opposition by local residents. Under
guidance from the Thai government, fuel was changed from coal to natural gas, and the controversial plant was
finally built after the project site was also changed from Prachuap Khiri Khan to Ratchaburi [9].
Japanese entities have long been interested in natural gas development in Myanmar. The Overseas Technical
Cooperation Agency, the predecessor organization to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA),
conducted a study on natural gas development in Myanmar in 1963 [10]. The study was commissioned by the
government in Burma (Myanmar) at the time for the purpose of using the gas for fertilizer and cement production, but the records of detailed geographical surveys contained in the study suggest that Japan has long been
involved in resource development in Myanmar.
Nippon Oil Exploration (Myanmar) is jointly held by the Japanese government (50%), JX Nippon Oil & Gas
Exploration Corporation (40%), and Mitsubishi Corporation (10%). Shares now held by the Japanese
government were previously held by the Japan National Oil Corporation (JNOC), but after JNOC received much
criticism for incurring huge losses and was reorganized into the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation
(JOGMEC), the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) took over the shares held by JNOC [11].
Between 2000 and 2011, profit from the sale of gas from the Yetagun field was an important source of income
enabling the Myanmar military to exert control. Ordinary expenses by the Myanmar military increased threefold
between 1995 and 2007 [12]. A significant increase is seen in 2001, and the trend continued after 2004. Given
this, it can be assumed that the increase in expenses is due to the increase in income from export of natural
gas including that from the Yetagun field.
Petronas Caligari, the operator of the Yetagun project, declared force majeure on the Yetagun field and ceased
production in April 2021 due to the production rate dropping below the technical threshold [13]. METI has
indicated that production resumed on July 21, but that it was suspended again due to multiple workers having
contracted Covid-19. Production was still suspended as of August 31 [14].
Gas production at the Yetagun field had been estimated to be near depletion even before the recent cease in
production [15]. Even so, in the past, gas from the Yetagun field was an important source of income for the
Myanmar military regime. It is unclear whether royalties, tax and other payments have been made to Myanmar
after the coup or whether such payments, if they had been suspended due to the production cease, will resume
in the future..."
Source/publisher:
Mekong Watch
Date of publication:
2021-09-15
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Natural Resource Use, Burma/Myanmar - reports, articles etc., Oil and gas, Business and the Military
Language:
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"Re: Sinotruk’s business dealings with Myanmar’s military
We are writing to you to express our concerns regarding the deployment of fleets of Sinotruk vehicles in the ongoing violent repression and lethal crackdown on anti-coup protests, civil society and independent journalists by military forces of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. Since 2009 MAN SE has owned 25 percent of Sinotruk Hong Kong and – as a blocking minority shareholder – has significant influence on the governance of Sinotruk’s operations.
Myanmar’s military ousted the civilian government in an attempted coup on 1 February that shattered the country’s limited democracy. In the bloody and ongoing crackdown on public protests opposed to the attempted coup, more than 1000 civilians including children have been killed by military and security forces under their command, in what may amount to crimes against humanity. Thousands have been arbitrarily arrested and tortured. It has been well-documented that the Myanmar military forces have used Sinotruk vehicles during the crackdown of anti-coup protests in several cities across the country. Extensive photo and video evidence of the deployment of Sinotruk vehicles – what appear to be Sinotruk’s HOWO truck model – to execute the crackdown were published on social media, in Myanmar media and in a Süddeutsche article on 28 March 2021. This includes armed soldiers being transported to protest sites in Sinotruk vehicles, soldiers shooting at protesters with slingshots and air rifles from these vehicles, and arbitrarily detained protesters being taken away in these vehicles. It is likely that the Myanmar military may also be using Sinotruk vehicles within its military operations in ethnic areas, in which war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed.
In 2011, Sinotruk entered into a business partnership with No. 1 General Heavy Industries Enterprise in Myanmar to upgrade the No. 1 Myanmar Automobile Plant. This upgrade allowed for production and assembly of Sinotruk’s HOWO model truck at the plant. There are also unconfirmed reports that the Myanmar military produces heavy duty MILTRUK vehicles under a Sinotruk licence. Myanmar’s armed forces are in the possession of MILTRUK military trucks mounted with rocket launch systems, as seen during military parades in Myanmar in recent years.
In response to requests by Süddeutsche Zeitung in March 2021, a MAN spokesperson stated that it had been unaware of Sinotruk vehicles being deployed by the Myanmar military. MAN furthermore reported that Sinotruk provided assurance in a letter that there is “no cooperation whatsoever between Sinotruk and the current military regime in Myanmar.”
After writing to MAN and 11 other international corporations in April about their activities in Myanmar, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has written to them again in July, urging them to take concrete steps to ensure its companies are not in businesses with the military junta, either directly or indirectly, in order not to be complicit in the relentless horrific crackdown currently under way. MAN noncommittally responded to the first letter and so far has not reacted to the second letter.
In light of the widespread and grave human rights abuses perpetrated by Myanmar’s military with the aid of Sinotruk military vehicles and potentially MAN technology, we strongly believe that it is insufficient to merely rely on this assurance by your business partner. We urge you to conduct a thorough investigation into Sinotruk’s business links to the Myanmar military and security forces under their command, including possible active licence agreements. Under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Responsible Business, MAN has the responsibility to ensure that human rights are respected in all its business operations and relationships. The UN Guiding Principles stipulate that businesses have the responsibility “to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are directly linked to their operations, products or services by their business relationships, even if they have not contributed to those impacts.”
We therefore call on MAN SE to act promptly to conduct a transparent investigation into any links between Sinotruk Hong Kong and the Myanmar military, either directly or indirectly through other Sinotruk subsidiaries and associates. Should any links exist, MAN must take immediate action to ensure the company cuts all business ties to the Myanmar military, as recommended by the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar in August 2019, and to ensure that MAN technology does not benefit the military in any form..."
Source/publisher:
FIAN Deutschland, Info Birmanie, Justice For Myanmar, Reporter ohne Grenzen, Stiftung Asienhaus, urgewald and U.S. Campaign for Burma
Date of publication:
2021-09-14
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military, Human Rights and international relations
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430.54 KB
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"Myanmar’s military regime will auction off 12,500 tons of hardwood on September 16 and 30 as it seeks to raise hard currency to fund its coup.
Myanma Timber Enterprise, the state-run entity which controls Myanmar’s timber sales, said the timber for sale includes 1,500 tons of teak logs and 1,000 tons of sawn teak. The auction will be held in Yangon’s Insein Township with buyers bidding online.
In May, the junta held three separate auctions at which nearly 10,300 tons of timber were sold for around US$5 million, followed by another auction in June of more than 14,000 tons of timber.
The wood sold in May and June reportedly came from a stockpile of 200,000 tons of illegally-harvested timber seized by the now-ousted National League for Democracy government.
The UK and US-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) said in a statement in May that the military regime is seeking an injection of hard currency by selling off thousands of tons of illegal timber to international markets.
Faith Doherty, EIA Forests Campaigns Leader, said, “Why would this state enterprise do this, other than to obtain desperately-needed hard currency to continue the junta’s brutal persecution of the people of Myanmar”.
Since the February 1 coup, the US, Canada, EU and Britain have sanctioned the regime’s resources and environmental conservation minister, U Khin Maung Yi, as well as other relevant individuals in Myanmar, to prevent the junta from exploiting the country’s resources.
However, twenty-seven Italian timber traders imported teak into the EU from Myanmar despite clear regulations, in the form of the EU Timber Regulation, which prohibit such imports, said the EIA in a September 1 report. The Italian traders imported wood worth between US$1.5 million and US$1.77 million from Myanmar between March and May this year.
“By continuing the trade, these companies are effectively supporting the military junta and its brutal repression of the Myanmar people as well as the destruction of the country’s forests,” said the EIA’s Doherty.
The parallel National Unity government has warned that it will blacklist any bidder and government staff involved in the junta’s timber auctions..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-09-10
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Illegal Economy - general, Sanctions, Business and the Military, Sanctions - general, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Description:
"September 8, 2021, Myanmar: Ukraine is continuing to transfer arms to the Myanmar military, despite its illegitimate coup and ongoing mass killings, arrests and attacks against civilians.
Justice For Myanmar demands Ukraine impose an immediate arms embargo on Myanmar and cut ties with the Myanmar military. Justice For Myanmar calls on providers of military aid to Ukraine, notably the US, EU and UK, to use their leverage to ensure Ukraine abides by international law and norms.
An investigation by Justice For Myanmar, using Ukrainian export records and newly leaked documents, found shipments of aircraft, ship and tank parts dating from 2015 onwards. Air surveillance radars were also sent to the Myanmar military and private Myanmar arms dealers. The most recent shipment was turbojet engine parts that Ukrainian firm Motor Sich sent to the Myanmar army’s directorate of procurement. This was on 31 May 2021, as the air force increased indiscriminate airstrikes in ethnic areas.
Of particular concern is a joint project to produce BTR-4 armoured personnel carriers, MMT-40 light tanks and 2SIU self-propelled howitzers involving Ukrainian state-owned arms conglomerates Ukroboronprom and Ukrspecexport with the Myanmar army’s directorate of defence industry. The project provides an alarming boost to the Myanmar military’s arms manufacturing capabilities. This equipment fuels the Myanmar military’s war crimes and crimes against humanity, and can provide a future source of revenue to the military through arms exports.
The arms production plant was named by the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar in 2019, which recommended arms transfer sanctions. Ukraine has so far failed to implement the Mission’s recommendations.
Ukroboronprom and Ukrspecexport did not respond to questions from Justice For Myanmar regarding their business with the Myanmar military and the status of the joint plant. Asked by Deutsche Welle if they will stop cooperating with the Myanmar military following the attempted coup, a spokesperson for Ukroboronprom responded that they export in accordance with Ukrainian law and international obligations, noting that Ukraine has not imposed sanctions or an arms embargo on Myanmar. That is despite Ukraine voting in favour of a June 2021 UN General Assembly resolution to stop the flow of arms to Myanmar.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “Ukraine is enabling and profiting from atrocity crimes in Myanmar through its deep ties to the Myanmar military, flouting international law. Ukraine’s providers of military aid, such as US, EU and UK, must use their leverage now to end Ukraine’s support for the Myanmar military and its blatant disregard for the lives of the people of Myanmar. Military aid must be conditional on Ukraine imposing an arms embargo on Myanmar, shutting down their joint plant and ending all military ties. Ukraine’s arms sales have fuelled a shadow industry of Myanmar companies profiteering from the arms trade and enabling the military’s access to the weaponry it uses in ongoing atrocity crimes. Individuals and companies procuring arms for the Myanmar military must be sanctioned immediately and denied access to the international financial system and global markets, including in Singapore, where some arms dealers operate.”
Myanmar’s biggest arms dealer for Ukraine is Aung Hlaing Oo, who has been rewarded through his appointment as Ukraine’s honorary consul to Myanmar. Ukraine must remove him from this position..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-09-08
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
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"Ukraine has developed deep links to the Myanmar military, with arms exports and technology transfers continuing, even after the Myanmar military has committed mass murder amounting to atrocity crimes following its illegitimate coup attempt.
According to Ukrainian export data, accessed via Import Genius, Motor Sich exported engines and parts to Myanmar twice since the military’s attempted coup. A May 2021 shipment to the Myanmar army's directorate of procurement contained turbojet engine equipment, and a February shipment to the private air force supplier Sky Aviator contained mechanical parts.
Motor Sich is a major Ukrainian manufacturer of engines for aircraft and missiles. The Ukrainian state is nationalising the firm from its majority-owned Chinese. A Ministry of Defence document leaked to Justice For Myanmar, details the purchase of Mil Mi-17 parts from Motor Sich in 2015-16 via Myanmar Avia Export (predecessor of Myanmar Avia Services), a crony company owned by Tay Za. Ukrainian export records also show a series of shipments to the Myanmar Air Force from 2019 onwards.
In May 2021, state-owned arms manufacturer Ukroboronservice shipped over 164 kilos of aircraft parts to Yatanarpon Aviation. This followed shipments in December 2020 of navigational devices and control instruments to Yatanarpon Aviation.
In June 2021 Ukraine voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution to stop the flow of arms to Myanmar. The country’s transfers are only the most recent examples of significant arms links that amount to aiding and abetting the atrocity crimes of the Myanmar military.
See a list of businesses and individuals linked to Myanmar arms procurement from Ukraine for targeted sanctions: Download Excel File (21 kb)
Building Myanmar’s arms industry
Ukraine’s significant military ties with Myanmar can be seen in a joint project to produce BTR-4 armoured personnel carriers (APCs), MMT-40 light tanks and 2SIU self-propelled howitzers. The plant is a partnership between the Myanmar military’s Directorate of Defence Industry, Ukrainian state-owned arms conglomerate, Ukroboronprom, the state arms trade company, Ukrspecexport, and Myanmar Chemical & Machinery (MCM), a private Myanmar arms broker.
The project may be the outcome of a 2019 agreement, according to Defence Blog. An October 2020 Facebook post by Ukrspecexport described a three-year contract, signed with the Ministry of Defence of an unspecified Asian country, likely Myanmar. The contract was for the production and repair of armoured personnel carriers, as well as for the repair and upgrading of light armoured equipment. It is unclear if the plant is already in production.
This follows a 2018 agreement on military-technical cooperation negotiated between Ukraine and Myanmar defence ministries that came into force in June 2019. The agreement, signed under the National League for Democracy-led government, specified seven points for military cooperation, including research and development of arms, production of conventional weapons, the supply of arms and related equipment, and joint sales and marketing of arms in third countries.
Ukrainian export records show MCM received initial shipments of equipment for the production of BTR-4U APCs and 2S1Us from Ukrspecexport in 2015.
Through 2018 and 2019, Amethyst Trading, a subsidiary of MCM, received shipments of BTR-3U and MMT-40 parts from Ukrspecexport. This included chassis, engine parts, electrical components, night vision devices and laser rangefinders, as well as technical documentation for assembly, and machine sets for production.
From 2015 to 2020, Ukrspecexport also shipped equipment to the Directorate of Defence Industry for the joint plant, such as horizontal boring, welding, cutting and lathe machinery.
Other exports from Ukrspecexport include 80K6K1 and 36D6 3D mobile air surveillance radar and electrical equipment shipped to the Myanmar Air Force from 2018-2020.
Ukroboronprom and Ukrspecexport did not respond to questions from Justice For Myanmar regarding their business with the Myanmar military and the status of the joint project.
The Myanmar military’s brokers
Ukraine’s business with the Myanmar military has enriched private Myanmar companies who facilitate the arms trade. They must be targeted for sanctions to stop the flow of arms and related materiel to Myanmar.
Aung Hlaing Oo and MCM Group
Aung Hlaing Oo, a major arms procurer conducting substantial business with Ukrainian state arms manufacturers, was appointed as Ukraine’s honorary consul to Myanmar in January 2017.
Aung Hlaing Oo heads Myanmar Chemical & Machinery (MCM) group of companies. Amethyst Trading, a main consignee of parts for the Ukrspecexport project, is listed on the MCM Pacific website as one of MCM group’s companies.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry website lists an MCM Pacific email address as the contact for Ukraine’s honorary consul in Myanmar.
According to a private sector source with military connections, Aung Hlaing Oo receives commissions of 20-30% on arms sales from Ukraine, which amount to substantial profits for his businesses and the Ukrainian state.
A leaked Ministry of Defence document, received by Justice For Myanmar, detail procurement activities in 2016-17 involving MCM Pacific Pte. Ltd., Aung Hlaing Oo’s Singapore business, for Mil Mi-2 and Mil Mi-17 helicopter parts, APC parts, a marine diesel engine, a ship propulsion system and stern arrangement. Myanmar Chemical & Machinery Co. Ltd in Yangon also procured T-72 battle tank parts. Items are billed in US dollars and Euros.
Ukrainian export records show a large number of Ukrspecexport shipments to Amethyst Trading of T-72S tank parts in 2018 and BTS-4 armoured recovery vehicle parts in 2019.
In addition to its business in Ukraine, MCM also procures arms from Serbia for the Myanmar military. A 2019 MCM proposal for the Myanmar Air Force, leaked to Justice For Myanmar, details aircraft-mounted rocket launchers, rockets, free-fall bombs, a multiple bomb launcher for use “on large surfaces” and fuses.
MCM lists Sinotruk, a Chinese truck company that supplies trucks to the Myanmar army, as a partner in their business profile. Sinotruk vehicles are ubiquitous in the military’s brutal crackdown following their attempted coup and the company’s links to German truck manufacturer MAN have been investigated by Justice For Myanmar. The private sector source disclosed that MCM is involved in the production of Miltruk-branded Sinotruk military vehicles produced in an assembly plant in Meiktila.
Myanmar Consultancy Company and Yatanarpon Aviation Support Company
Ukrainian export data shows that Myanmar Consultancy Company received regular Ukrspecexport shipments from 2016-2020, largely of MiG-29 fighter jet parts, installation machinery, as well as 36D6 air surveillance radar components and an IGLA-1M surface-to-air missile simulator.
In 2019, Myanmar Consultancy also received shipments of RD-33 turbofan engines from the state-owned Lutsk Repair Plant “Motor”, used in MiG-29 aircraft.
Justice For Myanmar previously detailed shipments of land-based radar sold to Myanmar Consultancy by Indian state-owned Bharat Electronics Ltd.
Dr Naing Htut Aung, a major arms broker, is a former director and shareholder of Myanmar Consultancy. Dr Naing Htut Aung’s businesses, Gateways International Holding Company and International Gateways Group of Company, were registered at the same address as Myanmar Consultancy until late 2020. Gateways International continues to have the same phone number as Myanmar Consultancy. According to a private sector source with military connections, Dr Naing Htut Aung is a dominant procurer of weapons systems, spare parts and upgrades for the navy and air force and is an agent for major Chinese state-owned arms producers. International Gateways Group also donated funds to the Myanmar military in September 2017, supporting the crime of genocide.
Myanmar Consultancy’s website has been down since 2012. An archived copy lists the company’s mission to provide a “gateway” for foreign direct investment to the public and private sectors. A core objective is “to develop the industry and high technologies in the State.” Justice For Myanmar has published a leaked Myanmar Consultancy air force technical proposal from 2019.
Myanmar Consultancy was an online exhibitor at the MAKS 2021 air show in Russia, which coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing attended in person.
Myanmar Consultancy is registered at the same address as Yatanarpon Aviation Support Company with the same phone number. The two businesses also share a common director, Than Lwin. Yatanarpon Aviation Support received aircraft parts from Ukroboronservice in December 2020 and May 2021.
Yatanarpon Aviation Support is headed by Sit Taing Aung, the son of Aung Phone, the forestry minister under Myanmar’s previous junta, the State Peace and Development Council. Sit Taing Aung’s Suntac group of companies was previously subject to EU sanctions for its links to the military junta.
Sit Taing Aung is Mexico’s honorary consul to Myanmar.
Sky Aviator
Sky Aviator is an arms supplier based in Yangon that has received a number of shipments of Ukrainian aircraft parts from Motor Sich, from May 2018 to as recently as February 2021, following the attempted military coup.
A leaked Ministry of Defence document shows the company has additionally provided T-72S tank parts to the army.
Since the February attempted coup, Sky Aviator has also received a number of Russian arms shipments including YAK-130 support equipment from Concern Radio-Electronic Technologies (KRET), refitted turbojet engines from United Engine Corporation and engine parts from Rosoboronexport.
Sky Aviator has expertise in Russian helicopters. A leaked August 2019 Sky Aviator proposal to the office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Air Force offers an upgrade to Mi-24P helicopters and states they are the exclusive representative of JSC Russian Helicopter in Myanmar.
In May, the company’s chief engineer reviewed a Moscow State Technical University of Civil Aviation PhD thesis, disclosing that the research had practical application for Sky Aviator’s maintenance, repair and operations of Mi-17 helicopters.
Trident Marine
Trident Marine is a private company whose director includes Zaw Win Oo, an associate of the Myanmar military through his directorship of Solutions Hub, part of military linked mobile money service Easy Pay.
According to Ukrainian export records, state-owned arms manufacturer Ukroboronservice sent ship technical documents and parts to Trident Marine Co. Ltd. in 2019.
A leaked Ministry of Defence document shows that Trident Marine also procured ship parts for the Myanmar Navy in 2015-16, including navigation equipment, electrical fittings and steering equipment. These purchases were made through Singapore-based D&K Intertrade, a private company whose directors are all Myanmar nationals. D&K Intertrade’s website describes its business as trade in “semiconductors and other electrical parts and components”.
Trident Marine’s 2019 purchases from Ukraine were shipped to an address at No.25, Myint Zu Street in Yangon, which is not the listed business address of the company. The Myint Zu Street address is the location of Amber Star Trading Co. Ltd. The Amber Star website lists its business scope as including naval architecture, reverse engineering, unmanned systems and technology transfer, and describes D&K Intertrade as its Singapore branch. It also has a branch in Naypyidaw.
Interstellar, Limited
A leaked 2019 Interstellar proposal to the Myanmar Air Force shows the company is an official sales agent for the import of aviation parts from Ukroboronprom, specialising in Mi-2 and Mi-17 helicopters and MiG-29 fighter jets. Interstellar is also a broker for ALLWE Foreign Trade Company.
Interstellar was an online exhibitor at the MAKS 2021 air show in Russia, which coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing attended in person.
Ukraine is aiding and abetting atrocity crimes
In August and September 2017, the Myanmar military carried out a campaign of genocide against the Rohingya, committing mass murder, rape and gang rape, destroying property and driving more than 800,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh. Instead of fulfilling their international obligations and standing for justice, the Ukrainian government increased cooperation with the Myanmar military.
Following the international crimes committed by the Myanmar military in 2017, the European Union and USA strengthened sanctions against the military, and the UN Human Rights Council formed an Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar to investigate the atrocities.
In August 2019, the Fact-Finding Mission released a report on the economic interests of the Myanmar military, which detailed Ukrspetsexport and Ukroboronprom arms manufacturing activities in Myanmar, which supports the Myanmar military’s arms production capabilities.
The Fact-Finding Mission noted that Ukraine is a signatory of (but not party to) the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and warned against contravention of the object and purpose of the treaty. Ukraine must have known that arms provided to Myanmar would be used to breach the human rights of the people.
The Fact-Finding Mission concluded that Ukraine “provided arms and other related equipment in breach of their Common Article 1 obligations as a matter either of treaty law or of customary international humanitarian law. The Mission also reached the conclusion under the general rules of State responsibility that prohibit aiding or assisting another State in the commission of an internationally wrongful act, that these States knew, or were virtually certain, that the assistance would be used for unlawful purposes.”
Ukraine has so far blatantly ignored the Fact-Finding Mission’s recommendations, proceeding with arms and technology transfers and the development of the manufacturing plant after the August 2019 report.
Following the attempted coup, Ukraine’s shameful history of arms sales was on display in the streets as the military used older Ukrainian BTR-3Us as part of the bloody crackdown.
Despite overwhelming evidence of Ukraine’s complicity in the Myanmar military’s international crimes, the country is sticking to its bilateral military technical cooperation agreement and has not imposed an arms embargo.
Asked by Deutsche Welle if they will stop cooperation with the Myanmar military following the attempted coup, a spokesperson for Ukroboronprom, the association of state arms enterprises, responded that they export in accordance with Ukrainian law and international obligations, noting that Ukraine has not imposed sanctions or an arms embargo on Myanmar.
The spokesperson also said that the military technical cooperation agreement is still valid under the military junta. “Following socio-political stabilisation of the situation in Myanmar, we hope to continue to continue to pursue our existing obligations”.
Stop the flow of arms!
Since the illegal attempted coup, the military junta has murdered 1049 people, including children as young as six, with over 6200 still detained as of September 6. An estimated 230,000 have been displaced as of June, many in ethnic areas, as the Myanmar military has dramatically increased airstrikes and shelling, which amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. These attacks likely involve Ukrainian technology.
Ukraine must end its complicity in the Myanmar military’s atrocity crimes. Immediate steps that need to be taken include imposing an arms embargo, cutting ties with the Myanmar military, revoking the bilateral military technical cooperation agreement, preventing production at the joint arms plant and withdrawing Aung Hlaing Oo’s position as honorary consul.
Given Ukraine’s persistent failure to abide by international law and norms, the international community must also act to ensure Ukraine fulfils its international obligations.
Ukraine receives significant military aid from the US, UK and EU. The US alone has provided approximately US$2.5 billion in military aid to Ukraine since 2014, with US$60 million announced in August.
Ukroboronprom holds regular talks with NATO and its member states, while NATO as recently as July 2021 expressed a commitment to support the reform of Ukraine’s arms industry to bring it closer to “NATO standards”.
So why have Ukraine’s donors and allies tolerated the arms trade with Myanmar? We call on Ukraine’s partners to make future aid conditional on Ukraine imposing an arms embargo on Myanmar, shutting down the arms manufacturing plant and ending all military ties.
Without a global arms embargo on Myanmar, the criminal military junta will find ways to purchase arms to use against the people. It is imperative that the UN Security Council passes a resolution to stop the flow of arms to Myanmar.
Finally, the Myanmar military’s network of private arms companies, their directors and owners must be urgently targeted for sanctions and denied access to international banks.
The UK’s decision to impose sanctions on Tay Za and Htoo Group, and the US restrictions on King Royal Technologies, are positive steps but more businesses procuring arms and dual use goods for the Myanmar military must be sanctioned at a faster pace to make an impact on the military junta.
Singapore must end the use of its territory as a business hub for arms brokers.
As the Myanmar military’s terror campaign continues, the international community needs to step up and take concrete action against the criminal Myanmar military and its partners. The Myanmar military cartel must be dismantled..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-09-08
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Business and the Military, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, International Bill of Human Rights
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The 57-year-old has supplied the military with weapons and financial aid, Britain's foreign office said
Description:
"The UK government on Thursday announced new sanctions against Myanmar tycoon Tay Za and his businesses for providing arms and financial support to the military.
Tay Za owns the Htoo Group of Companies and his business empire includes banks, airlines and hotels. The 57-year-old is one of the richest people in the country. He helped supply arms to the former junta led by Than Shwe and is infamous for his illegal logging activities.
Britain’s government said it will freeze all assets held by Tay Za and his companies and ban him from entering the country. The sanctions will also prevent others from providing funds or economic resources to the tycoon.
A UN fact finding mission in 2019 said that Tay Za helped to fund the 2017 military campaign against the Rohingya, which has been labelled genocide.
“U Tay Za is associated with the military through his extensive links with the former and current junta regimes and has provided support for serious human rights violations in his role in assisting the military to procure arms,” the UK’s foeign office said in its statement.
British foreign secretary Dominic Raab said the new sanctions came as “the military junta has shown no signs of halting its brutal attack on the people of Myanmar.”
“The UK will continue to restrict the junta’s access to finance and the supply of arms used to kill innocents, including children, and target those who support the junta’s actions,” he added.
The UK has imposed several rounds of sanctions since the coup, targeting top military officials, the military’s business interests, and members of the coup regime..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-09-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-03
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Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announces new sanctions against U Tay Za and Htoo Group of Companies.
Description:
"these sanctions target a key business associate of the military junta, and his network of companies for providing financial support and arms to the military
this move follows sanctions on senior Myanmar military officers and their associated businesses following February’s military coup
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has announced new sanctions today against Myanmar businessman U Tay Za and his business empire Htoo Group.
Htoo Group of Companies, of which U Tay Za is the founder and chairman, is a large business network that operates across the region, which contributed funds to the 2017 Rohingya clearance operations in Rakhine. U Tay Za is associated with the military through his extensive links with the former and current junta regimes and has provided support for serious human rights violations in his role in assisting the military to procure arms.
These sanctions make clear that the UK will take concrete measures to limit the junta’s access to finance and economic resources, including by targeting business networks associated with the military regime.
Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, said:
The military junta has shown no signs of halting its brutal attack on the people of Myanmar.
Along with our partners, the UK will continue to restrict the junta’s access to finance and the supply of arms used to kill innocents, including children, and target those who support the junta’s actions.
Enforced with immediate effect, sanctions will freeze all UK assets held by Htoo Group and U Tay Za, as well as banning the business tycoon from entering the UK. Sanctions will also block others from providing funds or economic resources to both those designated.
These sanctions follow recent efforts to ensure that the supply of arms to Myanmar is halted, and follow on from the Communiqué the UK secured at the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers’ Meeting, that committed members to prevent the supply of arms and technical assistance to the military. In addition, on 18 June, the UK worked with partners to deliver a UN General Assembly Resolution which urged member states to prevent the flow of arms to Myanmar.
Under the UK’s presidency the G7 continues to call for a return to democracy, an end to the violence and the immediate adoption of the ASEAN 5-point consensus, including the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners..."
Source/publisher:
Govt. UK (London)
Date of publication:
2021-09-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-02
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Individual Documents
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Publication of a list of Illegal Investments and a Special Directive demanding their immediate and unconditional suspension
Description:
"1. Under Announcement 1/2021 of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations of
the Cabinet of the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), the acting Union Minister
declared that all investment permits and endorsements shall be suspended without exception from the
date of seizure of state institutions by the illegal military council on 1 February 2021.
2. Under Announcement 3/2021, dated 16 May 2021, the Ministry of Planning, Finance and
Investment ('the Ministry') of the National Unity Government reaffirmed the above instructions made
under Announcement 1/2021.
3. Under Announcement 6/2021, dated 21 July 2021, publishing the 'Three Pillar Framework
Guiding Responsible Investment and Continued Operations', the National Unity Government further
stated that new investment proposals, agreements, or approvals made by military controlled entities on
or after 1 February 2021 will neither be recognised or honoured.
4. All policies adopted and implemented by the National Unity Government must reflect the
principles of a federal democratic union. Crucially, a national investment policy is one such policy.
5. The indiscriminate issuance of investment permits and endorsements by the Myanmar
Investment Commission under the control of the illegal military council runs counter to the tenets of
federal democracy to which the people of Myanmar aspire. Such actions shall not be tolerated.
6. Accordingly, the Ministry hereby publishes a list of companies undertaking illegal investments
by seeking permits and endorsements from the Myanmar Investment Commission, subordinate to and
controlled by the illegal military council. By this special directive, the Ministry hereby cautions those
companies and instructs them to desist and suspend their illegal investment activities immediately and
unconditionally.
7. Any listed company that fails to comply with the instructions shall be liable to prosecution in
accordance with existing laws.
Tin Tun Naing...
Union Minister
Ministry of Planning, Finance and Investment..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Planning, Finance and Investment - NUG
Date of publication:
2021-08-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military
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"၁။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီက နိုင်ငံတော်အာဏာအား တရားမဝင်လုယူလိုက်သည့် ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ ၁ ရက်နေ့မှ စတင်၍ ရင်းနှီးမြုပ်နှံမှုလုပ်ငန်းများနှင့်စပ်လျဉ်းသည့် ရင်းနှီးမြုပ်နှံမှုဆိုင်ရာ ခွင့်ပြုမိန့်၊ အတည်ပြုမိန့်များ ထုတ်ပေးခြင်းကို ချွင်းချက်မရှိရပ်ဆိုင်းထားကြောင်း အမိန့်ကြော်ငြာစာအမှတ် ၁/၂၀၂၁ ကို ပြည်ထောင်စုလွှတ်တော် ကိုယ်စားပြုကော်မတီက ခန့်အပ်တာဝန်ပေးအပ်သော ခေတ္တပြည်ထောင်စုဝန်ကြီး၊ ရင်းနှီးမြုပ်နှံမှုနှင့် နိုင်ငံခြားစီးပွားဆက်သွယ်ရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာနမှ ထုတ်ပြန်ကြေညာခဲ့ပြီး ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၂။ အဆိုပါ အမိန့်ကြော်ငြာစာ အမှတ် ၁/၂၀၂၁ ကို အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၊ စီမံကိန်း၊ ဘဏ္ဍာရေးနှင့် ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုဝန်ကြီး ဌာနက အတည်ပြုဆက်ခံကြောင်း ကြေညာချက်အမှတ် ၃/၂၀၂၁ ကို ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ မေလ ၁၆ ရက်နေ့ ရက်စွဲဖြင့် ထပ်မံထုတ်ပြန် ကြေညာခဲ့ပြီး ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၃။ ထို့အပြင် အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၊ စီမံကိန်း၊ ဘဏ္ဍာရေးနှင့်ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုဝန်ကြီးဌာနက ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ ဇူလှိုင်လ ၂၁ ရက်နေ့ ရက်စွဲဖြင့် တာဝန်ယူမှုရှိသော လုပ်ငန်းများအတွက် လမ်းညွှန်ချက်အား ကြေညာချက် အမှတ် ၆/၂၀၂၁ အဖြစ် ထုတ်ပြန် ရာတွင်လည်း အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီလက်အောက်ခံ အဖွဲ့အစည်းတစ်ခုခုက ခွင့်ပြုသည့် မည်သည့်ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှု အသစ်ကို မဆို အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေး အစိုးရအနေဖြင့် အသိအမှတ်ပြုလက်ခံမည် မဟုတ်ကြောင်း အတိအလင်းဖော်ပြခဲ့ပြီးဖြစ်သည်။
၄။ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရမှ ချမှတ်ကျင့်သုံးလျက်ရှိသောမူဝါဒတိုင်းသည် ဖယ်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီ ပြည်ထောင်စုစနစ်၏ အနှစ်သာရကို ထင်ဟပ်စေမည့်မူဝါဒမျိုးကိုသာ အခြေပြုရေးဆွဲလျက်ရှိပြီး အဆိုပါမူဝါဒများထဲတွင် ရင်းနှီးမြုပ်နှံမှုဆိုင်ရာမူဝါဒ သည်လည်း တစ်ခုအပါအဝင်ဖြစ်သည်။
၅။ ယခုကဲ့သို့ တရားမဝင်အာဏာသိမ်းစစ်ကောင်စီ လက်အောက်ခံ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုကော်မရှင်(MIC) အနေဖြင့် ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုဆိုင်ရာ အတည်ပြုမိန့်၊ ခွင့်ပြုမိန့်များကို အလျင်စလို၊ လက်လွတ်စပယ် ထုတ်ပေးနေခြင်းသည် ပြည်သူတရပ်လုံး လိုလားတောင့်တနေသော ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီပြည်ထောင်စုစနစ်ကို မျက်ကွယ်ပြု၍ ကျော်လွန်ဆောင်ရွက်ရာရောက်သည့် အတွက် သည်းခံခွင့်လွှတ်နိုင်ဖွယ် မရှိသော လုပ်ရပ်ဖြစ်သည်။
၆။ သို့ပါ၍ တရားမဝင်အာဏာသိမ်းစစ်ကောင်စီ လက်အောက်ခံ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုကော်မရှင် (MIC) ထံမှ ခွင့်ပြုမိန့်၊ အတည်ပြုမိန့်များ ရယူ၍ ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုလုပ်ငန်းများ ဆောင်ရွက်နေသည့် အောက်ဖော်ပြပါ ကုမ္ပဏီများ၏ တရားမဝင်ရင်းနှီး မြှုပ်နှံမှုများအား ချွင်းချက်မရှိရပ်ဆိုင်းထားရန် အထူးသတိပေး တားမြစ်လိုက်သည်။
၇။ တားမြစ်ချက်အား လိုက်နာခြင်းမရှိသည့် ကုမ္ပဏီများအား တည်ဆဲဥပဒေများနှင့်အညီ ထိရောက်စွာ အရေးယူဆောင်ရွက် သွားမည် ဖြစ်သည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Planning, Finance and Investment - NUG
Date of publication:
2021-08-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military
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SAC go-ahead for UWSA factories in Tachileik threatens far-reaching pollution - စစ်ကောင်စီက UWSA အား တာချီလိတ်တွင် စက်ရုံတည်ဆောက်ခွင့်ပေးလိုက်ခြင်းသည် ကြီးမားသော ညစ်ညမ်းမှုအဖြစ် ခြိမ်းခြောက်နေ
Description:
"Renewed efforts by the United Wa State Army’s Hong Pang conglomerate, backed by the SAC regime, to push through construction of two factories on confiscated land near Tachileik, a kilometer from the Thai border, are being strongly opposed
by local communities, who want their farmland returned and fear far-reaching polluting impacts. The factories are planned on 100 acres of land east of Tachileik town, part of a 600- acre plot confiscated from residents of Hong Luek village in 1998-1999 by the Burma
Army to set up an industrial zone. The 100 acre-plot was acquired by the Hong Pang company in 2001 for factories which were never built.
In 2011, the Hong Luek farmers started appealing to the USDP government for the return of their lands in the industrial zone, which they had continued to farm where possible. Despite ongoing appeals after the NLD government came to power, on September 5, 2019, the Shan State government granted permission to Hong Pang’s
Loi Sam Song company to build two factories on their 100 acre plot: a rubber crumb factory and a manganese processing factory.
In October 2019, the UWSA company tried to start fencing off the land, but the farmers blocked this. The company sued them for trespass and destruction of property, but did not proceed with construction. During 2020 and early 2021, the farmers continued to block efforts by the company to fence off their farmlands, and to appeal through official channels for land return. On May 6, 2021, three months after the military coup, the company suddenly brought in bulldozers to begin levelling the land. When local farmers and monks again blocked
this, police were brought in to protect the company workers, showing that the new regime was backing the UWSA’s plans.
During May and June, despite intimidation, locals bravely continued to try and block the company’s construction efforts, but the company was allowed to work at night, during curfew hours, managing to lay cement fencing foundations around the land, which are difficult to remove. Construction has paused since early July, but locals
assume this is because of the Covid lockdown.
Locals are opposing the factory construction not only due to loss of farmlands, but also fears of pollution, particularly of the Ruak River, which flows past the industrial zone before forming the border with Thailand and flowing into the Mekong River at the Golden Triangle confluence. During the past few years, Thai water authorities have measured dangerous levels of manganese in the Ruak River, from which the Mae Sai water supply is pumped.
This is likely due to contamination from existing manganese mines north of Tachileik and manganese ore stockpiles, all in the Ruak River catchment area. Construction of a manganese processing factory directly beside the Ruak River will greatly worsen
the existing contamination, which is particularly dangerous for children’s health. Locals also worry about air pollution from both factories, particularly the foul smell of rubber processing, which will permeate the eastern suburbs of Tachileik and
adjoining areas of Mae Sai in Thailand, causing adverse health impacts and damaging the tourist industry.
Manganese mining and widespread rubber cultivation in Tachileik have already negatively impacted the local environment and livelihoods, for the enrichment of military elites and outside investors. The planned factories are poised to inflict even further damage, on both sides of the border. SHRF strongly supports the brave efforts of the Hong Luek villagers to protect their lands, and urges the SAC and UWSA to immediately cancel the planned factory projects, so that the lands can be returned to their rightful owners. We are inspired by the Mae Sai residents’ successful blocking 20 years ago of Hong Pang’s efforts to build a polluting coal-fired power plant in Tachileik, and hope that
Mae Sai communities will mobilize again to join this new struggle to protect our shared Ruak river basin environment..."
Source/publisher:
Shan Human Rights Foundation
Date of publication:
2021-08-26
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for the region, Land rights, Land research including land grabbing - global and regional, Law and policy on land in Burma/Myanmar, Shan Human Rights Foundation Monthly Reports, Business and the Military
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"As the Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s military, appears to be consolidating its grip on power, at least in the capital Naypyitaw, the debate over whether sanctions or engagement would be the best way to influence the generals has once again begun. There is, however, a simple answer to that question: neither is effective. Myanmar’s military rulers have always had their own agenda and don’t listen to people outside their own inner circle, regardless of what outsiders say or do. Attempts to understand the Tatmadaw by using as yardsticks the standards of modern Western militaries such as conventional command structures, promotions, equipment, orders of battle and deployment is equally fruitless.
The way the Tatmadaw works and functions can best be described as feudal and deeply rooted in traditional authoritarian values where the king was God. The supreme ruler demands and rewards loyalty and disowns and punishes those who dare to be different—and this is the system that was introduced by General Ne Win when he built up the Tatmadaw in the 1950s and created a state within a state, which in 1962 seized absolute power.
Ne Win stepped aside in 1989 and died in 2002 but the system lived on under Senior General Than Shwe, supreme ruler from 1992 to 2011. Than Shwe even changed the stated purpose of celebrating March 27, which in the past was called Resistance Day and meant to commemorate the day in 1945 when the Myanmar military, armed and equipped by the Japanese, turned against their former masters. Now, in the new, monumental capital Naypyitaw created by Than Shwe, there stands an enormous statue of the three main warrior kings in Myanmar history: Anawratha, Bayinnaung and Alaungpaya. Tributes to them and their virtues have replaced references to the anti-Japanese struggle, which may still be mentioned but only in passing.
But he is now 88 years old, has been hospitalized with COVID-19 and may not be around for much longer. That means that Myanmar right now is at a crossroads. Although Than Shwe retired from active duties after the 2010 election, he has remained a father figure for the military and when he is gone there is no obvious candidate for the role as the next King of the Tatmadaw.
The new junta leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, is perceived by many as weak, and lacks charisma as well as leadership qualities. As a Yangon-based Myanmar analyst put it: “He doesn’t have the political stature of General Ne Win, the military manpower of General Than Shwe or the wiliness of both.” The future of military rule is therefore up for debate and that is where the question of sanctions versus engagement comes into the picture.
Sanctions and boycotts serve a purpose when it comes to rallying support for Myanmar’s democratic forces, which is important in order to keep the movement alive and prepare for possible future scenarios, but recent history shows that such measures have so far had zero impact on how the Tatmadaw as an institution acts and thinks. The views of those in the West who advocate engagement actually reflect what amounts to a blatant neo-colonial attitude or, as I wrote in The Irrawaddy on June 11, 2015, words to the effect of: “We have to go and tell those funny little brown fellows how to run their country, and, because we are big and clever white guys, surely they will listen to us.” It is, however, easy to image what the generals’ reaction is when they receive those Western proponents of engagement: “Those myaukpyu [white monkeys] are sort of amusing. But they are not very clever. So let’s use them.” Or words to that effect.
The third way, some Western diplomats and academics argue, is to apply a carrot-and-a-stick policy with punishments such as sanctions when the Tatmadaw behaves badly, and rewards in the form of aid and investment if the generals take some positive steps such as allowing more openness and demonstrate a willingness to negotiate a peaceful solution to the country’s decades-long civil wars. But, as one analyst put it: “That would work only if you are dealing with a donkey or a rabbit.” Josef Silverstein, a renowned Myanmar scholar who died on June 29 this year, once said: “If you offer them [the generals] a carrot, they will just eat it and ask for another one.”
Proponents of engagement have always underestimated the manipulative skills of the Tatmadaw and failed to realize that using military officers as intermediaries in the belief that their Myanmar counterparts would be more willing to listen to them than to civilians does not work. This was clearly demonstrated when Vice-Admiral David Johnston, vice chief of the Australian Defense Force, rang Vice-Senior General Soe Win, number two in the junta, or State Administration Council (SAC), to press for the release of Sean Turnell, an Australian academic and economic adviser to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s ousted government who was detained after the coup. Johnston also said that he urged the Tatmadaw not to use force against the protesters who were then filling the streets of Yangon and practically every city, town and major village in the country. But in Myanmar’s military-controlled media, the talk was described as a friendly discussion between two equals, thus appearing to be an endorsement of the coup.
When the European Union’s military chief of staff, Vice-Admiral Hervé Bléjean, called on Soe Win on March 9 to urge the Tatmadaw to stop all violence and release the country’s democratically elected leaders, the official media reported that they had discussed the SAC’s efforts to establish “community peace and the rule of law.” Myanmar analyst Ye Myo Hein pointed out succinctly in The Irrawaddy on Aug. 13: “Constructive engagement with the military by Western democracies did not transform the military into a professional organization, but instead and inadvertently emboldened and legitimized its leadership to do whatever they wished.”
Calls for engagement can also be outright distasteful and lacking in respect for the victims of the Tatmadaw. Erik Solheim, a Norwegian politician and former development minister who became a controversial figure when he unsuccessfully tried to mediate in the Tamil-Sinhalese conflict in Sri Lanka, wrote in the Norwegian journal Bistandsaktuellt on March 15 that the best way to honor Kyal Sin or “the Angel”, a 19-year-old demonstrator in Mandalay who was shot and killed by a sniper, would be through engagement and investment. Solheim asserted that the Norwegian telecom giant “Telenor is more important than the [UN] Security Council.” That, of course, was before Telenor in July sold all its businesses to a Lebanese company because it was too difficult to operate in SAC-ruled Myanmar. Telenor’s Sigve Brekke told Reuters after the pull-out: “There are three reasons why we think a sale is necessary: it is the safety of our employees, but also the regulatory conditions and also that there is good compliance.”
Sanctions, smart or otherwise, will remain ineffective for two major reasons. The first, which is also mostly overlooked, is the size of Myanmar’s parallel, or greyish-black, economy, which does not show up in any official statistics, and then the fact that countries such as China, Russia, Thailand, India, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore—Myanmar’s main trading partners—are happy to continue dealing with whoever is in power in Naypyitaw. Actually, most of them would prefer to deal with a military-run Myanmar than a democratic, transparent and accountable system where the authorities may have the audacity to clamp down on corruption and other malpractices.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a speech at a forum at Tsinghua University on July 3 that the international community should refrain from imposing sanctions on the SAC, branding such actions as “inappropriate intervention.” Russia, another SAC ally, said as early as April 6 that sanctions against the SAC were futile and extremely dangerous. “In fact, such a line contributes to pitting the sides against each other and, ultimately, pushes the people of Myanmar towards a full-scale civil conflict,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said, as quoted by the Interfax news agency and reported by Reuters.
Russia and China, both permanent members of the UN Security Council, have consistently vetoed any attempt by other members to get the world body to take action against the SAC. China was also for years the Tatmadaw’s main source for military hardware and Myanmar has long been a buyer of Russian fighter jets, helicopters, drones and anti-aircraft missile systems.
And then there is the underground economy, which has kept Myanmar alive throughout rigid socialist policies before 1988 and sanctions and boycotts after that and until the West changed its policies in the aftermath of the 2010 election and the formation of a quasi-civilian government led by ex-General Thein Sein. Drugs, precious stones, timber, antiques and other artifacts have always been smuggled out of the country while assorted consumer goods have traveled in the other direction from countries such as China, India, Thailand and Singapore. The exact value of this informal—and illegal—trade is not known but runs into millions if not billions of dollars.
With an inadequate and largely untrustworthy banking system, many people in Myanmar prefer to utilize the services of dealers in what is called “hundies”, which in the Indian Subcontinent and the Middle East is known as “hawala”. Through this system, money is transferred via a network of private brokers, leaving no paper trail that any authorities can track down and follow. In short, Myanmar will, as it always has done, survive another round of punitive measures imposed by the West.
All that does not mean that change is never going to come to Myanmar—but it would have to come from within the Tatmadaw. And even the officer corps must realize through their Buddhist belief in anicca that nothing is permanent.
The possibility of splits within the military is usually dismissed by most foreign observers as unlikely because of the remarkable cohesion among officers that exists in the officer corps and their loyalty towards the supreme leader. While that is correct, Australian Myanmar expert Andrew Selth pointed out in a Feb. 19 article for the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based think tank, that the highly unpopular coup will test the loyalty of military and police officers. “Times have changed and the latest generation of men in the security forces has grown up in a different environment than its predecessors…it would be a mistake to assume that they are just a mindless mass prepared to do whatever they are told,” Selth wrote. Even more important—and crucial for Myanmar’s future—would be what happens after the death of Senior General and Tatmadaw King Than Shwe.
Many pundits predicted that Myanmar, and the Tatmadaw, would change after the demise of Gen. Ne Win. But that did not happen. After an interregnum with the almost farcical junta leader General Saw Maung, a new strongman emerged. That may happen this time as well and it is highly unlikely that he will be more democratically minded than his predecessors. On the contrary, if Min Aung Hlaing were to be replaced because of his weaknesses, the new King could be even more savage and barbarous. But, on the contrary, if no person with strength and omnipotent stature is to be found, it would open a Pandora’s box of possibilities that could lead to unimaginable chaos and mayhem. And that is the grim legacy of the system Gen. Ne Win laid the foundations for—and which has prevailed since the military takeover in 1962.
Bertil Lintner is a Swedish journalist, author and strategic consultant who has been writing about Asia for nearly four decades..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-08-20
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"Aug. 12, 2021: Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd has requested that the United States’ Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) grant a general licence for their container terminal currently being developed under a build-operate-transfer agreement with Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), a conglomerate owned by the Myanmar military. MEC is a US sanctioned entity.
In its Q1 FY 2022 report, Adani Ports states that: “APSEZ believes that it is not in violation of any sanction guidelines issued by OFAC, and has, therefore, applied to OFAC for a general license to operate the Port.”
In response, the Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ) and Justice For Myanmar have written to the OFAC this week to urge that Adani Ports’ request for a general licence is denied, given the company’s continuing commercial ties with a military conglomerate, the MEC, that finances the military to conduct operations that involve war crimes and crimes against humanity. In addition to Adani Ports’ lease payments, the container terminal will become a future asset for the Myanmar military on completion of the lease.
In March 2021, the US government introduced sanctions against the Myanmar military’s two conglomerates, including the MEC. Adani Ports’ direct business ties with MEC raise serious questions about the company’s complicity with the Myanmar military’s egregious human rights abuses, some of which amount to serious crimes under international law.
ACIJ and Justice For Myanmar reiterate calls for Adani Ports’ shareholders to divest from the company. Adani Ports’ direct business with MEC exposes shareholders to major legal and reputational risks.
Yadanar Maung, spokesperson for Justice For Myanmar says: “It is abhorrent that Adani Ports is continuing to build a port for the MEC in Yangon, a company which finances the Myanmar military, which is carrying out a campaign of terror against the people that has killed over 960 people since the illegal military coup. The US Treasury should take a firm stand against Adani Ports and strengthen measures to stop the flow of revenue to the Myanmar military. Don’t give Adani Ports a licence to whitewash their business with war criminals.”
Rawan Arraf, Executive Director of the Australian Centre for International Justice said: “We call on the US Department of Treasury to deny Adani Ports a licence to continue its business with MEC. Because Adani Ports is creating a lucrative future asset for the MEC – this should raise serious concerns about whether Adani Ports is providing material assistance to a US sanctioned entity. Adani Ports has an obligation to respect human rights and it has consistently failed to disengage from their business with the Myanmar military, as was recommended by the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar.”
Note to editors
Our 30 March 2021 report, Port of Complicity: Adani Ports in Myanmar, provided compelling evidence detailing Adani Ports’ ties to the Myanmar military and its repeated failure to respond to accusations of complicity in international law violations through its business in Myanmar.
Adani Ports has continued to provide misleading statements about its business with the MEC. See press release here.
In April 2021, Adani Ports was removed from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index over its links with the Myanmar military and Australia’s Carmichael coal project. See press release here.
A number of institutional investors have announced divestment from Adani Ports as a result of its links with the Myanmar military and Australia’s Carmichael coal project, including SEB, Nordea and DNB..."
Source/publisher:
Australian Centre for International Justice and Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-08-12
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Business and the Military, Sanctions, Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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172.06 KB
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"August 11, 2021, Myanmar: Brunei’s state-owned oil company is in business with the Myanmar military junta controlled Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) and crony conglomerate IGE Group, in a further sign of the unsuitability of Brunei’s second foreign minister Dato Erywan Pehin Yusof’s appointment as ASEAN Special Envoy to Myanmar.
BRUNEI Energy Myanmar, a company fully owned by the Brunei state, has a share in three oil and gas fields that were awarded in 2014 under the Myanmar military’s proxy government led by the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). BRUNEI Energy’s local business partner is the IGE Group, owned by the son of former USDP Secretary 1 and minister Aung Thaung. The three blocks are I0R-5 in Htantabin, IOR-7 in Shwepyitha and EP-1 in Kyaukkyi-Mindon, Magwe Region.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “Brunei’s business with the Myanmar junta and its notorious cronies makes a mockery of their second foreign minister’s role as ASEAN Special Envoy. Dato Erywan Pehin Yusof cannot be considered a neutral mediator when he is also representing Brunei’s business interests with the junta and its cronies. These concerns add to the serious problems already raised by civil society over the appointment of Erywan Yusof, including a lack of transparency and a failure to consult with Myanmar stakeholders, namely the National Unity Government and ethnic armed organisations. We call on the UN to urgently intervene in the humanitarian and human rights crisis created by the military’s attempted coup and campaign of terror. Relying on ASEAN will only cause more tragedy for the Myanmar people.”..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-08-11
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Business and the Military, ASEAN-Burma relations, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
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"1.1 Background
Once again like déjà vu the land of Myanmar splashed international front page headlines for its
recent brutal crackdown on protestors and monks in the autumn of 2007. People intercepted the
news with unsurprised horror as their memories flashed back to the infamous 1988 uprisings that
prematurely ended the lives of at least 1,000 civilians in Rangoon alone and possibly 3,000
nationwide.
1
This time around it was different with the international community and media
quickly coming to the aid of the protestors in voicing condemnation of the junta‘s actions and
calling for support for the protestors. Human rights and exiled Burmese activists further
increased pressure on the international community to take action against Myanmar and distance
themselves from the military regime. The 2007 anti-government protests (lasting from August
15th until approximately October 31st) were initially led by students and pro-democracy activists
in response to the government‘s increase of fuel prices, which consequently caused a spike in
public transport and staple food prices.2
In what was already an impoverished situation with
inflation at ahistorical levels, it was of course no surprise that social unrest ensued. This
particular fuel hike served as a watershed event for all the economic problems that had been
troubling the people of Myanmar for the last two decades since the last uprising of 1988 took
place. Monks from all over the country eventually joined in and took to the forefront of the
protests in what would be dubbed the ―Saffron Revolution‖ symbolizing the color of the robes
the monks wore. This did not appease the junta leaders as they proceeded forward with a brutal
crackdown on the protestors that resulted in the beating and killing of both civilians and monks
alike. The final death toll of the junta crackdown varies between the junta‘s own official figures
of 10 up to the 200 casualties claimed by dissident groups. In addition, many monks were
consequently detained and put in prison camps while some fear that many of them were
murdered. Upward to 6,000 demonstrators in all were arrested with many of them being
gradually released.3
As if it was not enough that Myanmar had garnered worldwide criticism for its loathsome
antics, Cyclone Nargis would draw renewed world attention and criticism to the country. On May 2nd of 2008, less than a year after the Saffron Revolution, Myanmar experienced the worst
natural disaster in the recorded history of Myanmar claiming the lives of over 100,000 people.
Abundant criticisms were directed toward the junta from the bungling of their own relief effort to
the blockage of international aid, and of their undeterred determination to proceed with elections
the following weekend. All of the mishandling and mismanagement of the crisis kept the junta
on the front page news while the international community desperately explored alternatives to
get help to those who needed it most. Yet again the junta reminded the world of its indifference
to its own people and mocked the world community for its inability to do anything. It is
unforeseen at this point whether this catastrophe has resulted in anything more than minimal
cooperation from the regime and often it is only for handouts of international aid. Cyclone
Nargis will presumably serve as a painful lesson that even in the worst state of crisis the junta of
Myanmar will still refuse to buckle to outside pressure.
Twenty years has now passed since the 1988 uprisings that initially brought international
attention to Myanmar and Nobel laureate Daw Aung Suu Kyi to the forefront of the democratic
opposition. Due to Aung San Suu Kyi and her party comrades‘ repeated arrests and detentions
for their political activities, the international community has adopted numerous diplomatic
strategies over the years with the hopes of coercing the junta into releasing the political prisoners
and into accepting the 1990 election results that favored Suu Kyi and her party, the National
League for Democracy (NLD). There has been consistent international pressure and activism
over the years for the release of the more than one thousand political prisoners locked up for
their participation in the 1988 demonstrations and/or other political activities. Despite the myriad
approaches undertaken by various actors the last two decades, Daw Aung Suu Kyi and many
others remain in captivity and the junta still rules the country with an iron fist. The most popular
approach utilized by state actors against the junta has by far been the imposition or threat of
economic sanctions. The historical timing of Suu Kyi‘s arrests and Myanmar‘s deplorable human
rights behavior against the backdrop of the post-Cold War relations proved a pivotal stimulus for
the use of economic sanctions as a diplomatic tool.
In terms of international cooperation in the United Nations, it wasn‘t until the end of the
Cold War that the international organization finally achieved unprecedented cooperation in the
United Nations Security Council (UN SC). Prior to this relations amongst the Security Council
permanent members had chilled from the start of the Cold War and dimmed any hopes for
cooperation in the Security Council. The renewed cooperation that brought an end to the chilly relations in the UN SC was marked by the Iraq invasion of Kuwait. As a result of this new unity,
a string of peacekeeping and enforcement activities followed suit, howbeit it was not military
activities that proved the most popular method of choice, but alternatively it was economic
sanctions that proved most appealing to Security Council members. It comes as no surprise then
that the 1990s has been dubbed ―the decade of economic sanctions.‖
4 Howbeit, not all these
economic sanctions consisted of multilateral mandatory economic sanctions as outlined under
article 41 of the UN Charter. On the contrary, many economic sanctions were and are indeed
today unilateral.
Since the rejuvenation of the UN SC following the Cold War, economic sanctions have
persistently been issued often to the detriment of the civilian population. A strong majority of the
literature on economic sanctions have questioned and raised doubts over the efficacy of
sanctions. A magnitude of political leaders, human rights activists, and scholars remain for the
most part oblivious and aloof to the detrimental harms of sanctions despite that nearly all are
aware that the infamous Iraqi sanctions campaign claimed the lives of half a million (of which
the majority were children). This is clearly another case of ―collective amnesia‖ since the
international community too often forgets the catastrophic errors of their time in spite of slogans
that cry “Never Again”. Sanctions are assumed to be a less costly alternative to armed force
when measuring the cost of lives, but as former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali
expressed:
Sanctions, as is generally recognized, are a blunt instrument. They raise the ethical question of whether
suffering inflicted on vulnerable groups in the target country is a legitimate means of exerting pressure on
political leaders whose behaviour is unlikely to be affected by the plight of their subjects.
5
An overwhelming amount of literature and research by experts and scholars concede that
sanctions have had in fact drastic implications for vulnerable populations and frequently did not
achieve the objectives it had aimed for. My particular concern in this debate, which is needy of
more research, is the impact of sanctions on women. Women have appeared to suffer the brunt of
sanctions according to numerous anecdotal evidence since women are often times more
vulnerable to economic sanctions due to their gender and their relative impoverished and
disempowered position. Be that as it may, research in this area remains obsolete or very minimal
and is henceforth worthy of attention due to the urgency of this problem as this paper will show..."
Source/publisher:
Malmö University (Sweden)
Date of publication:
2009-01-14
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions, Business and the Military, Sanctions - general, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Human Rights and international relations, Women and Politics in Burma/Myanmar
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"Aug. 4, 2021, Myanmar: US/Luxembourg satellite company Intelsat is continuing to lease transponder capacity to Myanmar’s brutal military junta via a UK subsidiary. Intelsat confirmed to Justice For Myanmar that they do not know how the capacity is being utilised. Intelsat would not answer questions regarding their compliance with sanctions in the EU and UK, which restrict the sale of technology to Myanmar that can be used for internal repression.
Myanmar’s agreement to lease capacity on Intelsat 39, branded Myanmarsat-2, was signed in 2018 and the Maxar Technologies-built satellite was launched in 2019. The agreement was signed by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, under the National League for Democracy-led government. However, it was overseen by a steering committee headed by military appointed Vice President Lt Gen Myint Swe. Committee members included the ministers of defence and home affairs, who are also military appointees, raising serious concerns over Intelsat’s human rights due diligence following the military’s genocide against the Rohingya.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “We call on Intelsat to act immediately to prevent the illegal and murderous Myanmar junta from using satellite capacity for military purposes. The Myanmarsat-2 agreement was signed under the National League for Democracy-led government and Intelsat must now consult with the National Unity Government over their continued business in Myanmar, not the illegal junta. We also call on the UK, Luxembourg, and US governments to ensure Intelsat is in compliance with sanctions and protecting human rights in Myanmar. The military has been widening its nationwide terror campaign against the Myanmar people and has murdered over 940 civilians, including children. More than 5,400 have been arrested, facing torture. We have grave concerns that satellite communications now under junta control can be used to support their violent attacks against the Myanmar people.”..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-08-04
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Genocide, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"Today, six months and a day since the Myanmar military launched its coup d’etat, 462 civil society organisations (CSOs) made formal submissions to the E.U., U.K., U.S. and Australia demanding sanctions on the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE). Sanctions should allow gas production to continue but require revenues to be paid into protected accounts until a legitimate, democratic government is in power.
State-owned MOGE currently provides around 50% of Myanmar’s foreign revenue, estimated to be USD 1.54 billion per year. Companies like Total, Chevron, Posco and PTTEP keep making and facilitating payments into MOGE accounts that are now controlled by the illegal regime, even as it commits atrocities, from air strikes on communities in ethnic areas to detaining and torturing peaceful protesters and journalists, while the devastating impact of a third Covid-19 wave rips across the country.
“The military junta has used gas revenues to purchase weapons ever since the first revenue from the Total-operated gas field started in the late 1990s. They will continue to use these gas revenues to purchase arms to continue its terror campaign against the population and further suppress the democracy movement,” said Ko Ye, a Myanmar activist who is part of the submission.
“People are struggling with no help, under this illegitimate and brutal junta that is carrying out hundreds of attacks on human rights defenders, democracy activists and medical personnel and facilities, arresting doctors and confiscating oxygen. If the funds keep flowing unchecked, this hell will continue. The military junta of Myanmar has an ugly track record of stealing gas revenues,” said Khin Ohmar, Chairperson of Advisory Board of Progressive Voice.
Citizens are refusing to pay electricity bills to avoid bankrolling the junta’s abuses. The U.S. government froze a billion dollars in assets of the Central Bank of Myanmar to stop the military misappropriating them. Meanwhile, governments have sanctioned state-owned enterprises in the timber, gems and jade sectors because they fund the junta, but MOGE operates unchecked, with no sanctions and bringing in larger revenues.
Myanmar’s elected lawmakers and civil society, who have lived under military rule, have assessed that the humanitarian impacts of funding the junta are far worse than the risk of power cuts if revenues are stopped. However, Total has publicly cited humanitarian concerns, dismissing the voice of Myanmar’s people. Total has even claimed that Myanmar gas is vital to keeping the lights on in Thailand, the destination for 80% of the gas is produces, despite Thailand having a massive energy surplus.
Gas companies are then privately lobbying with their governments claiming they will be quickly replaced by less ethical actors, and that ‘leverage’ would be lost. Yet with revenues from gas projects still flowing, either companies have no real leverage or they are not using it.
“Ultimately, our priority is to stop these revenues reaching the junta. If this cannot be achieved, either through sanctions that allow production to continue or through companies taking action directly, the companies must divest rather than lining the pockets of the junta, undermining the efforts of the Myanmar people who are striving for restoration of democracy and for a peaceful future,” said Khin Ohmar..."
Source/publisher:
Progressive Voice
Date of publication:
2021-08-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Business and the Military, Sanctions, Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
The leader of a Tatmadaw-controlled Border Guard Force in a remote region of Kachin State has emerged as a key player in the global rare earth trade, and has turned the territory under his de facto control into a mining hub at a high environmental cost.
Description:
"In mountainous areas of Kachin State bordering China’s Yunnan province, the land is rich in rare earth – elements that are used worldwide in everything from cellphones and laptops to precision-guided weapons.
Rare earth mining in Kachin has turned Myanmar into the world’s third-largest official exporter in just a few years.
Multiple sources told Frontier and Danwatch, a Danish investigative outlet that collaborated on this investigation, that the rare earth mined in Kachin is extracted illegally by Chinese or Chinese-backed companies in areas of Chipwi Township under the de facto control of an armed group and militia led by Kachin warlord Zahkung Ting Ying.
A former officer with the Kachin Independence Organization, Zahkung Ting Ying led a breakaway unit in 1968 that merged with the Communist Party of Burma. When the CPB dissolved in 1989, he established the New Democratic Army-Kachin, and in 2009 the NDA-K became the first ethnic armed group to transition into a Border Guard Force (BGF) under the Tatmadaw. Zahkung Ting Ying also heads a Tatmadaw-aligned militia in the same region, sources told Frontier.
“As a BGF, Zakhung Ting Ying and his former NDA-K are also part of the Tatmadaw chain of command, meaning it is technically a Tatmadaw unit engaged in this rampant illegal mining,” said Ms Clare Hammond, Myanmar researcher with London-based environmental watchdog Global Witness.
Outsourcing environmental costs
As early as 1987, the then leader of China, Mr Deng Xiaoping, predicted that rare earth elements would be crucial to the modern economy. “The Middle East has the oil, but China has the rare earths,” he said during a visit to a production site in Inner Mongolia, a Chinese province.
A group of 17 metals, rare earth elements are actually widely distributed over the earth’s surface but are often not concentrated enough to make extraction financially viable. Mining is also environmentally costly: wastewater and tailings ponds can leak acids, heavy metals and radioactive elements into soil and groundwater, while deforestation leads to erosion and destroys ecosystems.
China has long been the world’s dominant player in rare earth mining, accounting for 95 percent of all official extraction in 2010, according to the United States Geological Survey.
But rising demand for products containing rare earth elements – including in the permanent magnets used in wind turbine generators and electric car motors, as well as for use in the LED screens in our mobile phones and computers – has prompted efforts to diversify production. Rare earths’ utility in military technology, such as drones, has also boosted their global demand and strategic value, including for the US army.
At the same time, China has tightened export laws and introduced comprehensive environmental regulations that have curtailed its own official extraction, particularly since 2015.
Sources familiar with the industry told Frontier and Danwatch that China’s tightening regulations have pushed the extraction of rare earth elements – and particularly a subset known as heavy rare earths, which are in high demand for their use in high-tech weapons, among other products – across the border into Myanmar.
“China has either closed or suspended most of its extraction of heavy rare earths and replaced it with imports from Myanmar,” said David Merriman, a specialist in rare earth elements at the international consulting firm Roskill Information Services, which deals with supply chains of critical raw materials.
China’s official trade data shows that from 2014 to 2020 its imports of rare earth elements from Myanmar jumped from just 300 tonnes to 35,500, with the latter worth US$388 million. By 2019, Myanmar had surpassed Australia to become the world’s third-largest official producer of rare earth elements after China and the United States. Last year, 94 percent of rare earth elements officially imported by China came from Myanmar.
Hammond of Global Witness told Frontier that official trade data may only offer a glimpse into the scale of Kachin’s rare earth mining industry, given its “illegal nature” and because the Kachin State-China border is “highly porous”.
Zahkung Ting Ying appears to have seized the opportunity to make a profit from these trends, with sources telling Frontier that rare earth elements are extracted from territories under the control of his BGF and militia before being driven across the border for processing.
Due to the illegal nature of rare earth mining and its occurrence in territory controlled by Zahkung Ting Ying’s armed groups, it is difficult to track the companies or individuals which are actively engaged in the industry, but local activists and mine workers told Frontier that the bosses and senior workers on the sites are Chinese and that the companies are of Chinese origin. Similar patterns have emerged in other industries in Kachin State, including in the jade mines of Hpakant township and tissue-culture banana plantations across Waingmaw township, where Chinese-backed companies have partnered with Myanmar-registered companies or entered the state illegally in order to skirt regulations when conducting business.
Dr Hkalen Tu Hkawng, a Kachin activist and the minister for natural resources and environmental conservation in the parallel National Unity Government, said that local authorities under the Tatmadaw and armed actors like Zahkung Ting Ying’s BGF might also take taxes or bribes from Chinese businessmen in exchange for permission to mine rare earth – a practice that he said is also common among opium poppy farmers in areas of Waingmaw township under the control of Zahkung Ting Ying’s BGF. “The [former] NDA-K and Tatmadaw know what is happening where, and if they didn’t get anything from it, they wouldn’t stay quiet,” he said.
Cross-border collaboration
The history of rare earth mining in Kachin is murky. Several knowledgeable sources told Frontier that they believed some of the first rare earth mining in the state occurred in areas controlled by the Kachin Independence Organization in the years leading up to the collapse of a ceasefire with the Tatmadaw in 2011, but that mining has now mostly or entirely stopped in KIO-controlled areas.
KIO information department head Colonel Naw Bu told Frontier that the KIO is not officially engaged in rare earth mining, but has allowed exploration in an area of its eastern district known by the Kachin name of Mung Hkawng Pa, in the Mai Ja Yang region. Col Naw Bu said he was not authorised to answer further questions related to rare earth mining in KIO-controlled areas.
Google Earth satellite images show four clusters of pools in a mountainous area northwest of Mai Ja Yang town. The pools look identical to those in photographs given to Frontier by people who worked on rare earth mining sites in Chipwi Township, as well as photos and videos taken by several media who visited rare earth mining sites in Chipwi Township in 2019.
But the number of apparent rare earth mining sites in the Mai Ja Yang region pales in comparison to the mining in Zahkung Ting Ying’s BGF and militia-controlled territory.
Six knowledgeable people interviewed by Frontier said that nearly all rare earth mining in Kachin takes place in areas under control of Zahkung Ting Ying’s BGF and militia, particularly in the area around the border town of Pangwa, alternately spelled Pangwar or Panwar.
Several sources told Frontier that rare earth mining started picking up in this area around 2014 or 2015. Satellite images of the border area show around 100 sites in the region with the pools characteristic of rare earth mining.
The sources said that the mining was happening with impunity.
“Even though there are complaints from local people, rare earth mining is controlled by the BGF, which has weapons, power and money, so they don’t listen to local voices,” said an activist based in Myitkyina.
A representative from the Transparency and Accountability Network Kachin State (TANKS), a local civil society group, told Frontier that land seizures are among many problems which locals face as a result of rare earth mining.
“The [former] NDA-K and rare earth companies forcibly grab local people’s farmland and give compensation without any negotiation. If local people don’t accept, they won’t offer anymore; maybe they will offer less than before. Local villagers have no chance to complain,” said the source, who asked not to be named.
Impunity is nothing new in territory under control of Zahkung Ting Ying’s armed groups, local activists told Frontier. Although the NLD and civil society groups tried to monitor rare earth mining, enforcing the law was almost impossible, said the TANKS representative, whose organisation focuses on monitoring natural resource governance. Tatmadaw personnel would typically accompany assessment teams made up of NLD and civil society representatives on mining site visits, they said, and when the teams arrived, the mining would stop temporarily.
“When they went back to Myitkyina, [rare earth mining] resumed. The NLD government tried to regulate rare earth mining as much as they could … but the main implementers are armed groups, so it wasn’t possible … [The NLD] could only say, ‘stop illegal mining’, but it wasn’t really effective on the groups holding weapons.”
Frontier’s calls to Tatmadaw spokesperson Major-General Zaw Min Tun went unanswered.
Frontier was also unable to reach Zahkung Ting Ying for comment, and his son, politician and former NDA-K senior commander Zahkung Ying Sau, declined an interview request. An official from the New Democracy Party (Kachin), a political party led by Zahkung Ying Sau, who was elected to the state hluttaw in 2020, said the party was not involved in rare earth mining and refused to comment further.
A web of permits
Myanmar mining permit records show that dozens of exploration permits have been issued to mining companies in the stretch of Kachin State’s border with China under control of Zahkung Ting Ying’s armed groups.
Since 2014-15, Myanmar has published records for mining permits as part of its commitments under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which was developed to promote the open and accountable management of oil, gas and mineral resources. The EITI Global Standard requires governments and companies in these sectors to disclose a range of information, including revenues, fees and licences.
Myanmar EITI records for 2016-17 show that of the 148 mining permits issued for Kachin State, more than half were in areas of Chipwi and Tsawlaw townships either within or close to territory controlled by Zahkung Ting Ying’s armed groups. None of the permits listed were for rare earth mining exploration or production, however. Most were issued on a “first come first served” basis for exploration of other materials, such as iron, tin, tungsten, marble, lead and zinc.
Many of the permits were issued to companies that do not appear to have ever been registered with Myanmar’s Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, the country’s repository of corporate records. In the Pangwa area of Chipwi township, where the BGF is headquartered, permits were issued to several firms without a DICA registration record, such as “Chain Yein Taung Mining”, which held 15 licences overall, and “Lan Chaw Pwan Development”, which had three permits.
DICA records also show that Zakhung Ting Ying and his son are directors of several registered companies that hold a large number of the permits. One such company, Myanmar Myo Ko Ko Medical Instrument Co Ltd, held 11 permits in total, all for iron production on a “first come first served” basis in the Pangwa area. Issued in 2016, the permits were due to expire in March 2021 and it is unclear whether they have been extended.
Zakhung Ting Ying is also a director together with Zahkung Ying Sau and two other sons, Zahkung Ying Ting and Zahkung Ying Chan, of San Lin International Import and Export Co Ltd, which has held several permits in the Pangwa area of Chipwi township. Myanmar Myo Ko Ko and San Lin companies also share directors with other permit holding firms, including Bawm Myang Co Ltd, and Sin Kyaing Co Ltd.
Myanmar EITI mining permit records for 2017-18, available through the OneMap portal, show that Bawm Myang, San Lin and Lan Chaw Pwan Development held permits around Pangwa that year.
However, the TANKS representative told Frontier in May of this year that Myanmar Myo Ko Ko was the only company officially involved in rare earth mining under the NLD. They said the company was granted a one-year mining exploration licence by the union-level Ministry of Mines in 2018. Radio Free Asia reported in 2019 that according to the Kachin State Ministry of Mines, Myanmar Myo Ko Ko had been licensed to explore five mining sites totaling 114 acres, while the Kachin State Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation at the time, Dashi La Seng, confirmed to RFA that most rare earth mining was happening illegally in the area.
Frontier tried calling Myanmar Myo Ko Ko, but of all the listed numbers, only one number worked and Frontier was told it was a wrong number.
‘Nothing can live there’
As rare earth mining has shifted from China across the border into Myanmar, the environmental consequences appear to have followed. According to Hammond of Global Witness, the “relatively weak rule of law” in the area means that rare earth mining often doesn’t meet even “basic environmental standards.”
Frontier’s interviews, along with other media reports, have revealed concerns about contaminated soil and water sources as well as erosion, which local activists and mine workers told Frontier was causing landslides as well as sediment build-up in the Chipwi River. They also said that little heed was paid to worker safety.
Seng Awng, the pseudonym for a 30-year-old Kachin from a village near Myitkyina, began working for a mining company whose name he does not know in September 2019. Sut Hting, the pseudonym for a 60-year-old Kachin who lives in a displaced person camp in Myitkyina township, also worked for a company whose name he did not know from December 2017 to May 2018.
The two workers said they knew little about the chemicals used in the mining process. Seng Awng described the powders he worked with as similar to salt, while Sut Hting said that the chemical liquids and powders were stored in containers with lettering in Chinese. “Most local workers don’t understand what’s written on those containers, and no one comes to explain,” he said.
Sut Hting avoided work which involved handling chemicals, even though it paid better, because workers said the chemicals harmed their health. “Most workers didn’t want those jobs. They just did it for one or two months,” he said. “They said those chemical liquids and powders harmed their health. Some workers even got sick. The company didn’t provide proper safety equipment.”
Seng Awng, who was among workers who handled chemicals, said he wore gloves but the few times he touched the powder or liquid, he felt a slight burning sensation.
He said workers avoided using local water sources for drinking or bathing and that forests in the area had been destroyed. “There’s nothing left there, not even trees. They cut the trees and burn them. In the working area, there is not a single animal,” he said.
‘Mining can happen more freely than before’
Those interviewed by Frontier and Danwatch believed that rare earth mining had picked up speed since the February 1 military coup.
“Since the coup we’ve seen an increase in rare earth mining in Kachin State and we expect the lawless environment to be conducive to the business interests of militia groups more broadly,” said Hammond of Global Witness. “Illegal activity thrives in anarchic conditions, and the post-coup chaos has created a perfect opportunity for bad actors to take advantage by pillaging Myanmar’s natural resources.”
Hkalen Tu Hkawng of the National Unity Government also forecast rare earth mining to increase. “When the public and activists don’t have the freedom to advocate for the rule of law and law enforcement, and when their ability to monitor becomes weak, rare earth mining can happen more freely than before,” he said.
As the buyer of rare earth from Myanmar, China has a significant amount of leverage to tackle the rampant illegal mining of rare earths in Kachin State – if it chooses to do so.
In January, China introduced draft policies for regulating the rare earth industry chain, which include prohibiting the purchase and sale of products extracted illegally and establishing a tracking system for rare earth.Hammond called on China to do more to stop the illicit cross-border rare earth industry, pointing out that it provided no benefit to communities, who only see the destruction of their land. “Rare earth mining in Kachin is benefitting militia leaders who answer to Myanmar’s military, and who provide support to the military in exchange for being allowed to pursue illicit business interests,” she said. “Cutting off sources of funding to these groups will in turn put pressure on the military.” – Additional reporting by Jaw Tu Hkawng
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-08-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military, Military History, Political role of the Tatmadaw
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Description:
"Since seizing power in February 2021, the Myanmar military has faced widespread allegations of human rights violations. Companies operating in Myanmar must make challenging decisions about how to responsibly navigate the crisis. International oil companies, including energy majors Total and Chevron, are under particular scrutiny as the military regime continues to sustain itself with revenues from the offshore gas industry.
The contracts in force are complex, as are the payment structures. While Total and Chevron have suspended some gas dividend payments, these are a fraction of what is reaching the military regime. 90% of the money >continues to flow.
Using publicly-available information, this Publish What You Pay policy brief summarises how revenues are flowing from international oil and gas companies through the state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), and on to the military. Since the attempted coup, these revenues are more likely than ever to be a direct source of finance for the Myanmar military. The following highlights these key findings:
MOGE has entered into four joint ventures as a representative of the Government of Myanmar for four offshore gas projects, including the Yadana Project operated by Total.
Following the attempted coup d’etat, the military has control over all government bank accounts, including MOGE’s accounts.
In 2017-2018, the amount that MOGE collected from projects under the responsibility of Total amounted to almost USD 400 million.
About 50 percent of Myanmar’s foreign exchange now comes from gas revenues, indicating a high likelihood that the military is relying on them. The brief encourages oil and gas companies to pay revenue owed to MOGE into a trust or protected account until a legitimate and democratically-elected government is in place in Myanmar.
Total’s response to this report
This report focuses on payments made to MOGE as a result of the Yadana Project operated by Total. Total has said publicly that it does not make payments to MOGE and that this is done by PTT. This briefing uses publicly available information to explain the complex contracts and payment structures at play, and what Total’s role is. We shared this briefing with Total prior to publication and it provided this statement. We invited Total to disclose further supporting documents publicly to clarify its position but it did not..."
Source/publisher:
Publish What You Pay (London)
Date of publication:
2021-06-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-02
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Individual Documents
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172.46 KB
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"The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM), which is controlled by the military regime, has sold nearly US$90 million (148 billion kyats) since the February coup as the kyat’s value tumbles.
The CMB auctioned $6.8 million to domestic banks in February following the coup, $12 million in April, $24 million in May, $12 million in June and $33 million by July 28.
The kyat has depreciated by 23 percent against the US dollar since the coup to around 1,700 kyats, according to currency dealers.
It is partly because of supply and demand pressures, said a businessman. Myanmar is earning fewer dollars as exports have fallen and export earnings have declined. But demand for the dollar has not changed significantly as Myanmar imports numerous products, including fuel, pharmaceuticals and consumer goods.
“People are saving dollars as their trust in the kyat has declined. Our country relies on imports and there is always demand for the dollar. The dollar value will remain high,” he said.
The floor price fixed by CBM at its dollar auctions is 1,645 kyats. Before the coup, the exchange rate was just over 1,300 kyats.
The bulk selling of dollars while the kyat is depreciating, the growing trade deficit and Myanmar not receiving new foreign investments will only reduce the foreign currency reserves of the regime which is keen to acquire hard currency.
Myanmar’s economy is expected to shrink by 18 percent this fiscal year under the regime and a rapid surge of COVID-19, the World Bank said in its latest report..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-07-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
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"July 22, 2021, Myanmar: The Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics has partnered with at least three businesses that continue to maintain commercial ties with the Myanmar army, in breach of their human rights responsibilities under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. Sponsors include Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, which are “Tokyo 2020 Olympic Gold Partners”, and Daiwa House Industry, which is a “Tokyo 2020 Olympic Official Partner”. All three businesses are part of the Y Complex commercial real estate project in Yangon, on land leased from the Myanmar army’s office of the quartermaster general, which purchases arms for the military.
According to the Olympic Charter, fundamental principles of the Olympics include “respect for universal fundamental ethical principles” and the promotion of “a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity” through sport.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “We are appalled that the Tokyo Organising Committee is partnering with companies that are complicit in the Myanmar military’s widening campaign of terror, which has involved the murder of over 900 people since the illegal February 1 attempted military coup. The military’s criminal conduct is enabled by companies like Daiwa House Industry, Mizuho and SMBC, which provides the military with a direct source of revenue. These companies have failed to uphold their human rights responsibilities. Promoting these companies through the Tokyo Olympics taints the games and goes against the fundamental principles of Olympism. We call on the Tokyo Organising Committee to revoke sponsorships with these companies that are aiding the Myanmar military’s atrocities.”
The Y Complex project is being developed by Daiwa House Industry and Tokyo Tatemono, co-financed by Mizuho and SMBC, under a Build, Operate, Transfer (B.O.T.) agreement with the Myanmar army. In addition to annual lease payments of US$2.163 million, the army will take ownership of the building on completion of the lease, providing a continued source of revenue which can be used to finance their war crimes and crimes against humanity. Parties to the Y Complex project also include two publicly funded entities: Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport and Urban Development (JOIN).
In August 2019, the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar published a report into the Myanmar military’s economic interests and recommended that businesses end their commercial relationships with the Myanmar military and entities it owns or controls, specifying real estate rental as a type of relationship. The parties to the Y Complex project have failed to implement these recommendations.
Note to editors
See joint press release on Y Complex: https://www.justiceformyanmar.org/press-releases/japan-stop-real-estate-project-in-myanmar
See joint submission to the United Nations Working Group on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises regarding Y Complex: https://www.justiceformyanmar.org/press-releases/submission-by-civil-society-organizations-concerning-japanese-business-entities-operating-in-myanmar
See Justice For Myanmar’s web features on Y Complex: https://www.justiceformyanmar.org/stories/land-lease-payments-tie-japanese-gov-and-investors-to-myanmars-military and https://www.justiceformyanmar.org/stories/y-complex
Justice For Myanmar, a group of covert activists campaigning for justice and accountability for the people of Myanmar, is calling for an end to military business and for federal democracy and a sustainable peace..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-07-22
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, Business and the Military, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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312.6 KB 131.9 KB
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"Summary: The situation in Myanmar (Burma) is grave. The Myanmar military, the Tatmadaw, is
continuing its violent crackdown on protestors, which has led to hundreds of deaths and
thousands of disappearances. A crisis of this scale requires swift, coordinated action,
and the many thousands of people who have been displaced by the violence urgently
require humanitarian assistance.
The UK holds a number of unique roles and responsibilities which allow it to lead on
preventing further violence and ensuring essential humanitarian support reaches those
who need it. The Government has taken some strong measures in response to the coup
and the violence, but there is much more that it can do. In this report we recommend a
number of actions the UK Government should take to help reduce the violence against
civilians. At a time when the Government is planning greater engagement with the
Indo-Pacific, Myanmar presents a test of how effective our policy in the region can be.
We recommend that the Government take further steps to secure a binding arms
embargo on Myanmar, widen its sanctions approach to include a much broader range
of people and organisations, provide humanitarian and logistical support to ethnic
advocacy and media organisations, and take steps to ensure that those perpetrating
these crimes will face justice in the future.
Effective mediation in Myanmar requires concrete action. Failure to do so in the past
has led to the crisis we see today. Failure to do so in the future will only lead to further
violence, instability and loss of life.....Introduction: 1. In February 2021, the Myanmar military staged a coup which led to the deposition and
detention of the country’s democratically elected representatives, and the military taking
control of the country. The protests and violence that have followed the coup have led to
hundreds of deaths, thousands of disappearances, and tens to hundreds of thousands of
displaced people. Evidence from diaspora groups paints a harrowing picture: many speak
of family members who have been unlawfully detained and many others who are beyond
contact.1
2. The Tatmadaw2 staged this coup and declared a state of national emergency following
their claims that the 2020 General Election was compromised by mass voter fraud. It
has provided no evidence for these claims.3 The election has been found by international
observers to “reflect the true will of the electorate”.4
3. While there has been much international condemnation of the coup and the military
junta’s violence against protestors, there has been little substantial action taken. Months
on from the coup, clear proof that the junta is committing serious crimes against the
Myanmar people continues to surface regularly. Statements of condemnation have not
and will not prevent these crimes—only clear action will.
4. The need for this action is urgent. Dr Sasa, the Minister for International Cooperation
in the democratically elected National Unity Government (NUG), said:
It is a pivotal movement in our history. The darkest hour in our history
which was heading to the great civil war and genocide. Some 54 million
brave people of Myanmar are facing the cruellest military junta.5
The UK has a unique role to play. As the United Nations Security Council ‘penholder’ on
Myanmar, and as an accepted Dialogue Partner to the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN),6 there are several fronts on which the UK can exert further diplomatic
influence. This crisis is also a major test of the effectiveness of the UK’s tilt to the IndoPacific region, as announced in the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development
and Foreign Policy.7 If the Government is serious about building its influence in the region
it should show a willingness to take moral leadership and prevent further conflict and loss
of life. This report sets out what more the UK Government could and should do..."
Source/publisher:
House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee
Date of publication:
2021-07-13
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, National Unity Government (NUG), ASEAN-Burma relations, Sanctions - general, The discussion on humanitarian assistance to Burma, Business and the Military, Sanctions, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
Commercial Dealings with Abusive Military Undermines Rights
Description:
" Japanese business entities should stop their participation in a commercial real estate project involving Myanmar’s abusive military, Human Rights Now, Human Rights Watch, Japan International Volunteer Center, Justice For Myanmar, and Mekong Watch said today. The proposed Y-Complex in Yangon is being constructed on land leased from the country’s armed forces, the Tatmadaw, whose long record of abuses has worsened since the February 1, 2021, military coup.
One participating company, Tokyo Tatemono, stated that they have suspended operation of the Y-Complex project since the coup. However, project participants, including publicly-funded Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport and Urban Development (JOIN), Fujita Corporation, and Tokyo Tatemono, have not publicly disclosed the duration of the suspension or the conditions for resuming operations.
“The Japanese government and businesses failed to appropriately assess the risk associated with doing business in Myanmar,” said Ryutaro Ogawa, Vice Secretary General at Human Rights Now. “They should admit their own shortcomings and act responsibly, otherwise, they will risk financing the military.”
The Y-Complex, which includes a shopping mall, hotel, and office rental space, is being built on “military-owned Military Museum land” leased by Myanmar’s Quartermaster General’s office, according to a copy of the “Build, Operate, Transfer (B.O.T) Land Lease Agreement” dated October 15, 2013. The agreement states that upon termination or expiry of the B.O.T agreement, the land, including buildings and fixtures, developed on the land should be transferred to the “lessor.” Therefore, companies involved in Y-Complex risk creating immoveable long-term assets for the military, which can continue to yield income after the agreement is terminated. On June 22, 2020, a Myanmar military spokesperson confirmed that the military owns the land, and the Ministry of Defense receives rental payments for the Y-Complex development.
On March 5, 2021, in response to an inquiry by Mekong Watch, JBIC said that Myanmar’s Defense Ministry received all payments for the land rent. JBIC also asserted that the rental payments are ultimately included in the government’s national budget, under the National Budget Law, but did not disclose the basis for this claim. JBIC said it was coordinating with the involved business entities as well as the Japanese embassy in Myanmar to confirm such details with the Myanmar government after outside “stakeholders” raised concerns; but it has yet to publicly do so.
“Even before the coup, we were raising concerns to the Japanese government and businesses about the dangers of money flowing into the military, but they did not take necessary measures,” said Yuka Kiguchi, Executive Director of Mekong Watch. “We strongly condemn the fact that Japan’s public funds likely ended up in the hands of the Tatmadaw.”
Under Myanmar’s 2008 Constitution, adopted during military rule, Myanmar’s Defense Ministry falls under the military, and the military is independent of the democratically elected government. Under article 20(b) of the Constitution, “The Defence Services has the right to independently administer and adjudicate all affairs of the armed forces.” Under article 232(b)(ii), the defense minister is nominated by the military commander-in-chief from the ranks of the military. Other laws further prevent any scrutiny or accountability of the Y-Complex lease payments. For example, according to section 39 of the Union Auditor General Law, the Defense Ministry is exempt from audit, so the land lease payments to the Defense Ministry are not subject to government scrutiny.
Abuses by the military, which has been long implicated in crimes against humanity in Rakhine State and other grave international crimes in ethnic areas throughout Myanmar, have intensified since the coup. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) reported that as of July 12, 2021, the security forces have killed more than 900 people, and the authorities have arrested, charged, or sentenced more than 5,200. The military has also intensified operations in ethnic minority areas, with indiscriminate airstrikes and ground attacks that have hit schools, villages, places of worship, and other civilian structures.
“Japanese companies and the government knew that they were dealing with a military responsible for countless atrocities over many years, not a civilian-controlled defense ministry,” said Teppei Kasai, Asia program officer at Human Rights Watch. “The Japanese government and companies should make it clear that they do not intend to resume commercial projects with the Tatmadaw.”
In a joint submission to the United Nations Working Group on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises on February 17, 2021, the five groups requested an investigation into whether the Y-Complex project is financing Myanmar’s military. At the time of the joint submission, none of the Japanese businesses involved in the Y-Complex project had conducted effective human rights due diligence as called for by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
“It is deplorable that the companies involved in the Y-Complex have not clarified the status of the project following Myanmar’s attempted coup and the military’s widening campaign of terror,” said Yadanar Maung, spokesperson at Justice For Myanmar. “There is no justification for leasing land from the office of the quartermaster general, the very office that purchases weapons that the military uses to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Japanese government and businesses must end their complicity in the Myanmar military’s atrocities.”
The UN Guiding Principles state that, “States should take additional steps to protect against human rights abuses by business enterprises that are owned or controlled by the State, or that receive substantial support and services from State agencies.” On May 12, 2021, the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar called on businesses to “uphold their human rights responsibilities and put pressure on the military junta to halt grave human rights violations;” while adding that companies should act in line with the Guiding Principles to “avoid contributing to human rights violations, or becoming complicit in crimes if they continue to operate in Myanmar.”
On October 16, 2020, the Japanese government announced a five-year National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, stating that it “wishes to contribute to promoting and protecting both the human rights of people who would be adversely affected by the activities of business enterprises and human rights for society as a whole, including the international community.”
“The Japanese government and businesses should get serious about human rights and follow the commitments laid out in the National Action Plan as well as their corporate policies in a responsible and proactive manner,” said Naoko Watanabe, Manager for Overseas Program Group at Japan International Volunteer Center. “If they don’t, they not only risk funding the Myanmar military but further damaging their reputations.”..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-07-15
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Business and the Military, Human Rights and international relations, Burma's economic relations with Japan, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
more
Description:
"A crucial update has occurred in the developing conflict going on in Myanmar. Following the February 1st military coup of Myanmar’s 10-year-old fledgling democracy, humanitarian concerns have caused the region to become a subject of international focus. While not only violently overthrowing a democratic government and detaining a democratic leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, the Myanmar military has once again resumed the targeted killings of the Rohingya ethnic minority living within the region. These actions, while not only morally reprehensible, have also positioned the new Myanmar Regime directly against the United States and the European Union (EU). The Myanmar Regime’s direct conflict with the EU and the Liberal Hegemony has ultimately resulted in the EU’s third leveling of sanctions against the Southeast Asian nation.
Following the February 1st overthrow, the nation erupted into pro-democracy protests that prompted a military crackdown. While the military junta contests these activist group’s numbers, (suggesting that they are in fact much lower), Reuters cites the group’s observation that 860 people have been killed by the junta since February 1st and over 4500 people have been jailed. This clear and ever-mounting chaos has failed to be stopped by previous EU sanctions and diplomatic efforts, which previously formed a blacklist of various Myanmar military officials and government-owned businesses. While the current update has been expanded to address some 43 officials and six military-owned entities, it is important to note that these particular measures have been crafted to target the timber and gems economic sectors. As both of these sectors are currently under the junta’s control, the EU argues that “by targeting the gems and timber sectors, these measures are aimed at restricting the junta’s ability to profit from Myanmar’s natural resources, while being crafted so as to avoid undue harm to the people of Myanmar.” While the EU has also allocated 20.5 million euros in humanitarian aid to provide support to refugees from the crisis, other groups have begun to be skeptical about whether the European Union is doing enough for the region.
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has begun to argue that the EU’s actions while signaling that they will continue to pressure the Myanmar junta are largely symbolic. They note how the three entities added to the list, Myanmar Gems Enterprise, Myanmar Timber Enterprise, and Forest Products Joint Venture Corporation, are only a small part of the regime’s foreign currency revenues. The FIDH instead points to Myanmar’s natural gas reserves which generate approximately an annual one billion U.S. dollars in revenue for the regime, or about one-third of the regime’s total income. This is the largest source of the regime’s income coming from the selling of Myanmar’s natural reserves to oil and gas giants such as Total (France based), Chevron (U.S.), Posco (South Korea), PTT (Thailand), China National Petroleum Corporation (China) or Petronas (Malaysia). It is important to note that of this list, three of the major giants are based in either EU members or close EU allies countries. Going even further, this list of sanctions has also failed to seize the military’s largest foreign stocks, foreign bank accounts, and central bank reserves. Ultimately, the FIDH argues that the EU’s actions are simply too timid, and instead calls for the “EU to work in coordination with like-minded jurisdictions to explore all options available, including the possibility to prohibit all financial transactions whose ultimate beneficiary is the Tatmadaw [Myanmar military].” While certain individuals might be taken aback by the aggressive approach and the potential that it might damage Myanmar’s people unduly, it is important to recognize that the points the FIDH have made challenge the credibility of the EU as an institution that is fully committed to the humanitarian wellbeing of the Myanmar people and Myanmar’s democracy.
While the list of the natural oil reserves was relatively short, it is important to recognize that three of the seven companies are housed in regions with “like-minded jurisdictions”. With that being said, it is fair to argue that such an attempt to limit those three companies directly profiteering from the exploitation of the Myanmar military, would be hindered by the massive political lobbying force that these oil corporations wield. What this means is that once again, the power that massive corporations hold over democratic institutions is obstructing the wellbeing of humanitarian citizens. This argument could also be extended to include the massive influence of private banking interests, and their obstructions to humanitarian aid. While all of that is a lot more speculatory, it must be noted that the current state of EU sanctions on the Tatmadaw is showing to have little effect..."
Source/publisher:
The Organization for World Peace
Date of publication:
2021-07-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"July 5, 2021, Myanmar: Justice For Myanmar calls for an immediate suspension of the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project in response to recent Indian announcements regarding the Sittwe Port. On July 4, 2021, the Hindu Business Line reported that the Indian government awarded Bharat Freight Group subsidiary A to Z EXIM Private Limited a contract to operate and develop the Sittwe Port. This follows a tender for the dredging of Sittwe port and the Kaladan River, in which publicly-listed company Knowledge Marine and Engineering Works Limited (KMEW) is the sole remaining bidder.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: "We condemn the Indian government for continuing business as usual following Myanmar's brutal and illegal attempted coup. India's Kaladan project has exacerbated conflict and threatens ethnic communities. Speeding ahead with the project now under the military junta is reckless and will put local lives at risk. We call for the project to be immediately suspended until there is democracy with the military fully under civilian control. We call on Indian companies, including Bharat Freight and KMEW, to immediately end their complicity with the Myanmar junta through their involvement in the Kaladan project."
The Kaladan project was formalised in 2008 under the previous military dictatorship and is designed to provide an alternative maritime trade route for landlocked northeast Indian states. It involves a cross-border road, an inland water terminal in Paletwa and a seaport in Sittwe, areas where the Myanmar military has committed genocide, and continues to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity. A 2013 civil society report criticised the project for a lack of consultation, lack of transparency, land confiscation, environmental destruction and risks to cultural heritage..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-07-05
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Business and the Military, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
Format :
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Size:
234.07 KB 118.13 KB
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Sub-title:
Asia Times' correspondent Bertil Lintner explains why Russia has warmly embraced Myanmar's military coup makers
Description:
"This exclusive Q & A first appeared on Asia Times’ Southeast Asia Insider newsletter. If you are not already a subscriber please sign up here.
A recent visit to the Russian capital by Myanmar’s Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has caught the attention of analysts and observers and raised questions over Moscow’s motives for forging ever-closer relations with the Tatmadaw, which has been shunned and sanctioned by the West following its seizure of power in a February coup.
The erstwhile Soviet Union had once been a major power in Southeast Asia, but lost influence in the region following its collapse in 1991. Under President Vladimir Putin’s watch, Moscow has slowly but surely rebuilt many of those frayed ties with regional autocracies and democracies alike, primarily through arms deals.
Asia Times’ correspondent and renowned Myanmar expert Bertil Lintner reported on the deepening ties between Moscow and Naypyidaw this week. In this week’s Q&A segment, Lintner weighs in on what he sees as a geopolitically resurgent Russia more clearly than ever telegraphing its presence in Southeast Asia.
Why is Russia openly embracing Myanmar’s coup government while the West and US penalize and condemn its suspension of democracy?
Firstly because Myanmar is a big buyer of Russian military hardware. But there are other important reasons why Moscow wants to maintain close relations with the country’s ruling military.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, old Asian allies drifted away and sought other economic as well as strategic partners. Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has been able to restore some, though not all, of its former glory as a global superpower. It’s a work in progress.
Moscow’s friendship with Naypyitaw should be seen from that perspective. It is also important for Moscow to set an example here as it strives to disrupt Western efforts to promote democracy in Asia and elsewhere.
For the Myanmar military, which has been condemned by most of the democratic world for its coup and subsequent brutality against protesters, it is desperately looking for partners and recognition and Russia fits the bill.
Not even China, Myanmar’s old ally, is willing to offer as much open political and diplomatic support as Russia. Moscow is looking for a new, trustworthy ally in the region that can help reestablish the influence lost after the Soviet Union’s demise.
Both Russia and China have blocked the UN Security Council from imposing sanctions against Myanmar’s junta. Are the two powers working in concert or do they have divergent interests in Myanmar?
Naturally because both countries are opposed to Western ideas of democracy taking root in Asia and both resented the influence that the US and other Western countries managed to gain during the ten years of relative openness that Myanmar enjoyed from 2011 to 2021.
But there are also differences. The Russians have put all their eggs in one basket, the military, while China also maintains cordial relationships with ethnic armed organizations opposed to the Myanmar military and government, primarily the United Wa State Army. The ceasefire group is well-equipped with sophisticated Chinese weaponry, including surface-to-air missiles, artillery and even armored personnel carriers.
China’s policy can be characterized as carrot and stick: the carrot is business, trade and support at the UN’s Security Council; the stick is the UWSA and its armed rebel allies. If China doesn’t get what it wants, the UWSA will get more weapons, not to fight the Myanmar military but as a show of force and to make sure that an offensive against the UWSA would be too costly.
But for that reason, Myanmar’s generals are also wary of the Chinese and suspicious of their motives, which go way beyond having cordial bilateral ties. Myanmar is the only neighbor that provides China direct access to the Bay of Bengal, bypassing contested waters in the South China Sea and the congested Malacca Strait.
Therefore, China is playing power games in Myanmar through its ties to the UWSA and its allies – and by cultivating individuals in the military and in politics and the media who could be used to enhance China’s strategic interests in Myanmar. Russia, on the other hand, is a relatively problem-free ally.
How will a Russia-influenced and armed Myanmar potentially shift the region’s strategic dynamics and balance of power?
The flow of Russian (and, of course, Chinese) weapons to Myanmar has turned its armed forces into one of the most numerous and best-equipped in the region. And even if its adversaries have been domestic ethnic and political rebels, the Myanmar military also has a long history of actually fighting.
Moreover, Myanmar is now ruled by a military junta with little or no civilian input. There is no other country in the region, not even Thailand, where the military has such a strong position in governance and policy-making. Anyone including businessmen, diplomats, UN personnel and other outsiders who want to deal with the country has to deal with the generals first. There are at present no other players.
A new, better-armed and more powerful Myanmar military has become a regional force to be reckoned with. The Myanmar-Russian alliance may not alter the overall balance of power in the region, but it will no doubt have an impact as it has given the Russians a new strategic foothold in Asia.
But there are also differences to keep in mind. Culturally and socially, Myanmar and Russia are light years apart and for those reasons interactions between the two sides are not going to be easy. Only time will tell how this unique relationship will develop.
For the time being, Myanmar has no other choice in terms of powerful outside allies and so far the Russians have played their cards quite skillfully..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2021-07-05
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Business and the Military, Russia-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 22 individuals connected to Burma’s military regime.
Among the individuals sanctioned today are seven key members of Burma’s military, which continues to repress the pro-democracy movement in the country and use lethal force against the people of Burma, including children and members of ethnic minority groups. The other 15 individuals are the spouses or adult children of previously designated senior Burmese military officials whose financial networks have contributed to military officials’ ill-gotten gains. OFAC designated all these individuals pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14014, “Blocking Property with Respect to the Situation in Burma.” These sanctions are not directed at the people of Burma.
“The military’s suppression of democracy and campaign of brutal violence against the people of Burma are unacceptable,” said Andrea Gacki, Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control. “Today’s action demonstrates that the United States will continue to impose increasing costs on Burma’s military and promote accountability for those responsible for the military coup and ongoing violence, including by targeting sources of revenue for the military and its leaders.”
These measures complement new restrictions announced today by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) on four entities that have provided support to Burma’s military. Effective July 2, BIS added the following four entities to the Department of Commerce Entity List set forth in Supp. No. 4 to Part 744 of the Export Administration Regulations, 15 CFR Parts 730-774 (EAR): King Royal Technologies Co., Ltd., a telecommunications company providing satellite communication services to Burma’s military, as well as Wanbao Mining and its two subsidiaries, Myanmar Wanbao Mining Copper, Ltd. and Myanmar Yang Tse Copper, Ltd., copper mining companies that provide support to Burma’s military through revenue-sharing arrangements with Myanma Economic Holdings Limited, which Treasury designated on March 25, 2021 pursuant to E.O. 14014. As a consequence of their addition to the Entity List, a license requirement applies to all items subject to the EAR that are destined for the four entities, and BIS will review any license applications under a review policy of a presumption of denial.
As part of today’s action, the following seven individuals, who are members of Burma’s military regime, are designated pursuant to E.O. 14014 for being foreign persons who are or were leaders or officials of the Government of Burma on or after February 2, 2021:
Saw Daniel, Banyar Aung Moe, and Aye Nu Sein are members of the State Administrative Council (SAC), the body created by the military on February 2, 2021 to support its unlawful overthrow of the democratically elected civilian government, and which Treasury designated on May 17, 2021 pursuant to E.O. 14014;
Chit Naing is the Minister for Information;
Aung Naing Oo is the Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations;
Myint Kyaing is the Minister for Labor, Immigration, and Population; and
Thet Thet Khine is the Minister of Social Welfare, Relief, and Resettlement.
In addition to the individuals identified above, the following 15 individuals are designated pursuant to E.O. 14014 for being a spouse or adult child of a person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 14014.
Kyu Kyu Hla is the spouse of SAC Chairman Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, whom Treasury designated on February 11, 2021;
Than Than Nwe is the spouse of SAC Vice Chairman Vice Senior General Soe Win, whom Treasury designated on February 11, 2021;
Thet Thet Aung is the spouse of SAC member General Mya Tun Oo, whom Treasury designated on February 11, 2021;
Than Than Aye is the spouse of SAC member Admiral Tin Aung San, whom Treasury designated on February 11, 2021;
Aung Mar Myint is the spouse of SAC member General Maung Maung Kyaw, whom Treasury designated on February 22, 2021;
Khaing Pa Pa Chit is the spouse of SAC member Lieutenant General Moe Myint Tun, whom Treasury designated on February 22, 2021;
Moe Htet Htet Tun is the adult child of Lieutenant General Moe Myint Tun;
Khaing Moe Myint is the adult child of Lieutenant General Moe Myint Tun;
Yadanar Moe Myint is the adult child of Lieutenant General Moe Myint Tun;
Daw Nilar is the spouse of SAC member Lieutenant General Ye Win Oo, whom Treasury designated on February 11, 2021;
Theit Thinzar Ye is the adult child of Lieutenant General Ye Win Oo;
Ohn Mar Myint is the spouse of SAC member Lieutenant General Aung Lin Dwe, whom Treasury designated on February 11, 2021;
Shwe Ye Phu Aung is the adult child of Lieutenant General Aung Lin Dwe;
Hlaing Bwar Aung is the adult child of Lieutenant General Aung Lin Dwe; and
Phyo Arkar Aung is the adult child of Lieutenant General Aung Lin Dwe.
As a result of today’s OFAC action, all property and interests in property of the persons named above that are in the United States, or in the possession or control of U.S. persons, are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.
Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or otherwise exempt, all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons are prohibited. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any blocked person or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person..."
Source/publisher:
United States Department of the Treasury (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-07-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"A month after its 1 February 2021coup, themilitary junta’s escalation of disproportionate violence and terror tactics, backed bydeployment of notorious military units to represspeaceful demonstrations,underlines the urgent need for substantive international action to prevent massive, destabilizing violence.
The junta’s refusal to receive UN diplomaticand human rightsmissions indicates a refusal to consider a peaceful resolution to the crisis and confrontation sparked by the coup.
In order to avert worse violence and create the space for dialogue and negotiations, the movement in Burmaand their allies urge that:oInternational Financial Institutions (IFIs) immediately freeze existing loans, recall prior loans and reassess the post-coup situation; oForeign states and bodies enact targeted sanctions on themilitary (Tatmadaw),Tatmadaw-affiliated companiesand partners, including a global arms embargo;andoThe UN Security Council immediately send a delegation to prevent further violenceandensure the situation is peacefully resolved.
Thecoup violatedmultiple provisions of the Tatmadaw-designed 2008 Constitution.
The junta’s public statements and information warfare reflect a calculated plan to neutralize domestic democratic forces and pacifythe international community.While portraying themselves as a gentler version of previous juntas, the Min Aung Hlaing regime has already attacked thousands ofunarmed protestors.On 28 February the Tatmadaw killed at least 18, injured dozens more, and arrested at least 479, in a significant escalation of abuses. This brought the total to at least 30 killed, hundreds injured, and 1,132 politicians, activists, journalists, and othersarrested, with most denied access to legal counsel.
The coup also involved a systematic purge of members of the executive and key agencies including the Central Bank of Myanmar. The coup and crackdown havedisrupted the economy, heighteningconcerns that political and economic destabilization will have regional and global impacts, intensifying reputational and operational risks, and resulting in withdrawals and suspensions of investment.
The Tatmadaw has sought to weaken popular opposition by implementing or amending seven laws that violate human rights norms, eliminate privacy and threaten lengthy imprisonment for anybody perceived as an enemy of the junta.
Millionsof civilians continue to protestnationwide—in almost every township in Burma—despite military intimidationand brutal violence.The Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) has been joined byworkers and senior officials from the civil service, police officers, and the private sector..."
Source/publisher:
Altsean Burma, Burma Human Rights Network, Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, Initiatives for International Dialogue, International Federation for Human Rights, Progressive Voice, US Campaign for Burma, and Women Peace Network
Date of publication:
2021-03-01
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, National Unity Government (NUG), Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Sanctions
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"A new investigation from watchdog group Global Witness reports that jade mining is a major source of income for both the Myanmar military and armed ethnic groups, fueling conflict in the country.
While conflicts between the military and armed groups escalate elsewhere in Myanmar, Global Witness reports that major armed groups and the military work side by side in jade mines in Hpakant in the ethnic-minority state of Kachin.
Armed groups and individual officers have earned fortunes from the jade trade, while Kachin state’s environment, and the communities who depend on it, have paid the price.
Jade mining is fueling conflict in Myanmar, channeling money into the coffers of the military and ethnic armed groups, according watchdog group Global Witness.
The industry buoys the weapons trade and enriches military officials, including the son of junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, the group says.
“In Hpakant our investigation revealed that warring parties were collaborating to profit even as conflict between them escalated elsewhere in northern Myanmar,” says a new report by Global Witness, which alleges that major armed groups worked side by side with the military in the jade mines.
The report also accuses Aung Pyae Son, the son of the general who seized power in a coup in February, of directly benefiting from corruption in the jade trade. Global Witness says he received a cut of payment for the import of dynamite and “also profited from arrangements to mine illegally in Hpakant” after the civilian government suspended new licenses.
As the generals enrich themselves and war continues to rage, the environment and the people who depend on it pay the ultimate price.
“The mountains are becoming flat valleys and the valleys are becoming mountains. In Kachin history, there were many historic mountains, but all are gone now,” said a researcher based in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state. The researcher, who asked not to be named, said some residents don’t even recognize the areas where they grew up.
An ethnic Rakhine jade miner, known as a yemase, agreed.
“All the trees are already destroyed. The rivers are filled up with land dug from the mountains,” he said. When he arrived in Hpakant some 10 years ago, the miners “used handheld drills to dig.” “There are much more big machines now and a lot of bulldozers,” he said, explaining this has escalated the environmental damage.
While Myanmar’s jade industry is estimated to be worth more than $30 billion, few local people reap the benefits, causing major grievances over issues of land and resource management. Some itinerant miners do strike it rich, but most risk their lives toiling under grueling condition for little pay. Deadly landslides are frequent, with three miners killed just this week.
Keel Dietz, policy adviser for Global Witness, said even before the coup there was “no sort of post-mining rehabilitation.”
“Companies are supposed to put together mine closure plans, but it’s just a check the box thing, they’re not expected to actually do anything. They usually just abandon them and this causes big environmental problems, huge open pits that fill up with water and waste chemicals,” he said.
In 2020, a landslide killed at least 174 miners. “Villages are perched on the precipice right on the edge of a mining site. There’s going to be more landslides in the future,” Dietz said.
Floods and landslides already plague villages in Hpakant. A flash flood in 2018 killed 11 people and destroyed 70 homes, while the U.N.’s humanitarian office estimated nearly 7,750 people were displaced by flooding in July 2020.
When the National League for Democracy won election in 2015, it struggled to assert control over the jade industry, which had been controlled by the military for decades. “Myanmar’s multi-billion-dollar jade industry is a paradigmatic example” of the country’s “partial reform” which was always “resisted” by the military, Global Witness said.
Matthew Baird, an environmental lawyer with years of experience in Myanmar, said that when the NLD came to power, even “talking about jade and gem mining was very risky.” He said the civilian government had made some progress, despite the “big challenge.” “We know a lot more about the industry, its corruption and its hazards that was not possible under the previous administration,” Baird said.
But with the military back in full control, Global Witness said it expects the situation to worsen, adding the coup has “crushed any hopes that these policies and regulations will be finalised, let alone improved.”.....The conflict economy: In 2019 and 2020, the Myanmar military, known as the Tatmadaw, and the Arakan Army fought a brutal war in Rakhine state. As of June 2021, the U.N. estimated that more than 81,000 people, mostly ethnic Rakhine, remain displaced as a result of the conflict. Despite this, both armed groups were operating in the mines in Hpakant, and likely cooperating, as was the Kachin Independence Army, which was largely avoiding clashes at the time.
The Rakhine yemase confirmed to Mongabay that the AA, which is hugely popular with ethnic Rakhine people, is active in the mines and collects money from workers, but denied this was a form of taxation. “The yemase people from Rakhine voluntarily share profit with the AA,” he said. He also said the AA settles disputes between Rakhine people and other miners, adding that the AA will sometimes impose fines on troublemakers of up to 300,000 kyat ($225).
Global Witness reported that a “well-placed Rakhine businessperson” claimed that jade is the “primary income source” for the AA, and said the industry likely fueled the group’s “rapid expansion and recruitment.” It also found evidence of at least one company run directly by the AA active in the mines.
The Kachin researcher in Myitkyina said that the military, AA and KIA are all taking taxes from people working in the mines, with each group’s business interests blurring into the others’. “Hpakant is brown, not black or white,” he said. He added that sometimes when one group needs to transport jade stones, it goes through the other group’s territory, requiring cooperation and payment.
A fourth armed group, the United Wa State Army, often pays the KIA in weapons, according to Global Witness, which also says a KIA intelligence official reported these weapons are then sold on to the AA for a profit.
Since the coup, however, this dynamic has been upended. The AA is now observing a temporary cease-fire with the Tatmadaw in exchange for political concessions, while the KIA has joined the pro-democracy movement, launching attacks on the junta. Fighting has even reached Hpakant, ending the informal agreement to avoid conflict in the mines. However, Global Witness said that “such cooperation could re-emerge in the future in a similar form.”.....Widespread corruption: The jade mines have long been a major source of income for the military and its generals. In addition to Min Aung Hlaing’s son, other high-ranking military officers and former officials benefit either through their own jade mining companies or by taking bribes to allow other companies to mine illegally.
Two military-controlled conglomerates “collectively control more mining licences than any other entity,” according to Global Witness. Meanwhile, the Myanmar Gems Enterprise is tasked with regulating the jade industry, while also maintaining its own commercial interests in jade, a clear conflict of interest, especially given that MGE includes former military officials.
“Now there are serious concerns that the military will simply re-open the licensing process, reaping a windfall in bribes and doling out access to the best jade mining plots to allies in exchange for loyalty and political support,” Global Witness said.
While some Western countries have imposed sanctions on MGE and the conglomerates, this may fail to significantly dent the junta’s profits, as “the overwhelming majority of jade is in fact smuggled out of Myanmar directly into China without ever entering the formal system,” according to Global Witness.
Baird said the Tatmadaw should not be recognized as a legitimate governing body, and called for it to be designated as a “transnational criminal enterprise” under the U.N. Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
“The current illegal exploitation of gems and natural resources, and the complicity of the Tatmadaw and the commercial enterprises makes them liable for these criminal acts,” Baird said, also appealing to China and Singapore to freeze any assets linked to military companies.
The Kachin researcher said military postings in the area are coveted, as they allow officials to build up connections in the industry. “When they were there, they built a good relationship with the local officials and they knew the local context,” he said, adding they later leverage these relationships for financial benefits.
Dietz said that with the Tatmadaw back in power, “there is little chance for serious reform.” “Why would the Tatmadaw reform an industry that it benefits from so much?” he said..."
Source/publisher:
Mongabay
Date of publication:
2021-07-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
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Sub-title:
Land confiscations, illegal casinos, money laundering, and environmental degradation plagues a Myanmar SEZ.
Description:
"Like more than 100 areas in the Mekong River region earmarked as development zones, the Yatai Shwe Kokko Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Myanmar was promoted as a way to spur economic growth and deliver material benefits to the local community.
But instead the Chinese-backed U.S. $15 billion real estate mega-project along the Thaungyin River in southeastern Kayin state has gained notoriety in recent months as a bastion of illegal activity, according to a report released Wednesday by the Washington-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), an independent research outfit that studies transnational organized crime networks.
Shwe Kokko New City, as the area is called, was funded by Hong Kong-registered developer Yatai International Holding Group in partnership with the Chit Lin Myaing Company owned by the Kayin State Border Guard Force (BGF), an ethnic Karen force aligned with the Myanmar military. It includes the Myanmar Yatai Shwe Kokko Special Economic Zone.
But the area became a hub for illicit activity because of weak national laws, a diffusion of responsibility, and a lack of development plans, says the 76-page report titled “Zoned Out: A Comprehensive Impact Evaluation of Mekong Economic Development Zones.”
The study identified 110 official and unofficial foreign-invested EDZs in the Mekong region, including 40 in Cambodia, 15 in Laos, 20 in Myanmar, 16 in Thailand, and 19 in Vietnam, and used publicly available information to assess them in terms of economic development, illicit activity, and geopolitics.
To assess the impact of EDZs, the researchers examined both quantitative indicators derived from personal activity intelligence, including mobile phone location data, change detection in satellite imagery, and nightlight data, along with qualitative research on illicit activity and geopolitical trends.
Because of the strong correlation between nightlight data and economic activity, the researchers measured nighttime luminosity in the EDZs to objectively evaluate the relative economic performance of the zones. They also used information from publicly available reports that detailed illegal activities, including corruption, environmental degradation, land conflict, drug trafficking, and wildlife trafficking.
Shwe Kokko is not the only example of an EDZ gone wrong. The study found that while the establishment of the zones speeds up development, the EDZs themselves can facilitate adverse outcomes that undermine economic growth benefits.
They also found that limited data access concerning the Mekong region’s EDZs can hurt host governments and local communities, and that collaboration among stakeholders from government, grassroots organizations, the private sector, and civil society will increase transparency and better match objectives to end results.
“Without proper management, EDZs can serve as staging grounds for multiple types of transnational illicit activity and geopolitical machinations,” the report says. “Further complicating the situation is a paucity of accessible data, leaving policymakers and observers alike struggling to draw informed conclusions on the effects of zones.”
Lack of regulatory oversight
In the case of the Shwe Kokko SEZ First, the developers allegedly received a 70-year land lease with the possibility of extending to 99 years, violating Myanmar law which limits lease terms to 50 years for official Economic Development Zones (EDZs). Then the BGF confiscated land for the site, but shortchanged residents paying them only U.S. $1,600 an acre — half the amount they sought.
A lack of regulatory oversight enabled the illegal land confiscations along with Chinese gang activities once the project had been built, illegal casinos, money laundering, and environmental degradation, the report says. It also notes that She Kailun, Yatai International’s China-born chairman, had a previous conviction for operating an illegal lottery business that earned nearly U.S. $300 million.
In response, Myanmar’s civilian-led government announced plans in January to address alleged irregularities, including the land confiscations, illicit activities, and local concerns about the impact of the casinos.
The government also cracked down on Chinese criminal groups in the area and requested that the national military enforce the law in Shwe Kokko. When Myanmar’s military overthrew the government in a Feb. 1 coup, it became unclear what would happen next in Shwe Kokko.
“A combination of legal ambiguity, limited host government enforcement, and poor zone management have created numerous negative externalities in Shwe Kokko, including increased criminal activity, decreased geopolitical power, and environmental degradation — all without delivering economic gain for the region itself,” the report says.
Aung Naing Oo, minister of investment and foreign economic relations under the State Administrative Council, the official name of Myanmar’s military government, told RFA that the Myanmar Investment Commission had examined and approved the Shwe Kokko project during the previous civilian-led government, but determined that its scope was much larger than the original proposal.
“Then we checked the project again and ordered that business activities not included in original proposal be stopped, he said. “Because the project was much larger and there were other issues such as land use, we ordered the project to be halted since previous government. They were ordered to do only what had been approved.”
“The activities that were not included in the proposals were the building of hotels among other [sites],” he said. “We asked them to stop, [and] the order has remained unchanged…We have supervised them very closely about the suspension.”
The report details other case studies of other zones plagued by illicit activities, such as the Boten SEZ in Laos, rife with illegal sales of wildlife, such as endangered pangolins, and the Golden Triangle EDZ, also in Laos, a hub for a hub for illicit drug and wildlife trafficking.
An official in the Special Economic Zone Control Department of the Lao Ministry of Planning and Investment told RFA that he could not comment on whether there is illicit activity in the Boten and Golden Triangle SEZs.
China ‘used its influence’
Cambodia’s Sihanoukville SEZ, considered part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, suffered from high crimes rates among other factors, the report said.
“The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) promises benefits for local communities. In the case of the Sihanoukville SEZ, however, development was greatly undercut by increasing crime rates, rising rents, overwhelmed infrastructure, and the suppression of local culture in the city of Sihanoukville,” the report says.
“China allegedly used its influence to pressure Cambodia to ban online gambling as part of a broader campaign against gambling by China. This ban further disrupted the city of Sihanoukville by devastating the local gaming economy and causing thousands to leave the city,” it said.
The Cambodian Investment Board did not respond to an email request for comments on the report’s findings concerning the Sihanoukville SEZ. Emails sent to two contact addresses listed on the website of the Cambodian Special Economic Zone Board were undeliverable. Both government agencies deal with investment projects in SEZs.
To improve the impacts of EDZs in the Mekong region, the researchers recommend the development of open, centralized repositories of information on EDZs, the use of emerging technologies such as nightlight capture, satellite imagery, and machine learning to create monitoring processes, and the convening of cross-sector interdisciplinary task forces to address negative impacts.
“Through collaboration and data-driven analysis, host governments can ensure that EDZs serve the needs of the host country economy and the local population,” the report says..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-06-25
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Other Special Economic Zones, Illegal Economy - general, Economy of Karen (Kayin) State, Burma's economic relations with China, “One Belt, One Road” initiative, Business and the Military
Language:
more
Description:
"The military coup in Myanmar in February has reversed or put at risk a decade of gradual economic progress. In the last decade, the Myanmar economy benefited from significant economic and political reforms, achieving above 7 per cent annual growth, reduced poverty and a significant increase in international investment.
These gains are being unwound by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and, more so, by the coup, with the World Bank forecasting a 10 per cent contraction in GDP in 2021 and the UNDP warning of a possible doubling of the poverty rate.
While there has been attention in the international media on the potential economic impact and effectiveness of international trade sanctions, the biggest economic impacts so far have been driven by internal factors. The anti-coup civil disobedience movement (CDM) drew in millions of public and private sector workers who refused to work until democracy is restored. In doing so they effectively shut down most sectors of the domestic economy.
Transport and internet services have been disrupted. The participation of port workers, truck drivers and officers from various government agencies in the CDM has had a crippling effect on international trade. The military government has imposed periodic shutdowns and limits on internet connections to try to stifle political opposition, which has led to operational difficulties for businesses, as well as grave concerns about human rights.
When banks closed at the height of the CDM, most households and businesses experienced cash shortages. This problem remains even after banks were forced to reopen by the military government. Retail and service-based businesses either shut or drastically reduced their hours of operation because of the CDM, but even businesses that have now reopened find it difficult to access cash to pay wages and suppliers. There are serious risks to the stability of the banking and finance sector. Chief among these is a widely shared loss of trust in the integrity and management of the banking system under military rule. Consumers have rushed to withdraw deposits to purchase US dollars and gold, leading to a rapid depreciation of the Kyat.
With many factories closed and business activities down, employment opportunities and incomes have reduced. In some major industrial zones which have been sites of public protests and violent military repression, hundreds of thousands of workers fled to their homes in rural areas out of fear for their own safety and a lack of jobs and income. Some of these workers have returned but only to eke out a meagre income from insecure and poorly paid daily wage work. Overall, the viability of manufacturing is threatened by the crisis, especially in industries like garment manufacturing, where some global fashion brand buyers suspended orders from Myanmar.
Boycotts have affected military owned or controlled conglomerates across a variety of industries, facilitated by a smartphone app that helps consumers avoid military-linked businesses. Consumers have also boycotted Chinese made goods because of the perception that China backs the junta. There is a lack of reliable data on the impact of the consumer boycotts, but some reports have indicated that sales of Myanmar beer — a dominant military owned beer brand — have declined by somewhere between 80 and 90 per cent since the coup.
For all of its impact, there is now an open question as to whether the CDM can be sustained in the face of pressure from the military to force employees to return to work and businesses to reopen. Many of the movement’s participants are unable to access solidarity income support and are being gradually ground down by economic hardship and the coercion of the military regime.
Yet even if the military succeeds to some degree in normalising economic activity, the economic damage done will be profound and lasting. The destabilisation of politics and governance is also likely to play out in unpredictable and unforeseen ways — including the likelihood of ongoing urban violence and safety risks — and so Myanmar will be a volatile and difficult business environment. Many international businesses will reconsider their investments in the country. Development and infrastructure project funding from donor countries will also be adversely impacted, although the regime may hope that China will fill the void.
The trade sanctions announced by the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States have thus far targeted military owned enterprises. Meanwhile, the National Unity Government, a parallel government in exile comprised mainly of deposed elected parliamentarians, has asked foreign investors not to pay tax to the military regime government until democracy is restored.
If the military regime prevails and consolidates its rule, Myanmar will almost certainly revert to its historic status as a relatively isolated, underdeveloped and impoverished economy that benefits only a small military elite and their crony business associates. Inevitably, this will mean that the economy and the people will continue to suffer. In a sea of sadness and despair one of the poignant aspects of this crisis is the sense of lost hope — felt most keenly by young people — in a once promising economic future..."
Source/publisher:
"East Asia Forum" (Australia)
Date of publication:
2021-06-23
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Anti-coup protesters, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Sanctions - general
Language:
more
Description:
"MOSCOW, June 23 (Reuters) - Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told Myanmar's junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing that Moscow is committed to strengthening military ties with it, Russia's RIA news agency reported.
Rights activists have accused Moscow of legitimising the junta, which seized power in a Feb. 1 coup, by continuing bilateral visits and arms deals.
"We are determined to continue our efforts to strengthen bilateral ties based on the mutual understanding, respect and trust that have been established between our countries," RIA quoted Shoigu as saying at a meeting on Tuesday.
Min Aung Hlaing was in the Russian capital to attend a security conference and had earlier met Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia's Security Council. read more
Defence ties between the two countries have grown in recent years with Moscow providing army training and university scholarships to thousands of soldiers, as well as selling arms to a military blacklisted by several Western countries.
Little light was shed on how cooperation between Russia and Myanmar may develop and whether Moscow would be willing to sell more military equipment there.
Since the army seized power and removed Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government, troops have put down pro-democracy demonstrations and strikes and killed or arrested hundreds of protesters.
Addressing a Moscow conference on Wednesday, Min Aung Hlaing repeated that the army took power by force because Suu Kyi's party won the election through fraud - an accusation rejected by the previous election commission and international monitors.
With Myanmar being one of the traditional export markets for the Russian weaponry, rising tensions there provide Moscow with a good chance to increase military sales, Alexey Kirichenko, Associate Professor at the Institute of Asian and African Countries at the Moscow State University, said.
"This makes it possible for Russia to conclude lucrative contracts... The situation in the country is very difficult, and the Burmese military needs to build up their military potential," he said.
On Tuesday, Myanmar security forces backed by armoured vehicles clashed with a newly formed guerrilla group in the second biggest city Mandalay, resulting in at least two casualties. read more
Russia said in March it was deeply concerned by the rising number of civilian deaths in Myanmar. President Vladimir Putin does not plan to meet Min Aung Hlaing on his visit to Moscow, Kremlin has said..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-06-23
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"Burma Campaign UK today welcomed the imposition of sanctions on state owned timber and gems enterprises, and on the Myanmar War Veterans Organisation (MWVO).
Timber and gems are significant revenue earners for the military, and the MWVO is part of the military and also has significant business interests, including in transport. Burma Campaign UK has been campaigning for the EU to sanction the timber and gems industry and the MWVO.
“These new sanctions from the EU are very welcome, not only cutting revenue to the military but also letting them know that economic pressure will keep increasing,” said Anna Roberts, Executive Director of Burma Campaign UK. “The EU must now also look at creative ways to stop oil and gas revenue reaching the military. It is vital to continue to systematically identify and cut sources of revenue to the military.”
Almost 900 people have been killed and more than 200,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since the military coup on 1st February.
The EU has also announced sanctions on 8 more individuals, bringing the total to 43..."
Source/publisher:
"Burma Campaign UK" (London)
Date of publication:
2021-06-21
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Timber extraction, Burma's economic relations with the European Union, Gems, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
more
Description:
"Burma Campaign UK today welcomed new sanctions imposed by the British government on the Burmese military and its economic interests.
The British government has sanctioned two state-owned entities which now provide revenue for the military since the coup. They are Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE) and Myanmar Pearl Enterprise (MPE). They have also sanctioned the State Administration Council (SAC), the military appointed body attempting to run government institutions.
“This latest round of sanctions by the British government is very welcome and another step towards cutting the economic lifeline of the military,” said Anna Roberts, Executive Director of Burma Campaign UK. “The British government is following the right approach by continuing to identify and sanction more revenue sources for the military. There is still a lot more that can and must be done, identifying every possible economic pressure point, and working with the EU and USA to help cut oil and gas revenue.”
The British government is taking welcome steps sanctioning the economic interests of the military, and lobbying for more countries to impose arms embargoes. However, there has been no significant progress in British government support for justice and accountability, with Dominic Raab still refusing to support referring Burma to the International Criminal Court, and still refusing to join the Rohingya genocide case at the International Court of Justice..."
Source/publisher:
"Burma Campaign UK" (London)
Date of publication:
2021-06-21
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Burma's economic relations with the United Kingdom, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced new sanctions against the Myanmar Timber Enterprise, Myanmar Pearl Enterprise and the State Administration Council.
Description:
"measures announced will restrict the military junta’s ability to profit from timber and pearl, key sources of revenue for the regime
UK will maintain suspension on trade promotion in Myanmar and strengthen advice to British businesses following review of Myanmar trade
In the UK’s sixth tranche of Myanmar sanctions, measures announced today will target the Myanmar regime’s economic interest with new designations against the State Administration Council (SAC), the junta’s ruling body, who continue to undermine democracy and brutally suppress Myanmar’s civilians. These sanctions send a clear message to the junta the UK will not allow financial support that props up the military regime following the coup earlier this year.
Additional measures will now be imposed on the Myanmar Timber Enterprise and Myanmar Pearl Enterprise, 2 state owned entities in Myanmar’s extractive sector. These asset freezes will be enforced with immediate effect, and target the junta’s ability to profit from pearl and timber, 2 high-value natural commodities that generate millions in revenue for the military regime.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said:
Alongside our allies, we are placing sanctions on companies linked to Myanmar’s military junta, targeting the finances of this illegitimate regime.
The military has continued its subversion of democracy and brutal killing of civilians. We will continue to hold the Junta to account and sanction those responsible, until democracy is restored.
Today the Foreign Secretary has also announced the conclusion of the UK’s Myanmar Trade Review. In a Written Ministerial Statement in Parliament, he confirmed that the UK will maintain its suspension on trade promotion in Myanmar first imposed following the coup earlier this year.
The UK will also strengthen our Overseas Business Risk guidance to reiterate the message that UK businesses must undertake enhanced supply chain due diligence and should not enter into trading relationships that benefit the Myanmar military.
The Myanmar Trade Review emphasised that UK businesses continue to have an important role to play in Myanmar in job creation and poverty alleviation, but should operate responsibly in order to avoid inadvertently supporting the military regime.
Today’s new sanctions announcement, alongside the similar announcement from the European Union on Myanmar Timber Enterprise, follows the recent G7 communiqué which called on partners and business to exercise due diligence in their trade and investment in Myanmar. Under the UK’s presidency the G7 continues to call for an end to the coup and the immediate adoption of the ASEAN 5-point consensus..."
Source/publisher:
Govt. UK (London)
Date of publication:
2021-06-22
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, ASEAN-Burma relations, Sanctions, Business and the Military, Burma's economic relations with the United Kingdom, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
more
Description:
"H.E. Dr. Sasa Union Minister of the MOIC and Spokesperson of the NUG welcomes new EU sanctions against individuals connected to the military regime - H. E ဒေါက်တာဆာဆာ၊ အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာပူးပေါင်းဆောင်ရွက်ရေးပြည်ထောင်စုဝန်ကြီး၊ အမျိုးသား ညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၏ ပြောရေးဆိုခွင့်ရှိသူမှ စစ်အာဏာရှင်များနှင့်ပတ်သက်နေသော ပုဂ္ဂိုလ်များအပေါ် ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂ၏ အရေးယူပိတ်ဆို့မှုများပြုလုပ်ခြင်းအား ကြိုဆိုလိုက်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-06-21
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Sanctions, Business and the Military, Sanctions - general
Language:
Format :
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579.76 KB
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Description:
"H.E. Dr. Sasa, Union Minister of the Ministry of International Cooperation and
Spokesperson of the National Unity Government of Myanmar greatly welcomes the
third round of European Union targeted sanctions against individuals and militarycontrolled
entities in Myanmar. This is another big step in ending the violence and
death across the country. The press release is as follows:
“The Council today imposed sanctions on 8 individuals, 3 economic entities and the War Veterans
Organisation in relation to the military coup staged in Myanmar/Burma on 1 February 2021, and the
ensuing repression against peaceful demonstrators. The EU's restrictive measures are largely aligned
with those of major international partners.
The individuals targeted by sanctions include ministers and deputy ministers, as well as
the attorney general, who are responsible for undermining democracy and the rule of law and
for serious human rights violations in the country. The four entities are either stateowned
or controlled by the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw), contributing directly or indirectly
to the military's revenues or activities.
By targeting the gems and timber sectors, these measures are aimed at restricting the junta’s ability
to profit from Myanmar’s natural resources, while being crafted so as to avoid undue harm to the
people of Myanmar.
Restrictive measures, which now apply to a total of 43 individuals and 6 entities, include an asset
freeze and a prohibition from making funds available to the listed individuals and entities.
Additionally, a travel ban applicable to listed persons prevents them from entering or transiting through
EU territory.
Pre-existing EU restrictive measures also remain in place. These comprise an embargo on arms and
equipment that can be used for internal repression, an export ban on dual-use goods for use by the
military and border guard police, export restrictions on equipment for monitoring
communications that could be used for internal repression, and a prohibition on military training for
and military cooperation with the Tatmadaw.
The restrictive measures come in addition to the withholding of EU financial assistance directly going
to the government and the freezing of all EU assistance that may be seen as legitimising the junta.
The EU remains a steadfast supporter of Myanmar/Burma’s people and of the country’s democratic
transition.
The European Union continues to provide humanitarian assistance, in accordance with the principles
of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. In 2021, it allocated €20.5 million in
humanitarian aid to address the immediate needs of displaced and conflict-affected communities in
the country. It stands ready to cooperate with the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian
Assistance in this respect. The EU stresses the importance for Myanmar/Burma to ensure that all
refugees, displaced persons and people in need have rapid, safe and unhindered access to
humanitarian aid.
The relevant legal acts, including the names of the persons and entities concerned, have been
published in the Official Journal.”
H.E. Dr. Sasa stated:
"Today I would again like to thank the European Union for taking a lead and being an advocate and
voice for the people of Myanmar, and imposing even stronger targeted sanctions against military junta
linked personnel and entities. The EU is a steadfast supporter of our democratic transition, and I want
to extend my most sincere thanks on behalf of the 54 million citizens of Myanmar for the continued
support and solidarity of the European Union with the people of Myanmar.
I continue to appeal to all nations around the globe to join with us, and support us, the people and
rightfully elected National Unity Government of Myanmar and help us end this cruel and unlawful
military junta ('SAC') occupation. We especially urge all nations to completely cease engagement with
the Military and all its entities, both directly and indirectly, and put yet tougher coordinated, targeted
and more widespread sanctions both diplomatically and economically. Every moment that these
tougher measures are delayed, more and more lives are lost, and thousands are displaced from their
homes in Myanmar, losing everything they own. We need your help to stop this now, once and for all,
and together build a true federal democratic union for ALL people of Myanmar.
Thank you for strongly standing with the 54 million brave people of Myanmar in this darkest time in the
history of our nation. The recognition of our voice, and your support, will ensure that we remain as
your faithful allies, friends, and economic partners for generations to come.".....
H.E. Dr. Sasa
Union Minister of the Ministry of International Cooperation
Spokesperson of the National Unity Government of Myanmar
Former Myanmar Special Envoy to the United Nations..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-06-21
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Sanctions - general, Sanctions, Business and the Military
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Description:
"H.E. Dr. Sasa, Union Minister of the Ministry of International Cooperation and
Spokesperson of the National Unity Government of Myanmar greatly welcomes the
further UK sanctions on companies linked to Myanmar’s military regime as
announced by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. This will be a huge blow to the
cashflow of the junta by restricting the military junta’s ability to profit from key
resources such as timber and pearl, and is another big step in ending the violence
and bloodshed across the country. The press release is as follows:
“ In the UK’s sixth tranche of Myanmar sanctions, measures announced today will target the Myanmar
regime’s economic interest with new designations against the State Administration Council (SAC), the
junta’s ruling body, who continue to undermine democracy and brutally suppress Myanmar’s civilians.
These sanctions send a clear message to the junta the UK will not allow financial support that props
up the military regime following the coup earlier this year.
Additional measures will now be imposed on the Myanmar Timber Enterprise and Myanmar Pearl
Enterprise, 2 state owned entities in Myanmar’s extractive sector. These asset freezes will be enforced
with immediate effect, and target the junta’s ability to profit from pearl and timber, 2 high-value natural
commodities that generate millions in revenue for the military regime.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said:
Alongside our allies, we are placing sanctions on companies linked to Myanmar’s military junta,
targeting the finances of this illegitimate regime.
The military has continued its subversion of democracy and brutal killing of civilians. We will continue
to hold the Junta to account and sanction those responsible, until democracy is restored.
Today the Foreign Secretary has also announced the conclusion of the UK’s Myanmar Trade Review.
In a Written Ministerial Statement in Parliament, he confirmed that the UK will maintain its suspension
on trade promotion in Myanmar first imposed following the coup earlier this year.
The UK will also strengthen our Overseas Business Risk guidance to reiterate the message that UK
businesses must undertake enhanced supply chain due diligence and should not enter into trading
relationships that benefit the Myanmar military.
The Myanmar Trade Review emphasised that UK businesses continue to have an important role to
play in Myanmar in job creation and poverty alleviation, but should operate responsibly in order to
avoid inadvertently supporting the military regime.
Today’s new sanctions announcement, alongside the similar announcement from the European Union
on Myanmar Timber Enterprise, follows the recent G7 communique which called on partners and
business to exercise due diligence in their trade and investment in Myanmar. Under the UK’s
presidency the G7 continues to call for an end to the coup and the immediate adoption of the ASEAN
5-point consensus.”
H.E. Dr. Sasa stated:
“Today I would again like to express my sincere thanks to the United Kingdom for taking a lead and
being an advocate and voice for the people of Myanmar both in the G7 summit and UN Security
Council, and imposing even stronger targeted sanctions against military junta linked entities and
commodities. The UK is a steadfast supporter of our democratic transition, and I want to extend my
most sincere thanks on behalf of the 54 million citizens of Myanmar for the continued support and
solidarity of the United Kingdom with the people of Myanmar.
I continue to appeal to all nations around the globe to join with us, and support us, the people and
rightfully elected National Unity Government of Myanmar and help us end this cruel and unlawful
military junta ('SAC') occupation. We especially urge all nations to completely cease engagement with
the Military and all its entities, both directly and indirectly, and put yet tougher coordinated, targeted
and more widespread sanctions both diplomatically and economically. Every moment that these
tougher measures are delayed, more and more lives are lost, and thousands are displaced from their
homes in Myanmar, losing everything they own. We need your help to stop this now, once and for all,
and together build a true federal democratic union for ALL people of Myanmar.
Thank you for strongly standing with the 54 million brave people of Myanmar in this darkest time in the
history of our nation. The recognition of our voice, and your support, will ensure that we remain as
your faithful allies, friends, and economic partners for generations to come.".....
H.E. Dr. Sasa
Union Minister of the Ministry of International Cooperation
Spokesperson of the National Unity Government of Myanmar
Former Myanmar Special Envoy to the United Nations..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-06-22
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Sanctions - general, Sanctions, Business and the Military
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42.26 KB 596.49 KB
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"After more than two decades under authoritarian rule, the past five years have witnessed profound changes in Myanmar’s domestic politics. Albeit the flawed election in 2010, the newly elected government has symbolized the end of military regime and the restoration of civilian order. Furthermore, the new government has indicated its commitment to advance democratic transition by its progressive policies in liberalizing its economy and domestic press as well as reproaching the opposition leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as the landmark step toward national reconciliation (Thuzar 2012). As the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marty Natalegawa,
said after his visit to Myanmar, “Myanmar reform is irreversible” (Thuzar 2012). In order to understand how these reforms have been taking place, this paper will examine both external and internal factors as indispensable parts of these reforms. This paper will specifically focus on how major powers and domestic leadership affect the dynamics of political changes in Myanmar which eventually lead to the current reforms. This paper argues that both major powers and domestic leadership have contributed significantly to the dynamics of political changes in Myanmar. The diverging interests and policies among major powers have resulted in different approaches toward the military regime. While the policies of one major power have
weakened the policies of others, these policies in overall have complementary effects in the democratic transition of the country. The engagement policies of China, India and ASEAN, for instance, have been crucial for the survival of the country while sanctions and pressure from US and other western countries have pushed the country forward to democratization. Likewise, different personal leaderships have resulted in different approach to democratization. A more conservative leader such as Than Shwe has succeeded in maintaining order and unity of the country, while the emergence of reformist leader, represented by Thein Sein, has advanced
reform and democratization.
In order to better elaborate these arguments, this paper will be divided into several parts. The first part will provide the historical background on Myanmar’s domestic politics since its independence to its current reform. The second part, then, will examine major powers’ interests
and policies in Myanmar and how these external factors affect the dynamics of political changes in Myanmar. The third part, in turn, will examine the internal factors emphasizing the role of domestic leadership in this reform. Based on these discussions, the last part will conclude the findings by looking ahead the anticipated consequences of the aforementioned factors on the future trajectories of Myanmar’s democracy.....Historical Background: Nation building in Myanmar is perhaps the longest and the bloodiest compared to other countries
in Southeast Asia. After gaining independence from Britain in January 4, 1948, Myanmar was torn into chaos under failed trial of multiparty parliamentary democracy in the first fourteen years. At the center, the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League (AFPFL) as the previously
independent movement “who inherited the state” was apparent to be ideologically heterogeneous and failed to reach agreement on how to run the newly independent Myanmar (T. Than 1993). In
the grassroots level, situation was worsening as ethnic minorities such as Karen, Kachin, Mon, and Chin revolted against the government (T. Than 1993). This has not mentioned Muslim Mujaheedin groups and communist elements who attempted to do similar actions (T. Than 1993). Under such circumstances, the government has, from the beginning, relied heavily on military intervention to appease these dissensions (T. Than 1993).
While the charisma of U Nu has succeeded in maintaining this fragile regime for the first decade, the 1962 has seen relentless public dissents and significant economic decline. U Nu’s policy of installing Buddhism as state religion, followed by his resignation in early 1962 has exacerbated the situation even further (T. Than 1993). In order to prevent the state from disintegration, the Tatmadaw or Myanmar’s arms forces who previously stayed in the peripheries to halt the flow of Kuomintang refugees in the northern border has moved to the center and taken over the government under the name of Revolutionary Council (RC) (T. Than 1993). The Tatmadaw has learnt that its task was no longer promoting freedom and democracy as it did
under British rule, but instead, maintaining peace and the rule of Law (T. Than 1993). Under the constitutional military regime of General Ne Win, the RC has redirected the trajectory of the state from chaotic democracy to the so-called Burmese Way of Socialism
(BWS) and renamed the state as the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma (T. Than 1993). In order to maintain domestic order, the regime has cut off the relations with other states and focused on building socialism under one party system. These two elements, nationalism and domestic order, are key elements in understanding military rule in Myanmar and have characterized most of the subsequent development in its path to democratization. The ratification
of new constitution and the general election in 1974 were evidences that Military were not merely struggling for power, but instead, restoring order within the state..."
Source/publisher:
Sukmawani Bela Pertiwi
Date of publication:
2013-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Political History, Business and the Military, Burma's economic relations with ASEAN, Burma's economic relations with China, International Relations
Language:
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pdf
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191.8 KB
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Sub-title:
What Will Emerge From Collapse?
Description:
"Myanmar is at a point of no return. The army’s February coup, meant to surgically shift power within the existing constitutional framework, has instead unleashed a revolutionary energy that will be nearly impossible to contain.
Over the past four months, protests and strikes have continued despite the killing of more than 800 people and the arrest of nearly 5,000 more. On April 1, elected members of parliament from Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), together with leaders from other political parties and organizations, declared a “national unity government” to challenge the authority of the recently established military junta. And through April and May, as fighting flared between the junta and ethnic minority armies, a new generation of pro-democracy fighters attacked military positions and administrative offices across the country.
The junta could partially consolidate its rule over the coming year, but that would not lead to stability. Myanmar’s pressing economic and social challenges are too complex, and the depth of animosity toward the military too great, for an isolated and anachronistic institution to manage. At the same time, the revolutionaries will not be able to deal a knockout blow anytime soon.
As the stalemate continues, the economy will crumble, extreme poverty will skyrocket, the health-care system will collapse, and armed violence will intensify, sending waves of refugees into neighboring China, India, and Thailand. Myanmar will become a failed state, and new forces will appear to take advantage of that failure: to grow the country’s multibillion-dollar-a-year methamphetamine business, to cut down the forests that are home to some of the world’s most precious zones of biodiversity, and to expand wildlife-trafficking networks, including the very ones possibly responsible for the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in neighboring China. The pandemic itself will fester unabated.
The task now is to shorten this period of state failure, protect the poorest and most vulnerable, and begin building a new state and a freer, fairer, and more prosperous society. A future peaceful Myanmar can only be based on both an entirely different conception of its national identity, free of the ethnonationalist narratives of the past, and a transformed political economy. The weight of history makes this the only acceptable outcome but also a herculean task to achieve. The alternative, however, is not dictatorship, which can no longer achieve stability, but rather ever-deepening state failure and the prospect of a violent, anarchic Myanmar at the heart of Asia for decades to come.....A COLONIAL INHERITANCE: Myanmar is a colonial creation. Over the course of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the United Kingdom conquered the coastline from Bengal to the Malay Peninsula, the valley of the Irrawaddy River (home for a millennium to Burmese-speaking Buddhist kingdoms), and then the surrounding uplands (regions that had never before come under external control). Myanmar—then called Burma—was forged through a military occupation and governed as a racial hierarchy. Imperial census administrators complained that the many and varied identities of its inhabitants were too fluid and contingent and that the country was “a zone of racial instability.” They nonetheless divided everyone into neat racial categories, with some races deemed “indigenous” and others “alien.” The British also established an incredibly unequal and exploitative colonial political economy, based on the large-scale immigration of Indian labor and the export of primary commodities—mainly rice, oil, and timber—to global markets.
Modern Burmese politics emerged a century ago, and at its core was an ethnonationalism rooted in the notion of a Burmese-speaking Buddhist racial identity. In 1937, ten years before Pakistan was partitioned from India along religious lines, the British partitioned Burma from India on the basis of perceived racial difference. After winning independence in 1948, the new Burmese state tried to incorporate those non-Burmese peoples of the country also deemed indigenous, such as the Karens and the Shans, but within a framework of Burmese racial and cultural supremacy. Those peoples categorized as “aliens,” such as the more than 700,000 people from the Rohingya Muslim community viciously expelled to Bangladesh in 2016 and 2017, have fared worse. Myanmar’s nation-building project has failed for decades, leaving behind a landscape of endemic armed conflict and a country that has never truly been whole.
The Burmese army has been the self-appointed guardian of this ethnonationalism. It is the only army in the world that has been fighting nonstop since World War II: against the British and then the Japanese, and, after independence, against an extraordinary array of opponents, including Washington-backed Chinese nationalist armies in the 1950s, Beijing-backed communist forces in the 1960s, drug lords, and ethnic armed forces struggling for self-determination, all the while taking as well as inflicting enormous casualties. Since the 1970s, most of the fighting has been confined to the uplands, where the army became an occupation force imposing central rule on ethnic minority populations. But every now and then, the army would descend into the cities of the Irrawaddy River valley to crush dissent. The ranks of the armed forces have grown to over 300,000 personnel. In recent years, the military has acquired new Chinese and Russian combat aircraft, drones, and rocket artillery. It is led by an officer corps that cannot imagine a Myanmar in which the military is not ultimately in control..."
Source/publisher:
Foreign Affairs
Date of publication:
2021-06-11
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Anti-coup protesters, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Sanctions - general, Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
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"The international community must take immediate and collective action to end the Myanmar junta’s widespread and systematic killing of unarmed people, said Fortify Rights today. U.N. member states should ensure those responsible are held accountable for their crimes.
The Myanmar military and police shot and killed upwards of 90 women, men, and children today in at least 40 towns and cities throughout the country, according to reports that Fortify Rights has not independently confirmed. Today is Armed Forces Day in Myanmar.
“This ongoing, horrific massacre of unarmed, innocent people is the result of years of impunity, and it must end,” said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Fortify Rights. “Governments can no longer sit idly by and watch this attack unfold. Inaction is complicity.”
On March 26, state-run television MRTV broadcast an ominous warning to protesters, saying, “You should learn from the tragedy of earlier ugly deaths that you can be in danger of getting shot in the head and back.” Eyewitness photographs and videos filmed today show dead bodies, including children, and soldiers firing weapons street-level, dragging lifeless victims away, and brutally beating people. One video shows a close-range killing of an unarmed boy on a motorcycle by Myanmar Army soldiers.
The junta’s words and actions indicate coordination in today’s killings and that soldiers were following orders to shoot and kill unarmed protesters, said Fortify Rights.
According to media reports and open-source information, security forces killed and injured protesters in at least Mandalay Region, Yangon Division, Kachin State, Tanintharyi Region, Sagaing Region, and other locations throughout the country today.
As of the end of the day yesterday, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) reported a death toll of 328 since the military coup d’état on February 1. Today’s bloodshed brings that tally to more than 400 women, men, and children. Security forces have also arbitrarily arrested at least 3,000 people, including children, according to AAPP.
On March 26, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Thomas Andrews called for U.N. member states to hold an “emergency summit,” including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, the U.S., and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, which comprises elected members of the Myanmar parliament ousted in the February 1 coup d’état.
According to media reports, eight countries sent representatives to the Armed Forces Day military parade in Naypyidaw today, including Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.
Myanmar’s Civil Disobedience Movement continues to lead a non-violent, peaceful resistance to military rule. Millions of people in the country have protested the military takeover, including throngs of peaceful protesters taking to the streets throughout the country on an almost daily basis, defying the junta’s attempts to terrorize the population.
The U.N. Security Council should impose a global arms embargo against the Myanmar military, sanctions against Myanmar military individuals, entities, and assets, and refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court. The U.N. General Assembly should also urgently hold an Emergency Special Session to demand collective action in response to the Myanmar military’s widespread and systematic attack on protesters.
On March 25, the U.S. Treasury Department issued new sanctions targeting two Myanmar military holding companies—the Myanmar Economic Holdings Public Company Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation Limited—and the U.K. Foreign Secretary imposed sanctions against MEHL.
“Strong, targeted sanctions from the U.S., U.K., and other states are important to isolate the junta and deprive it of resources, but they’re not enough,” said Matthew Smith. “ASEAN must take urgent action, and China, Russia, and others must not be allowed to prevent a more coordinated and far-reaching global response to the horrors unfolding in Myanmar.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Fortify Rights"
Date of publication:
2021-03-27
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, International Relations, Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports
Language:
more
Sub-title:
China and US on opposed sides in Myanmar's escalating civil war while Japan, India and ASEAN struggle to strike a middle ground
Description:
" China has declared its support for Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s military-coup government in Myanmar. The United States and the European Union have implemented sanctions and declared their support for the people’s power movement agitating against the dictatorship.
India and Japan are keeping quiet because they don’t want to push Myanmar further back into the clutches of China. Thailand is too dependent on natural gas imports from Myanmar to dare to condemn or even criticize the coup.
The rest of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, has once again demonstrated that it is wholly incapable of resolving regional crises.
That, in a nutshell, is how the main external actors have reacted to the turmoil that Min Aung Hlaing thrust upon Myanmar when he and his henchmen seized power on February 1.
How this Great Game proxy theater plays out remains to be seen, but it is clear that it has pitted China against the US in a conflict that is escalating into a regional crisis.
Beyond the superpower rivalry, Japan, India and other regional actors are not keen to see Chinese influence grow in a desperate Myanmar.
That desperation is growing. Waves of refugees are beginning to stream to Myanmar’s borders with Thailand and across the frontier into India, representing the front edge of a new humanitarian crisis that could come to rival the country’s earlier Rohinyga exodus.
Economically and financially, the country is on the verge of collapse, driving out many of the Western investors who entered the country in hopes of a democratic transition. But there are growing signs that China sees opportunity in Myanmar’s crisis.
At a regional meeting in Chongqing on June 8, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi assured his Myanmar counterpart Wunna Maung Maung Lwin that bilateral relations have not been affected by what he referred to as “changes in Myanmar’s domestic and external situation.”
Chinese officials also pledged support for ASEAN’s diplomatic initiatives on Myanmar’s crisis, despite the fact the “five point consensus” agreed between Min Aung Hlaing and ASEAN representative at a one-day meeting in Jakarta on April 24 have been largely dead on arrival.
In essence, the “consensus agreement” put equal blame on the Myanmar military’s gunning down of hundreds of peaceful demonstrators, including children as young as five, and the protesters who at that time were armed with little more than slingshots and homemade devices to defend themselves.
From June 4-5, two Bruneian officials, Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof and ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi, were sent by ASEAN to Myanmar but they apparently did little more than chat with junta representatives.
A press release uploaded on the official website of the ASEAN Secretariat, which was later removed, mentioned the assumed government leadership titles of Myanmar junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing and others who were present at the meeting, giving ASEAN’s de facto official recognition of the coup-makers and their bloody coup.
That prompted Jakarta Post editor Kornelius Purba to write in a June 9 op-ed: “Asean is now becoming the laughing stock in the eyes of the international community not only because it is failing to address the plights of the Myanmar people but also because it has fallen into the trap of Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.”
It is often forgotten that ASEAN is not a Southeast Asian equivalent of the EU; rather it’s a loose gathering of mainly un-democratic regimes guided by two cardinal principles — non-interference and consensus —that make it perennially impotent to resolve regional crises.
Indonesia is the only ASEAN member that has shown some willingness to address Myanmar’s problems and how they are spilling over into the wider region.
After holding talks with EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell in Jakarta on June 2, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that her country is continuing to communicate with ASEAN’s chair — now Brunei — and other member states to demand an immediate end to killings and the release of over 4,000 political detainees.
ASEAN’s inaction is likely to China’s liking. While Beijing may be concerned with Myanmar’s rising internal strife and intensified civil war — which now includes not only traditional ethnic armies but also a multitude of local forces in areas that have not seen fighting for decades — it has shown time and again that it can work together with Myanmar’s generals.
China has big geostrategic interests to protect in Myanmar and Beijing has always sided with the political camp that appears to have the upper hand. For now, that’s Min Aung Hlaing’s unpopular junta.
Myanmar is the only neighboring country that provides China with direct access to the Indian Ocean. That allows Chinese shipments of fuel and other key imports to bypass the disputed waters of the South China Sea and the Malacca Strait chokepoint that Beijing fears could be blocked in any conflict scenario with the US.
The US is on the other side of the political divide in post-coup Myanmar. Starting in June, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) announced that its two media networks, the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, will launch a new 24-hour video channel for Myanmar.
According to a June 9 USAGM press release, the channel will be available on two different direct-to-home TV satellites covering Myanmar and is being launched in response to the junta’s “shutdown of independent media and its intermittent blocking of mobile phone services since the military’s February 1 coup.”
Civil society organizations inside the country and in exile will also get support from the US. But other than keeping hope alive among the general public, it is hard to see how this will affect the staying power of a military regime that is willing to brutally mow down civilians to survive.
An estimated 861 protesters had been shot dead by the Myanmar military since the coup until June 11, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent rights group. AAPP released the names of 21 people who are known to have been tortured to death by the police and military since the coup.
Security and other analysts argue that neither civil disobedience nor armed struggle in frontier areas is likely to bring down the military. Only a crack within the military would do that, but there are few signs of any such significant dissent within the officer corps.
Still, it is in Washington’s strategic interest to strengthen the forces that are opposed to Myanmar’s military to avoid the country once again becoming a dependent client of China.
According to internal Myanmar army documents reviewed by Asia Times, it was top brass concern about the nation’s dependence on China and the need to counterbalance that with improved relations with the West that led to their introduction of a more open society in 2011-2012.
Relations with the West improved until the Myanmar army drove hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingyas over the border to Bangladesh in 2017 and pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi refused to condemn the atrocities.
While the US and EU have openly condemned the democratic reversal, Japan’s and even more so India’s responses to the upheaval have been less overtly critical. Japan has not joined the West in imposing new sanctions or even come out to strongly condemn the killings and torture of opponents to Min Aung Hlaing’s regime.
For the same reason, India now faces a huge dilemma and is particularly averse to China making deeper post-coup inroads into Myanmar. New Delhi doesn’t want to antagonize the Myanmar military, with which it has recently improved ties including through a submarine sale, at the same time it is the only country that so far has received a significant number of refugees.
According to local sources, there are now 21,000 refugees in the northeastern state of Mizoram and an unknown number in adjacent areas in Manipur.
Both states border Myanmar and the Mizos are closely related to the Chins across the border so local authorities have ignored appeals from the central government in New Delhi not to accept refugees from Myanmar. Chin state is one of the parts of Myanmar where armed conflict rages between the military and local resistance forces.
India and the US — both democracies with common strategic interests vis-à-vis China — should be natural allies in this otherwise unfathomable imbroglio. But that may not happen as China could seek to revive its old support for ethnic insurgents from India’s northeast who have sanctuaries across the border in Myanmar from where they launch occasional raids into India.
In the past, China provided mainly Naga, Manipuri and Assamese resistance groups with assistance. After India signed a trade pact with Taiwan in October last year, Beijing said it could retaliate by revitalizing such support.
Four months after Myanmar’s coup, the resulting crisis is no longer a mere internal affair. But what happens next in Myanmar is a question not even its most famous soothsayers and astrologers — nor Western political and military analysts — dare to predict.
The only certain thing is that Min Aung Hlaing did not anticipate the scale, scope and longevity of resistance to his democracy-suspending coup, a miscalculation that has exposed his country to new great power machinations and interventions that will further fuel the instability he stoked and can’t extinguish..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2021-06-12
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Human Rights and international relations, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
Language:
more
Description:
"Within a few days of the Feb. 1 coup, attention focused on pressuring the military coup-makers by blocking the military’s access to hard currency. There was a flurry of news about the US freezing Myanmar’s account at the Federal Reserve and Singapore’s banking authority stating that its checks had found “no significant funds from Myanmar companies and individuals” in Singapore banks. These statements presaged or coincided with US sanctions targeting members of the State Administration Council (SAC), their children, military enterprises and other parties that the US authorities deem responsible for the coup and the ongoing violence.
The list of sanctioned individuals and entities continues to expand. Interestingly, the SAC ruling body is now listed separately on the US Treasury’s sanctions list in addition to the individual listing of council members. Unless the US Treasury clarifies that this designation of SAC does not apply to the government ministries and departments that are now acting at its behest, the implication is that the entire government is now sanctioned.
As I previously wrote in this publication, US sanctions prohibit not only US individuals and companies from dealing with the sanctioned parties, but also prohibit financial transactions that involve US dollars or transit the US financial system, even if the party dealing with the sanctioned party is not a US individual or entity.
The effectiveness of sanctions therefore depends greatly on compliance by international banks. Despite assured statements from Singapore banking authorities, it is almost certain that banks in Singapore, a global financial center and the source of most foreign investment in Myanmar, hold sizable deposits of sanctioned Myanmar citizens and entities. There are also reports that Singaporean banks hold sums of Myanmar’s foreign reserves. Myanmar banks, including military-owned Myawaddy Bank, also have correspondent relationships with Chinese, Korean, Malaysian, Singaporean, Taiwanese and Thai banks.
In general, banks are the weak links in the sanctions regime and are some of the worst offenders, as evidenced by recent penalties of over US$15 billion imposed on the likes of BNP Paribas and HSBC. Despite implementing compliance programs and putting “know your customer” internal systems in place to screen transactions, banks may not always have the motivation to do rigorous checks.
By now, the measures taken by those wanting to evade sanction controls are well documented. These include falsifying and manipulating financial payment documents and using intermediaries to hide the parties to the transaction. For Myanmar sanctions compliance, banks should also update their compliance programs with “negative news” research of individuals and companies known for dealings with sanctioned parties. Banks should also be vigilant about not aiding the informal remittance networks (hundi) that are widely used to transfer money in and out of Myanmar.
Sanctioned individuals and entities are considered threats to the national security and foreign policy of the US, and consequently the US Treasury will aggressively pursue violations. Through its enforcement arm OFAC, the US Treasury has several resources to aid its work. Financial institutions may voluntarily disclose violations, possibly reducing potential penalties. OFAC also relies on information sharing with government agencies including the State Department, FBI, CIA and NSA. Whistleblowing from employees is another asset, and under federal law rewards of up to $1.6 million may be claimed if the bank has a presence in the US.
Banks are now on notice that any failure to conduct thorough checks and properly vet sanctioned parties may be tantamount to “trading with the enemy” of the US. After the record penalties totaling $15 billion on BNP Paribas ($8.9 billion), HSBC ($1.9 billion) and UBAF ($4.1 billion), OFAC is once again aggressively taking action against financial institutions. In January 2021 alone, OFAC imposed billion-dollar penalties on Saudi Arabia-based and France-based financial institutions for conducting business in US dollars on behalf of sanctioned parties. Similar actions are expected to increase under the Biden administration.
International financial institutions are now under the spotlight and face a clear choice: either fully commit to sanctions compliance or risk crippling penalties and losing access to the US financial system..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-06-12
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, USA-Burma relations, Banking, Business and the Military, Sanctions, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Sub-title:
The Third Pole explores how the military coup will affect Chinese-backed dams along Southeast Asia’s last free-flowing river
Description:
"Plans for seven Chinese-built dams along the Salween River have been a source of friction for Myanmar and China for some time. Prior to the military coup on 1 February, the elected party the National League for Democracy and grassroots campaigners were already locked in conflict. International isolation following the coup may now force the government to move closer to China than it would like, leaving indigenous groups more at risk.
The future of dam building is now in the hands of General Min Aung Hlaing’s military regime. Last week, he met with State Administration Council members and departmental officials in Hpa-an, the state capital of Karen. Along with repeated claims of election fraud, he said that the Hatgyi hydropower plant will be built. He said nothing of the environmental concerns, only that “those objecting [to] the project for various reasons should understand the benefits.”
In response, Saw Kyaw, brigadier general of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, told news website The Irrawaddy: “The entire Karen population oppose the dam. Peace has gone in the area now. If the hydropower project is to be implemented, only our people will suffer.”
The Salween remains Southeast Asia’s longest free-flowing river in a region that has seen frenzied dam-building on the Mekong, upper Yangtze and other major waterways.
It flows 3,289 kilometres from the Tibetan Plateau to the Andaman Sea near Myanmar’s border with Thailand. In China, it is known as the Nu River. Crossing into Myanmar, the Salween, or Thanlwin, snakes through ethnic minority lands in Shan, Kayah, Karen and Mon states. It is an artery for immense biodiversity, providing sustenance for millions of people in Myanmar’s conflict-ridden regions.
The Hatgyi and Mong Ton dams are among the largest of seven mainstream dam projects planned by Chinese and Thai companies on the Salween. The 7,000-megawatt Mong Ton dam in Shan state is sponsored by Thailand’s EGAT and China Three Gorges Corporation, and could become Myanmar’s largest dam. Both Hatgyi and Mong Ton are in the planning stage. They would inundate land that is now home to villagers displaced by conflict in the late 1990s who have been unable to return. The Mong Ton site alone would displace at least 60,000.
Civic protesters silenced
The Save the Salween Network previously organised community resistance along the length of the river, using the International Day of Action for Rivers, 14 March, to amplify the opposition of different regions and ethnic groups in a unified protest. This year, activists along the upper and mid-reaches of the river in Shan state could not hold public events on 14 March.
“In Karen state, the organisation was able to campaign, as it was in the area controlled by KNU [Karen National Union, a political organisation]. In southern Shan state, that would be too risky,” a spokesperson from Save the Salween Network told The Third Pole.
The military coup has brought internet connectivity restrictions, a ban on international money transfers and continuing violence. Save the Salween Network continues to advocate for the river in whatever small ways remain. “Because we are not registered in the official registry, our… organisation is in a better position than others. We are off their radar. Despite this, I am in hiding,” the spokesperson said.
Air strikes have been carried out in the Salween Peace Park, a grassroots conservation and indigenous people’s initiative. In March, Myanmar’s military launched the first air strikes on KNU territory in 20 years after rebels killed 10 soldiers, Reuters reported. Attacks continued through April and May, killing dozens and forcing thousands to flee.
The military government has persisted in its claims of election fraud to little effect. Protests and violence continue across the country in the form of attacks on military positions and assassinations.....Waters rising:The current violence builds on disaffection between ethnic groups and the now-overthrown civilian government. “The NLD was so close to China and they did not share any information on any of the pursued projects,” so “ethnic people lost trust in this party,” the Save the Salween Network spokesperson said.
However, he said he expects the military to continue the dam projects, “not just for the sake of generating electricity, but for the militarisation of the area. The flooded area will destroy the base area of ethnic armed [militias].”
In the past the KNU has expressed strong opposition to dams, which has led to violence between the military, or Tatmadaw, and the KNU.
Some major dam sites, in particular the Hatgyi dam, are on the internal border of KNU-controlled land. This is now the frontline of an escalating conflict.
In Thailand, images have appeared of Tatmadaw camps ablaze from the Myanmar side of the Salween. These appear to confirm KNU claims of a successful 27 April attack. As dam sites become battle grounds, the river’s future depends on the outcome of the fighting along its lower reaches.....Who will build?: Six weeks after the military coup, the French energy company EDF suspended the USD 1.5-billion Shweli 3 hydropower dam project in response to the jailing of NLD leaders and shootings of protesters and journalists. Other international companies are likely to be equally reluctant.
“Much depends on whether the junta manages to establish its effective control of the country,” said Sebastian Strangio, author of In the Dragon’s Shadow: Southeast Asia in the Chinese Century. He added: “Chinese firms, which are less susceptible to the reputational pressures of Western companies, will gradually move in to fill the vacuum.”
Prior to the coup, U Aung Myint, general secretary of the Myanmar Renewable Energy Association, told The Third Pole: “Honestly, we want the government to cancel the agreements for big hydropower projects such as Myitsone and Tasang, but I think it will not happen for many reasons.”.....Chinese companies feel the heat: The coup drew sanctions from other nations, yet China blocked condemnation at the UN and referred to the violent overthrow of the NLD government as a “cabinet reshuffle”. The comment was unpopular on the streets. The early days of the coup saw violence against Chinese-owned businesses and threats to Chinese-built pipelines, leading to pressure from China for the new military government to protect its assets.
“Violence against Chinese economic interests in Myanmar, including the oil and gas pipelines that bisect the country, would set off alarm bells at the top levels of the Chinese government,” Strangio said. “Of course, any situation in which Chinese economic interests are coming under attack from anti-military protesters would also be one in which China’s hydropower interests would also be vulnerable to attack.”.....Unknown cost: Forgoing large hydropower projects on the mainstream Salween would avoid disruption to sediment distribution, aquatic ecology and local livelihoods, according to a 2018 International Finance Corporation strategic environmental assessment. However, the lack of studies on the Salween means there are many unknowns pertaining to environmental impacts.
“Unfortunately, because we don’t have good baseline or historical data on either the fish or the fisheries, we may never know in quantitative terms what the impacts of the dams are,” said Aaron Koning, a freshwater ecologist and conservation scientist at the Nevada-based Global Water Center.
Koning has spent seven years studying a grassroots network of community fish reserves in the Salween basin, and says hydropower dams could devastate the river’s ecology and fisheries. He worked with communities harvesting eels that migrate to the Indian Ocean to spawn; their life cycle would be upset by the Hatgyi dam, he says.
“We don’t know much about the habitat requirements or migration patterns of most other Salween River fish species, some of which are endemic to the basin and found nowhere else on Earth,” Koning added. In the Mekong, Chinese-built dams have caused deep harm to fisheries.....Ignoring indigenous communities: China and Myanmar have been accused of ignoring ethnic groups when planning dams on the Salween. The people of the conflict-stricken river basin states of Shan, Karen and Kayah states have the most to lose from further hydropower projects. In Thailand, the Salween marks part of the border. Predominantly Karen ethnic communities living along the river, including refugees from Myanmar, rely heavily on its fisheries for nutritional security.
There is little hope civil society can mount a defence of the Salween’s ecology, given the Tatmadaw’s crackdown on dissent with tacit approval from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The NLD had faced calls from local and international environmental groups to halt and suspend dam projects such as those at Myitsone and Mong Ton (locally called Tasang). The military government that has replaced it is unlikely to listen.....Infrastructure versus inclusion: The hydropower plans are promoted as a way of dealing with Myanmar’s low access to electricity. Almost 60% of the population has no access to electricity, and the NLD had planned for nationwide electrification by 2030. A great deal of this was supposed to be from hydropower. Nevertheless local opposition persisted, even though the Salween region is one of those most deprived. Many living on its banks rely on small rooftop solar panels that provide only a few hours of electricity a day.
The National Electrification Plan’s first phase was set to end by mid-2021, U Maung Win, deputy director general of the Department of Rural Development, told The Third Pole prior to the coup, noting plans to provide electricity to 626,757 households in 5,080 villages far from the national grid.
Energy needs in Myanmar are expected to rise 15-17% annually. Although sizeable, Mong Ton would only provide around 10% of its energy output to Myanmar, with Thailand, the main investor, buying the rest. U Aung Myint told The Third Pole that Myanmar already relies on hydropower for more than 60% of its electricity generation.....Marriage of convenience: The Mong Ton and Hatgyi dams – as well as Ywathit, Weigyi and others planned for the Salween – have varying levels of Chinese investment and construction involvement.
The Chinese-funded Myitsone dam on the Irrawaddy in Kachin state has been a point of friction between China and Myanmar for more than a decade. The plan would have dammed a sacred river, flooded an area the size of Singapore, displaced thousands of people and devastated both fish and wildlife populations. After much lobbying from environmental and Kachin groups, Myanmar’s democratic government halted the Myitsone project but never cancelled it.
Strangio said that if China believes that the junta will ultimately prevail over the protest movement, “then it will seek to work with the generals to advance long-standing strategic and economic goals in Myanmar.” That will lead the military government, possibly the one institution most suspicious of China, right into the arms of its northern neighbour.
“In that event, continuing international opprobrium would likely force the Tatmadaw into a heavier reliance on China than it would be comfortable with, but if that is the price of staying in power, I suspect the marriage of convenience would hold,” Strangio said..."
Source/publisher:
The Third Pole
Date of publication:
2021-06-08
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military, The Burmese military's role in the economy, Assessment of hydropower projects in Burma/Myanmar, Dams and other projects on the Salween and its tributories
Language:
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Sub-title:
Experts say the EU's new sanctions against Myanmar raise questions over a contradiction in policy, which calls on ASEAN to take the lead in mediation. There is also concern over how effective the sanctions will be.
Description:
"Questions have been raised over the EU's exact objectives regarding Myanmar, after its foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, last Thursday said that a third round of sanctions will soon be imposed on the country's military and economic interests.
Following its February 1 coup, which overthrew the recently reelected civilian government headed by national icon Aung San Suu Kyi, the military is believed to have killed at least 845 people, the majority of whom were civilians who participated in nationwide pro-democracy protests.
The coup has also escalated the country's seven-decade-old insurgencies, with several ethnic militia groups now cooperating to oppose the junta. The National Unity Government, an underground government composed of opponents of the military junta, including ousted parliamentarians, also recently announced the creation of their own militia, the People's Defense Force.
As tensions continue to escalate, the majority of foreign powers, including the EU, have publicly backed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc in taking the lead to mediate a resolution to the conflict.
Situation beyond ASEAN's reach
However, the situation now appears to be beyond the reach of ASEAN, for whom the Myanmar crisis represents its biggest and most difficult test in decades.
The junta's continued violence and repression go against the five-point consensus it agreed to with ASEAN in April. And Myanmar's pro-democracy movement now says it doesn't trust ASEAN's interlocutors, especially as there appears to be little chance that the bloc can mediate a deal that allows the now-banned National League for Democracy (NLD) to return to power, or even to politics.
Moreover, accusations have been made that the EU is sanctioning the same Myanmar officials that ASEAN may soon confer legitimacy upon, if the bloc's eventual resolution allows the junta to remain in power until new elections are held, which are likely to be rigged by the military.
The EU first agreed to impose sanctions on several officials in Myanmar's military junta and its aligned companies in mid-February. But it took several weeks for the measures to be formally adopted.
A second round of sanctions in April targeted a dozen more junta officials, as well as key military-owned conglomerates, Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited and Myanmar Economic Corporation.....A hazy relationship with oil companies: However, one notable exception so far from the sanctions list is the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), a state-owned enterprise with close connections to the military's business assets.
"It is imperative that the EU sanctions Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise and junta-controlled banks to cut the flow of revenue financing the military's international crimes," said Yadanar Maung, spokesperson for Justice for Myanmar, a research activist group.
"The most significant single source of revenue for the military is from oil and gas, channeled through offshore accounts belonging to state-owned banks," Maung added. "This is wealth that belongs to the people of Myanmar, who have made clear their absolute rejection of the coup."
In late May, petroleum giants Total SA and Chevron — French and American-owned, respectively — announced that they had terminated cash payments to the junta, the dividends they derive from transporting gas from Myanmar's offshore Yadana field to the mainland and to neighboring Thailand.
Both international firms are majority owners of Moattama Gas Transportation Company, the pipeline company that transports the gas. MOGE owns a 15% share.
Maung also called on the EU to push for a global arms embargo on Myanmar. Brussels has frozen the sale and transfer of weapons to the country, while the United Nations earlier introduced a non-binding resolution for an arms embargo. However, the ASEAN bloc has opposed the UN resolution.
It remains to be seen whether MOGE, as well as other lucrative military-run entities, will be part of the new sanctions promised by Borrell last week during his visit to Jakarta.....'A comprehensive and balanced approach': Nabila Massrali, EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said she "would not speculate" on what the new sanctions will entail as they are still being discussed in Brussels.
Massrali described the bloc's measures as "a comprehensive and balanced approach," adding that: "These measures have been carefully crafted to avoid a further negative impact on the Myanmar population. They send a strong signal to the military junta that the EU holds them accountable for their actions and they impose clear costs on their behavior."
Given that EU sanctions were only imposed in March and April, she said it is "too soon to assess the impact of these measures."
In early May, a study made by 10 foreign chambers of commerce in Myanmar found that 13% of surveyed companies had ceased business activity in the country since the coup, and a third reported at least a 75% reduction in their activity.
According to some commentators, however, sanctions may have dented the military's coffers but are almost certain not to force it to its knees. After all, the military, known locally as the Tatmadaw, ruled Myanmar as a hermetic state from 1962 until 2011, when it tentatively accepted a democratic shift and allowed the NLD to form a civilian government after a resounding victory at the 2015 general election.
'No evidence' that sanctions are effective
"There is no evidence so far that the sanctions have caused any change within the military junta, which continues to use violence and imprisonment to silence democratic opposition," said Htwe Htwe Thein, an associate professor of international business at Curtin University in Perth.
In part, this is because almost none of the military's financial assets is held in EU bank accounts, and the majority of large foreign companies doing businesses in Myanmar aren't European. "Of course, there are travel and visa bans for key officials — so officials and their families cannot plan to go to Paris on holiday," Thein noted.
On the one hand, she added, EU sanctions have "symbolic effects" in supporting international condemnation of the junta's actions, and may also pressure other governments to follow suit. "Therefore, they are more effective than they seem," she said.
Yet many other nations haven't followed the EU's example. Singapore, the largest investor in Myanmar, has opposed sanctions, as have other major investors Japan and China.
Who is in charge of mediation?
Confusing matters further, the EU is ramping up its sanctions against Myanmar's junta, but at the same time, is trusting the ASEAN bloc to mediate a solution that may end up conferring legitimacy on the same people that Brussels has targeted.
The EU "should be very careful and discerning in allowing ASEAN to lead the diplomatic efforts and set agendas," said Thien.
When announcing further sanctions on a visit to Jakarta last week, EU foreign policy chief Borrell reiterated that efforts "to find a political solution for the Myanmar situation belongs to ASEAN." He added that the regional bloc's interlocutors are "doing the best possible job."
Not everyone agrees. Even Thailand, whose current ruling party and prime minister came to power through a military coup in 2014, said this week it was concerned that Myanmar's junta is not sticking to the five-point "consensus" it agreed to with ASEAN in April, which committed the military to ending violence and opening political talks with other groups.
Following the visit last week by two ASEAN envoys to Naypyitaw, the National Unity Government said, "we no longer have any faith in ASEAN's efforts, and we have no expectation."
Last weekend, pro-democracy protesters in Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city, set fire to ASEAN flags to show their anger at the bloc's ongoing talks with the junta.
Brussels may have backed itself into a corner by imposing sanctions, yet intimating that it will support an ASEAN-led resolution to the crisis.
'A compromised solution'
"If ASEAN finds a 'solution' it would be a very compromised solution — such as scarcely believable promises of future 'free and fair elections' and an end to military violence against pro-democracy supporters," said Thein.
"Chances are that the EU wouldn't be able to accept such false 'solutions,' given the EU's democratic values and policies. What to do then?," she added.
Indeed, if Brussels follows an ASEAN outcome that essentially accepts the junta as the legitimate government of Myanmar, then the EU will presumably have to end its sanctions. If not, and sanctions remain, Brussels will be seen as disagreeing with ASEAN's resolution.
The EU spokesperson did not directly address this issue when asked by DW.
"Violence and repression will not grant legitimacy to the military junta. Only a credible political dialogue, aimed at restoring the democratic institutions and which takes into account the will of Myanmar's people, as expressed in last November's elections, can ensure sustainable peace and a credible democracy," Massrali said, referring to the NLD's victory at a general election last year, which the military argued was rigged.
"The EU will monitor closely the developments and re-assess its policy, including in relation to sanctions, based on the situation on the ground."
Source/publisher:
"DW News" (Germany)
Date of publication:
2021-06-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, European Union-Burma relations - European Parliament, Sanctions, Business and the Military, ASEAN-Burma relations, Burma's economic relations with the European Union, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, National Unity Government (NUG)
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Description:
"May 25, 2021)–The Government of the United Kingdom should take immediate action to deprive the Myanmar military junta of natural gas revenues, weapons, and political legitimacy, and ensure accountability for its past and present mass atrocity crimes in the country, Fortify Rights said today in a submission to the U.K. Parliament.
Fortify Rights today submitted evidence to the U.K. Foreign Affairs Committee, which is holding an inquiry into the U.K. government’s response to the crisis in Myanmar following the February 1 coup d’état. The committee will also hear oral evidence from U.N. Special Rapporteur Thomas Andrews, Myanmar National Unity Government (NUG) Minister Dr. Sasa, human rights defender Thinzar Shunlei Yi, and others. The committee will then draft a report and make recommendations to the U.K. government.
The Fortify Rights submission recommends the U.K. “work with relevant governments and foreign operators of Myanmar gas fields to ensure the junta is unable to access natural gas revenues from its accounts and ensure revenues are effectively held in trust until democracy is restored.” Fortify Rights urged the U.K. to sanction the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise and other specified entities to ensure the country’s natural gas wealth is not controlled by the illegal military junta.
As the penholder at the U.N. Security Council, the U.K. should table a resolution that includes a global arms embargo, targeted sanctions, and a referral of the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC), forcing a veto from China or Russia, if necessary, Fortify Rights said. The U.K. should simultaneously lead efforts beyond the Security Council to build an international coalition to achieve these same aims.
Fortify Rights also called on the U.K. government to reverse recently announced funding cuts to Rohingya refugee response efforts in Bangladesh and to conduct an urgent public review of U.K. aid spending in Myanmar to ensure it does not reach the military junta. The U.K. government should also work with countries receiving Myanmar refugees, including Thailand, Bangladesh, India, and Malaysia, to ensure refugee protection.
In November 2019, The Gambia opened a case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, alleging Myanmar violated its obligations under the Genocide Convention with regard to mass-scale, army-led attacks against Rohingya men, women, and children. In light of the coup, long-persecuted minorities in Myanmar, such as the Rohingya, face increased existential risks,Fortify Rights said.
“The U.K. should formally join the case at the ICJ brought by The Gambia against Myanmar for violations of the Genocide Convention,” Fortify Rights said in its submission.
Since the coup, the junta-controlled military and police reportedly killed more than 800 people and arbitrarily detained more than 4,000 nationwide. In a document seen by Fortify Rights, provided by the Myanmar junta to members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ahead of an emergency summit to discuss Myanmar last month, the junta claimed it detained 9,848 persons, released 4,511, and charged 5,070 between February 1 and April 15. The junta has also launched airstrikes against villages in ethnic army-controlled border areas, reportedly killing, injuring, and displacing tens of thousands of civilians. The junta also cut internet access and mobile data nationally, preventing the population from communicating with each other and the outside world.
On April 16, elected legislators in Myanmar and others formed the National Unity Government (NUG) to fulfill the will of the people as expressed through the November 2020 elections. In its submission to the Foreign Affairs Committee, Fortify Rights recommended the U.K. government recognize and engage the NUG as the legitimate Government of Myanmar.
In its April 29 announcement launching the U.K. inquiry, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Tugendhat, referenced “deeply distressing reports” of the junta’s human rights violations against peaceful protesters in Myanmar, noting that “[e]fforts to curb the violence and brutality through the imposition of sanctions have, unfortunately, fallen short.”
“This urgent inquiry will determine how the Government can improve its response to the crisis, as well as how the U.K. can use its influence in organizations such as the U.N. to help deliver a peaceful resolution for the people of Myanmar,” he said..."
Source/publisher:
"Fortify Rights"
Date of publication:
2021-05-25
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Genocide, International Court of Justice (ICJ) - General, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Human Rights and international relations, Business and the Military, Sanctions, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Description:
"Last week, in a public letter, Human Rights Watch called on the leaders of the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, and Japan to take concrete and decisive action facing the unprecedented challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and global warming, as well as by worrying developments in China, Israel/Palestine, Belarus, Russia, and Myanmar, ahead of the G7 Summit on June 11-13. G7 members should use this Summit to collectively reaffirm and demonstrate their commitment to international human rights law and deliver on its promise to build back better.
June 2, 2021
Dear G7 leaders,
As the world undergoes profound changes, the forthcoming G7 Summit meeting to be held on 11-13 June should deliver on its promise to build back better. The respect and advancement of human rights are intrinsic to building back better, yet human rights are facing unprecedented challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and global warming, as well as by worrying developments in China, Israel/Palestine, Belarus, Russia, and Myanmar.
The G7 Summit should be an opportunity for the assembled Heads of State and Government to collectively reaffirm and demonstrate their commitment to international human rights law through concrete and decisive actions.
In that regard, I am writing to draw your attention to recommendations made by Human Rights Watch that we urge the G7 to adopt at the Carbis Bay summit.
Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic has precipitated human rights crises across the globe, with widespread and devastating social and economic consequences. While the scale and severity of the pandemic’s public health threat justified some restrictions on rights, many governments ignored public health guidance and even used the pandemic as a pretext to abusively strengthen their grip on power. Meanwhile, rich governments have made opaque deals and prebooked the vast majority of vaccine supplies, exacerbating inequalities and largely opposing measures that could ensure poorer countries’ quicker and more affordable access to vaccines. Human Rights Watch calls on G7 members to urgently change course and ensure a rights-respecting exit from this public health crisis by:
Supporting India’s and South Africa’s proposal at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to temporarily waive certain intellectual property rights under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). While we applaud the US government's decision to support a waiver and Japan's announcement that it would no longer obstruct text-based negotiations at the WTO’s TRIPS Council, we deeply regret that negotiations on the proposal remain stalled because other G7 members are still undecided or in opposition. Human Rights Watch is among the hundreds of civil society organizations around the world urging support for the TRIPS waiver to expand access to lifesaving vaccines and other health products. The measure has received increasing support ever since its initial proposal in October, including by 175 Nobel laureates and former Heads of State and Government, and the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO); and
Boosting manufacturing capacity in the developing world. While we welcome G7 leaders' attention to purchasing and distributing vaccine doses through the COVAX facility, which is worryingly underfunded, we urge the countries attending the G7 summit to go further by committing financial and logistical resources to develop a plan of action to scale up manufacturing and to use their regulatory powers and funding clout to enable technology transfers and sharing of data, know-how, and other intellectual property through open and non-exclusive licensing.
Human Rights Watch also calls on G7 members to support all governments’ ability to provide urgent economic relief to people whose livelihoods have been devastated by the pandemic, including by:
Exercising their outsize voting power on the boards of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and regional development banks to enable robust investment in public health systems and bottom-up economic relief. Members should use all avenues available to them to promote transparent and accountable use of pandemic-related funding. At the same time, they should oppose conditionalities that harm rights, such as imposing fiscal targets that force governments to cut spending on health, education, housing, and social protection;
Increasing and directing development assistance to scale up social protection systems. Such assistance could help co-finance social protection floors during the time of crisis, and provide financial and technical support to put in place more permanent structures; and
Supporting debt relief where it interferes with governments' ability to provide economic relief essential to people's rights or to procure Covid-19 vaccines or other health products.
Climate Change
Since 2016, the G7 governments have all committed to phase out “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies by 2025, a commitment reiterated last week by the G7 Climate and Environment Ministers. To fulfill this commitment, Human Rights Watch encourages the G7 to:
Deliver time-bound and transparent action plans this year detailing how G7 members will meet stated commitment to phase out fossil fuel subsidies by 2025; and
Immediately commit to no new international public finance for coal, oil, or natural gas projects, and to deliver time-bound and transparent action plans this year detailing how they will eliminate existing support for fossil fuels from international public finance institutions by 2025, including indirect support such as through related infrastructure, advisory services, technical assistance, or financial intermediaries.
China
The Chinese government is deepening repression in mainland China as well as Hong Kong, and is seeking to muzzle critics abroad. It is arbitrarily detaining human rights defenders and lawyers, tightening control over civil society, media, and the internet, and deploying invasive mass surveillance technology. The government imposes particularly heavy-handed control in the ethnic minority regions of Xinjiang and is responsible for serious, widespread and systemic violations against Uyghurs and other Muslims that amount to crimes against humanity. In this regard, Human Rights Watch urges the G7 to:
Call on the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to proceed with an investigation into grave abuses in Xinjiang, -even absent access to China, noting Beijing’s intransigence with regard to access and cooperation;
Pursue G7-wide coordinated targeted sanctions against officials responsible for abuses. An obvious target should be Chen Quanguo, the Chinese Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (only the US has sanctioned these two; other recent sanctions have focused on lower-level officials);
Insist that those responsible for crimes against humanity in Xinjiang should be held accountable and face justice; and
Support and commit to work for the establishment of a standing mandate at the UN Human Rights Council to monitor and report on human rights violations across China.
Israel-Palestine
Israel maintains entrenched discriminatory systems that methodically privilege Jewish Israelis and discriminate against Palestinians. To maintain Jewish Israeli control over demographics, political power, and land, Israeli authorities have dispossessed, confined, forcibly separated, and subjugated Palestinians by virtue of their identity to varying degrees of intensity. In certain areas, the deprivations perpetrated by the Israeli government against the Palestinian population are so severe that they amount to the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution. Considering these crimes, Human Rights Watch calls on the G7 to:
Urge the Israeli government to ensure without delay to Palestinians in the occupied territory protection of the civil rights that they are entitled to, using as a guide the protections it ensures for its own citizens; and to assess Israel’s conduct on this basis;
Issue statements expressing concern about the Israeli government’s practice of apartheid and persecution;
Vet agreements, cooperation schemes, and all forms of trade and dealing with Israel to screen for those directly contributing to the commission of the crimes of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians, mitigate the human rights impacts, and, where not possible, end the activities and funding found to facilitate these crimes;
Support the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in its ongoing investigation into crimes committed in Palestine, including into individuals credibly implicated in the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution; and
Urge Israel to reverse its policy of denying access to the Gaza Strip to human rights organizations seeking to investigate violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
Russia
Repression in Russia is the most severe than it has ever been in the post-Soviet era and targets political opposition, critical media, peaceful protesters, independent groups, foreign organizations, and internet traffic. Russia is also responsible for assassinations and assassination attempts of Russians abroad. Human Rights Watch, therefore, urges the G7 to:
Jointly and publicly condemn the unprecedented crackdown on human rights defenders and civil society and restrictions on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, association and expression;
Jointly call on Russia to repeal the “foreign agents” legislation and the law on “undesirable” organizations, to amend the vague and overly broad extremism legislation, to end politically motivated prosecutions, and to stop all forms of persecution and harassment of human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, and other civil society activists; and
Urge Russia to release Alexey Navalny, drop abusive charges against him, drop the extremism court case against his organization, ensure effective investigation of the credible allegations that Federal Security Service officers poisoned him with Novichok nerve agent in 2020, and stop harassing, intimidating, detaining, and persecuting his supporters and other peaceful civic activists.
Belarus
In Belarus, the political opposition, democracy activists, lawyers, human rights groups, and independent media face severe abuses, including arbitrary arrests, bogus charges and trials, enforced disappearances, torture, and dismissals by the authorities. A shocking illustration of this repression occurred on May 23, when the government forced a civilian plane traveling between two EU member state capitals to land in Minsk and arbitrarily arrested prominent activist and journalist Raman Pratasevich and his girlfriend, Sofya Sapega. In the face of such acts, Human Rights Watch calls on the G7 to:
Continue to jointly and consistently condemn the widespread, brutal crackdown on rights and peaceful protesters in Belarus, the politically motivated arrests of key opposition figures, and efforts to intimidate and silence dissenters, workers, students, journalists, human rights activists, and others peacefully exercising their rights to free expression and assembly;
Condemn in the strongest terms the actions that led to the arbitrary arrest and detention of Pratasevich and Sapega, and convey serious concerns that they are at grave risk of torture and face long prisons terms on spurious charges;
Press the Belarusian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners held arbitrarily such as for political reasons, including all those arrested in relation to the protests against the August 2020 presidential elections, journalists, media workers, bloggers, and human rights defenders;
Use all means possible, including further targeted sanctions against individuals and entities involved in the crackdown and continued impunity, to put pressure on the Belarusian authorities to put an end to gross and widespread human rights violations committed in the country since August 2020;
Condemn the continued impunity for grave violations of international human rights law, including torture, ill-treatment, sexual violence, enforced disappearances, and killings by security forces, as well as the disproportionate and lethal use of weapons; and
Insist that those responsible for serious violations of international law must face justice, and pledge G7 support for the UN Fact-finding mission established by the Human Rights Council, and for the Accountability Platform supported by a large group of states from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to gather, analyse, and preserve evidence of human rights violations in Belarus with a view to support justice for grave crimes.
Myanmar
In Myanmar, on top of the hundreds of killings and thousands of arrests since the 1 February coup, of increasing concern are attacks on the media, including the arrests of journalists who are citizens of G7 countries. The military has raided the offices of newspapers and online media and banned media outlets and satellite television. More than 70 journalists have been arrested since the coup, of whom at least 48 remain in detention. Meanwhile, the escalation of armed conflict in ethnic minority areas has forced almost 60,000 people to flee their homes. The country’s humanitarian situation is worsening across the board, with food and economic security plummeting. The United Nations Development Programme has warned that half of Myanmar’s population, about 25 million people, could be living below the national poverty line by early 2022. Despite the desperate situation, the people of Myanmar continue to protest and actively oppose the military. Civil society, protest leaders, and representatives of the democratically elected government are all continuing to call on the international community to impose economic sanctions on the companies that benefit the Myanmar military. They are calling on the G7 to act. Human Rights Watch consequently appeals to the G7 to:
Adopt a tougher position on imposing economic sanctions and other economic measures to target the Myanmar military and its leaders. Sanctions imposed so far — on military leaders and companies, including MEC and MEHL and the gemstone and timber enterprises — are an important step forward. But governments now need to better target the massive foreign currency revenues that are bankrolling the military and giving it the capacity to purchase weapons and other items on the international market — transactions that are almost entirely conducted in currencies of G7 members. Every month, hundreds of millions of US dollars are paid to entities that are either already sanctioned by most G7 members or controlled by sanctioned entities. This flow of funds can and should be stopped. The G7 should announce new measures to target those revenues, focusing more on financial institutions that process payments that benefit sanctioned entities;
Adopt a common position, or state unilaterally, that they support efforts to table a UN Security Council draft imposing a global arms embargo on Myanmar; and
Signal that they will pursue all possible avenues for international justice, which include support for investigative efforts by UN bodies, referral of the situation to the International Criminal Court, and, where applicable, investigation under domestic law under universal jurisdiction laws. It is essential that G7 governments demonstrate to the junta that its abuses — and unwillingness to engage meaningfully with the UN and outside actors about restoring democratic rule — is coming at a severe cost to its economic interests and standing on the international stage, and that engaging in atrocities with impunity will result in international efforts to hold its leadership criminally liable.
Hoping for concrete and decisive action by the G7 at the Corbis Bay summit, I remain at your disposal should you require any further information.
Yours sincerely,
Kenneth Roth
Executive Director
Human Rights Watch..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-06-08
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights Watch Reports on Burma/Myanmar, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Sanctions - general, Human Rights and international relations, Business and the Military, Sanctions
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Sub-title:
Crisis Group Asia Briefing N°166
Description:
"The Myanmar military took the world by surprise on 1 February, staging a coup d’état that abruptly curtailed the country’s democratic transition and has sparked mass protests that could lead to deadly violence. The generals say their move is con-stitutional, alleging fraud in November 2020 elections that saw the National League for Democracy (NLD) defeat the military-backed party. These claims lack substantiation. The detention of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as her anointed president, Win Myint, has generated immense popular anger. Foreign governments are now grappling with how to respond. Some (largely Western) governments threaten sanctions to punish democratic backsliding; the U.S. has already imposed some re-
strictions. Asian powers that have expressed concern focus on the risk of instability. Governments that impose sanctions should adopt measures that target coup leaders and insulate Myanmar’s people and broader economy from their effects. Regional governments should consider such steps to protect regional stability. All external actors should cooperate to prevent violence. Complicating efforts by foreign governments to react is a dynamic situation on the ground. The new regime has tried to tamp down protests by issuing a curfew order
that prohibits public gatherings of five or more people, rolling back some reforms that protected civil liberties and using heavy-handed crowd control devices such as water cannons and rubber bullets (compounded, some reports suggest, by live fire in some instances). Still, demonstrations show no sign of abating. Indeed, the junta’s
sharp response, which resulted in the reported killing of at least one person, appears to have drawn even more people onto the streets, including in the capital city of Naypyitaw, suggesting significant support among government workers. The security forces’ approach could take an even darker turn fast. Soldiers and armoured vehicles
have begun to reinforce the police lines and, should the generals become impatient with the status quo, could easily become the sharp end of a bloody crackdown, as has happened in the past.
Responses around the world have varied. Many governments denounced the military takeover. The UN Security Council issued a press statement expressing “deep concern” about the “arbitrary detention” of members of the government, calling for the release of those detained and emphasising the need to “uphold democratic
institutions and processes, refrain from violence, and fully respect human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law”. For Western governments invested in Myanmar’s democratic transition, initial statements were only an opening salvo. U.S. President Joe Biden has already approved sanctions on coup leaders, their business
interests and close kin, and redirected more than $40 million of aid from the Myanmar government to civil society. New Zealand rejected “the legitimacy of the militaryled government” and suspended high-level military and political contacts. Asian governments and commentators have been more muted; many expressed concern for regional stability, but prominent voices have cautioned against a severe international reaction unlikely, in their eyes, to sway the generals.Western leaders will have to thread a needle. Targeted sanctions and the like can serve as a signal to the generals in Myanmar and others similarly inclined elsewhere.
Sanctions might impose costs that will not reverse the coup but could offer modest leverage or deterrence in the future. Some measures, such as cutting off weapons shipments, can also help ensure those governments previously supplying arms are not complicit should the military again use force against Myanmar’s people. Yet sanctions should be formulated with a clear grasp of their shortfalls. Prior to Myanmar’s transition that began in 2010, the U.S., EU and others imposed ferocious sanctions that, alongside the junta’s economic mismanagement, harmed the population.
The sanctions alienated Myanmar’s neighbours, which saw them as disproportionate, creating an unhelpful West-versus-East dynamic that inhibited cooperation.
Sanctions did not play a decisive role in Myanmar’s 2011 democratic opening. Steering a policy course today requires humility about and historical perspective on external actors’ limited sway over internal developments. Still, outside powers can take useful steps. Governments wanting to signal the importance of a return to democracy should – as the U.S. has done – adopt tailored
measures that seek to punish those responsible for the 1 February actions but avoid penalising the country’s population who are the coup’s victims and, in many cases, are risking their lives protesting it. Such punitive measures could include sanctions on military-owned enterprises, provided they do not hurt the broader economy and
the people. Myanmar’s neighbours should join these efforts – whether or not, given their own systems, they are concerned about democracy in Myanmar – to help push the generals onto to a more stable path. All governments should suspend delivery and sales of weapons and other defence and dual-use equipment during this volatile period and maintain this policy until genuine civilian government is restored..."
Source/publisher:
International Crisis Group (Belgium)
Date of publication:
2021-02-16
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, Anti-coup protesters, Sanctions - general, Sanctions, Business and the Military, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
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Sub-title:
Washington has choices, from imposing no-fly zones to tightening sanctions.
Description:
"While the U.S. Congress is considering modifications of the Biden administration’s modest sanctions on Myanmar’s military junta, some voices among the protesters have called on the United States and the international community to consider armed intervention. Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations for the pre-coup Union Government, Kyaw Moe Tun, who continues to oppose the junta from abroad, asked the U.N. Security Council to enforce a no-fly zone over the country and impose a global arms embargo.
The United States has had a unilateral arms embargo on trade with Myanmar since 1988, and Congress has placed restrictions on U.S. relations with the country’s military since 2011. In addition, there are a range of options on the table for harder interventions, although some are more plausible than others.
This article does not advocate or endorse any U.S. military action in Myanmar in response to the Feb. 1 coup; the goal is to provide a brief overview of the options and examine the merits of each option. Given the impending end to two decades of U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan, military options in Myanmar are unlikely to be popular with either the Biden administration or Congress. Yet, as opposition calls for aid grow, it’s worth examining what the scope of U.S. military action could be.
The most dramatic—and unlikely—option would be a full-scale invasion of Myanmar, either unilaterally (like the U.S. invasion of Panama in December 1989) or multilaterally (like the 1990 war against Iraq). Such an invasion would probably focus on the nation’s central axis along the Irrawaddy River, including the key cities of Mandalay, Naypyidaw, and Yangon. Because of the presence of anti-junta ethnic armed organizations in the seven ethnic minority states of Myanmar (Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Mon, Rakhine, and Shan) that have long fought the central government, U.S. forces would probably see limited actions in those parts of Myanmar.
Although Myanmar’s military has reportedly purchased some advanced military equipment and supplies from China, Israel, Russia, and Ukraine, advancing U.S. troops would be unlikely to face sustained resistance. Myanmar’s military has sustained serious casualties in the last two years in fighting against ethnic militias—such as the Arakan Army, the Kachin Independence Army, and the Karen National Liberation Army—which do not possess the resources of the U.S. military. Not surprisingly, morale among Myanmar’s security forces is reportedly low, with many soldiers wishing to resign or defect to the anti-junta opposition.
While an actual invasion might be relatively simple, an occupation would be much more difficult. The recent unity in Myanmar in opposition to the Feb. 1 coup does not extend to any consensus on what form of government should be established after the removal of the military junta. For example, the proposed National Unity Government announced by the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, a small group of largely National League for Democracy politicians who were supposed to become members of the legislature before the coup overturned the election results, has received lukewarm support from the major ethnic armed groups and the civil society organizations behind the civil disobedience movement. Following an invasion, the Biden administration could find itself responsible for a politically fractious nation—and face a wary reaction from some of the ethnic armed organizations.
A U.S. invasion of Myanmar also would likely be condemned by China, Russia, Thailand, and other nations. China would perceive the presence of U.S. forces in a neighboring country as a serious security threat and increase its military forces along the border. Thailand would certainly be concerned, given that its current government is the result of a similar military coup in 2014. Without the support of other nations, the United States could find itself isolated and subject to widespread international criticism.
Another military option that has been suggested is for the United States to establish a no-fly zone over Myanmar to prevent the Myanmar military from using its fixed-wing aircraft and attack helicopters against the ethnic militias and the local groups known as civil defense forces that are springing up in various parts of the country. A no-fly zone would rebalance the fighting to the advantage of the civil and ethnic armed groups, possibly leading to the defeat of the Myanmar military.
One of the main challenges of this proposal would be establishing and maintaining the logistical support to sustain the no-fly zone. An aircraft carrier off the coast of Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal could be sufficient to provide the air coverage, but some form of land-based supply system would also be necessary, especially if the no-fly zone became a sustained effort.
It would be difficult to find a nearby nation willing to allow the United States to set up such a logistical support center. India is not a likely candidate; nor is Thailand. Australia and Japan are probably too far away to be practical alternatives.
Also, while the elimination of air support for Myanmar’s troops would alter the situation on the battlefield, Myanmar’s military would still be able to deploy its artillery and other heavy land equipment. As such, it is unclear how significant a change the establishment of a no-fly zone would be in the balance of power in Myanmar’s ongoing and intensifying civil war.
The creation of a blockade off of Myanmar’s coast is another military option. Such a blockade could include shutting down Myanmar’s natural gas and oil production, which is a major source of international revenue for the military junta.
From a military perspective, the maintenance of a blockade would involve less resources than a no-fly zone. Myanmar does not have a blue-water navy of any size or capability to challenge a U.S. blockade. Yet most of Myanmar’s international trade is conducted by land, not by sea. Myanmar’s major trading partners are China and Thailand, and most of the goods are exchanged by land, thereby evading such a blockade. Both China and Thailand might be willing to assist Myanmar’s military junta by permitting blocked goods to enter Myanmar via their territory.
The U.S. military could also conduct a limited number of airstrikes against key Myanmar military installations to undermine its ability to use its air force in the fighting against the ethnic armed groups and civil defense forces. It also could target Myanmar’s weapons and munitions factories. For many years, Myanmar’s military has been producing most of its light weapons and equipment in military-run factories. Airstrikes against Myanmar’s military air bases and/or its weapons factories could seriously compromise the junta’s ability to continue the civil war.
An advantage of limited airstrikes over an invasion or the maintenance of a no-fly zone is it would involve a relatively discrete amount of time and resources, but it could seriously weaken the military. Also, U.S. casualties would be minimal, as the number of airstrikes necessary to seriously damage Myanmar’s air force and weapons production is fairly small given Myanmar’s minimal air defense capabilities.
There would undoubtably be some international criticism of the airstrikes, most likely from China, Russia, and Thailand. It is unlikely that China would attempt to intercept the U.S. airstrikes, given the risk of direct confrontation. The airstrikes might also provide moral support for Myanmar’s opposition movement, as it would be a clear demonstration of U.S. opposition to the military junta.
Yet there are downsides. First, the U.S. military would probably have to return periodically to attack the air bases and weapons factories again, after repairs had been made. Second, the damage caused by the airstrikes might not be sufficient to alter the military balance of power in favor of the opposition armed groups. Limited U.S. airstrikes in other nations, such as Libya and Syria, have not always proved to be as effective as hoped.
A less discussed option is providing military assistance and training to the ethnic armed organizations and civil defense force in support of their war against the military junta. This could involve the provision of arms and military equipment to the major ethnic militias and the newly established civil ones, as well as combat training for their officers.
Such a program would be a significant change in U.S. policy, which has denied such assistance and training to Myanmar’s military for more than 30 years. It would also clearly place the United States behind the opposition movement, which may not win the war against the Myanmar military.
China, in contrast, has been a major provider of military assistance and training for both the Myanmar military and some of the major ethnic armed groups for decades. The provision of U.S. support to the ethnic militias would improve U.S. relations with those groups, but it may antagonize China in the process, unless there is an agreement between the two nations.
Another important consideration is the long-term implications of U.S. military support for anti-government opposition forces. Recent U.S. experience with such endeavors has been rather mixed. In some cases, what were at one time allies became enemies, such as in Afghanistan. Given the history of disagreements between Myanmar’s ethnic armed organizations, supplying them with weapons and military training may precipitate an outbreak of these groups fighting each other after the defeat of the Myanmar military.
A final option to consider is the further international isolation of Myanmar’s military, especially its commissioned officers. This could involve an international arms embargo, the freezing of military financial assets overseas, a travel embargo on the Myanmar military’s commissioned officers, and/or the instigation of criminal charges against the heads of the junta. Bertil Lintner, a renowned expert on Myanmar, recently wrote an article advocating the extraterritorial prosecution of the junta’s leaders as an alternative to the types of sanctions being implemented by the Biden administration and other governments.
Previous efforts in the U.N. Security Council to impose an arms embargo on Myanmar have been blocked by China and Russia. The U.N. General Assembly is supposed to consider a non-binding resolution calling for a global arms embargo on Myanmar; a proposal backed by the Biden administration.
But in addition, the Biden administration could apply indirect pressure on nations to join the United States in isolating the Myanmar military. For example, it could make the continued provision of U.S. military assistance and training contingent on severing any ties to the Myanmar military. Alternatively, the U.S. Treasury could ban any American financial institution from providing financial services that involve the transfer of funds to accounts owned or controlled by the Myanmar military or its officers, as well as restrict financial services to foreign financial institutions that provide financial services to the Myanmar military. In its relative simplicity, and in following on from similar measures against Iran, this may be the most appealing option to the Biden administration and Congress—even if it doesn’t match the hopes of the opposition..."
Source/publisher:
"Foreign Policy" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-05-24
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, USA-Burma relations, Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Anti-coup protesters, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
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Sub-title:
The winning cartoon in a competition organised by a French campaign group shows blood dripping from a Total oil container and forming the shape of Myanmar
Description:
"UK-based cartoonist Carol Isaacs, also known as The Surreal McCoy, has won the #TotalCartoonChallenge, a competition organised by French campaign group Info Birmanie to protest oil company TotalEnergies’ business with the Myanmar military junta.
Carol’s winning cartoon shows blood dripping from a Total oil container and forming the shape of Myanmar.
Carol has deep ties to Myanmar, as her family fled the country as refugees during the Second World War. She has visited several times and is currently working on a graphic novel on her family’s history.
Info Birmanie launched the #TotalCartoonChallenge on social media 10 days before TotalEnergies’ May 28 annual shareholder meeting. The challenge aimed to increase TotalEnergies’ reputational risk because of their continued business with the military junta. The winning prize is publication in Myanmar Now.
“We know the challenge is symbolic and does not carry much weight by itself, but we hope that the sum of actions, such as the letter co-signed by more than 40 elected members of parliament in France, will generate enough momentum and visibility to force Total to stop financing the junta,” Info Birmanie assistant coordinator Arjuna Lebaindre told Myanmar Now.
The cartoon challenge is part of a series of creative actions to oppose the Myanmar coup. The Raise Three Fingers campaign, which Carol is part of, is a Myanmar initiative that calls on artists to create a three-fingered salute, the symbol of pro-democracy movements in Myanmar, Thailand and Hong Kong.
Info Birmanie is continuing its campaign against TotalEnergies’ business with the junta. They are now running an online petition calling for TotalEnergies to “block any payment to the military junta until the country is ruled by the democratically elected civilian government,” receiving almost 3,800 signatures since its launch..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-06-05
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Oil and gas, Business and the Military, Abstracts, bibliographies, scholarly journals, libraries, institutes, universities, other research tools, Anti-coup protesters, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
Mobile money agents and informal brokers have been meeting the demand for cash at a time when banks are severely limiting withdrawals, but some accuse them of profiteering by charging steep fees.
Description:
"When U San Lwin arrived at his local KBZ bank at 7:30 one recent morning, he gazed despondently at the long line of customers already waiting at the ATM.
Like so many others, lining up at ATMs has become a daily ritual for San Lwin. Since the February 1 coup he’s been desperately trying to withdraw money from his account because he fears that under a military regime he’ll end up losing everything.
“It’s only getting worse,” he said of the difficulties accessing his own cash. “I’m so worried the banks will collapse before I can withdraw my savings. Everyone else is worried, too – that’s why we’re here every day.”
To prevent banks running out of cash, the Central Bank of Myanmar introduced withdrawal limits of K2 million a week for individuals, including a maximum of K500,000 a day from ATMs. But with the Central Bank unwilling to provide private banks with adequate liquidity, the banks have been forced to ration their reserves even further by putting daily caps on the number of customers and setting lower withdrawal limits. This has only increased the panic, however, and the length of the queues.
At first San Lwin lined up to withdraw money from branches, but when that became too time-consuming – he had to line up one day for a token, and then another to withdraw money – he instead turned to ATMs.
Now he queues up most of the day just to withdraw K200,000 – if he can find an ATM that still has cash in it.
For those without the time or patience to line up, or who need larger amounts of cash, there are other options. But these come at a price, ranging from the equivalent of a few dollars to possibly thousands on larger transactions.
Inside the cash hustle
For many like San Lwin, queuing for hours outside a bank or ATM at the height of the hot season is a hardship. But for those with time on their hands – and a willingness to rise early – it’s an opportunity to make some money.
Ma Pyae from Yangon’s Thingangyun Township quit her job at a bank late last year. In March she began offering a unique service, one that didn’t exist prior to the coup: she would line up for you at an ATM for a fee of K10,000.
Ma Pyae would head out into the early morning darkness – in violation of the nightly curfew – to get a spot at the front of an ATM queue. By the time curfew ended, there would usually be anywhere from 70 to 100 people behind her.
Once Ma Pyae was in line, a friend would post in several Facebook groups offering her help to withdraw cash. If the client trusted her, they would transfer the money directly to Ma Pyae’s account and she would withdraw it using her own card; otherwise, they would come to the ATM and transfer the money to her after she had already withdrawn the cash.
But she described this enterprise as a “lottery”, because the banks do not usually announce which ATMs they will fill until 9am. “If this ATM doesn’t work, is there another one we can go to? We would ask our friends and get there as soon as possible,” she said.
Ma Pyae preferred to line up at CB Bank ATMs, because the bank has higher withdrawal limits – K300,000 a day, compared to K200,000 a day for rivals banks KBZ and AYA – and she knew from experience that if she wasn’t among the first 100 people then she was probably wasting her time.
Ma Pyae is far from alone. On Facebook, there are hundreds of people offering to line up at ATMs in exchange for a K5,000 to K10,000 fee – or 1.66 percent to 5pc of the total withdrawal amount, depending on the bank.
Ma Thet, from South Okkalapa Township in Yangon, also prefers to line up at CB Bank ATMs. Like Ma Pyae, she rises before dawn each day, sometimes lining up together with friends so they can all exchange their spots for K10,000.
“It’s about trust,” she said. “Some people trust us and just transfer the money and then wait somewhere else. Once we take out the money, we just have to go and give it to them. Others who don’t trust us, they come and wait [by the ATM] until the cash is out.”
Recently, Ma Pyae decided to stop lining up ATMs. The final straw was an argument with a woman who took her spot when she went for lunch. “The bank staff didn’t help at all – they just said it wasn’t their responsibility,” she said. “That’s kind of true, but this mess is partly because they’re making it hard for us to withdraw cash.”
Instead, she now sells the tokens needed to get inside a branch to withdraw cash, charging K3,000 to K5,000 for each token. The fee is lower, she said, because she doesn’t have to get up early and queue for many hours. Instead, Ma Pyae calls one branch after another, from 9am to 3pm, to try and secure a token for an appointment. When she gets one, she advertises it in Facebook groups.
“Often the buyers are mobile money agents – those who work with Wave Money want appointments with Yoma Bank, while KPay agents buy tokens for KBZ,” she said.....Money in a hurry: These mobile money agents are another potential source of quick cash for those wanting to avoid queuing at ATMs or bank branches, but there’s a catch.
“The fees are rising all the time,” complained San Lwin. “At the end of March, it was 2 percent. A month later it was 3pc. Then it was 4pc or 5pc. You have to pay money just to get your own money.”
The two largest mobile money providers, Wave Money and KBZPay (often referred to as KPay), allow their agents to charge cash withdrawal fees ranging from 3pc for K10,000 to 0.8pc for K500,000.
But since cash shortages began to bite, agents have started charging additional or higher fees. These started only slightly above the official rates but have gradually risen, in some cases hitting 15pc or more.
Agents told Frontier they were facing the same difficulties as bank customers, and the higher fees reflect the time and money they spend trying to get cash to give to customers.
“I’m an agent for Wave Money and KBZPay. They give us a small commission, which works well during normal times when there is money flowing in and out,” said agent Daw Nyunt Nyunt Than. “But since the coup, customers only want to withdraw money. That means your account at the bank fills up, but you have no cash in hand. You have to wait days to get it out of the bank and you can never get enough.”
Ko Hein Thwin Soe, a Wave Money agent from Yangon’s Sanchaung Township, said he’s charging a 10pc withdrawal fee because, similar to Nyunt Nyunt Than, it has been difficult for him to get cash out of his account at Yoma Bank.
“Most agents are doing the same,” he said. “We’re all facing the same problem.”
A KBZ employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the bank had opened a “KPay Centre” at its MICT Park branch in Yangon on April 9 to make it easier for customers to access their cash. They are able to withdraw up to K500,000 a week at the centre and are charged K4,000, or 0.8pc. However, the withdrawal limit has since been cut to K300,000 and access to the KPay Centre is also limited through a token system, with the bank issuing 250 digital tokens a day through the KPay app.
“Last week I was charging 10pc but now I’ve increased it to 12pc, like most agents,” Daw Myint Myint Khin, a KPay agent in Sanchaung, told Frontier on May 20, adding that this hadn’t hurt demand. “Even though the fee has gone up, there are still many people who want to withdraw money.”
Because money is only going one way – out of customers’ accounts – she’s only serving 20 customers a day, allowing them to withdraw up to K150,000 each.
“No one transfers or puts cash into their account anymore, so I’m always running out of money,” she said.
Even Wave Money customers willing to pay the extra commission have found it harder to withdraw cash from their mobile wallets in recent weeks, because of attempts by the company to rein in the fees.
On May 21, it issued a statement saying it was aware some agents were “overcharging” customers and was “investigating”. “[A]ppropriate actions will be taken against those proven to have engaged in corrupt practices,” it said. Since then, many Wave Money agents have simply stopped offering services, because they are unwilling to let customers cash out at the fee level set by the company.
Mr Brad Jones, chief executive officer of Wave Money, said the company had seen a significant drop in over-the-counter transactions – either cash transfers or withdrawals – but the company would stick to a “zero tolerance approach” to agents overcharging customers.
“We are aware that many of our agents are facing challenges including [a] cash shortage. However, we don’t authorise any agent surcharge, condone overcharging in any way or other dishonest behaviour,” Jones said, adding that complaints had decreased since the company gave official warnings to some agents and suspended others.
But some are refusing to comply. Nyunt Nyunt Than said while she was aware of the announcement, she would only stop charging extra fees when access to cash returns to normal.
As of June 4, she was still charging 10pc for Wave Money and KPay withdrawals. Because of her limited cash reserves, she’s only serving 10 customers a day and limiting each withdrawal to K100,000.
“I don’t want to charge extra,” she said. “But if we want to withdraw our money, we have to go to the bank and line up with everyone else, so we have to charge a small fee.
“I think 10pc is still cheap for [customers] – I’ve heard that some agents take 20pc, while others won’t let you withdraw money at all. So I don’t feel guilty about it; I’m helping people as much as I can.”
A spokesperson for KBZ did not respond to a request for comment.
The big money game
There are other options for those wanting to access larger sums from a bank account. A market for deposits has emerged under which customers use internet banking to transfer their balance to a third party, who then gives them cash – again, for a fee. Similarly, some dealers will buy cheques at below face value, pocketing a percentage of the total.
Although some of these transactions are handled through existing money exchange and informal remittance networks, many seemingly ordinary people with cash in hand have been advertising their services on new Facebook groups created to link buyers and sellers. Back in March these dealers and agents were charging as little as 1pc, but the fee has risen steadily and hit around 13pc in early May.
As online discussion of deposit transfers hit fever pitch, the Central Bank warned on April 15 that such dealings were “illegal” under section 99(b) of the Central Bank of Myanmar Law, which prohibits the trading of currency notes or coins for a profit without the permission of the CBM. It accused some businesses of piling up cash instead of depositing it in the banks so they could profit from these money transfers. Anyone involved could be sentenced to two years in prison, it warned.
This threat did little to stop the practice, but the rising fees eventually sparked a backlash, with some users expressing their frustration on the Facebook groups.
“Unless you need money for a life-saving situation, don’t take out money [from a broker]. The charges are far too high. 3pc is still reasonable, but most are just trying to take advantage of the situation … I am fed up with those engaged in profiteering,” wrote one user on May 14.
Many users flocked to the comment section of the post to discourage others from transferring their deposits. Some alleged that “most of the brokers are bank staffers”, something that has not been proven. Others claimed that they’d been cheated by brokers who failed to give the cash after they had transferred their deposits.
Ma Pyae said those buying deposits in large quantities were using them to buy gold with electronic transactions, and then selling the gold for cash.
“Gold shops demand cash from small buyers, but they were letting some buyers use electronic transactions for large amounts,” she said.
After gold hit a record local price on May 12, the authorities tried to tame the market. On May 17, the Yangon Gold Entrepreneurs Association said it was working with the Bureau of Special Investigation, the government’s economic crime-fighting force, “to stabilise the gold price”. The association added that it had instructed members to only accept cash for gold sales, and at a meeting at the end of the month, members decided to stop selling gold to those “who purposely manipulate the market”.
On May 20, meanwhile, police arrested a woman from Yangon’s North Okkalapa Township for allegedly offering illegal “door to door” remittance and withdrawal services. The arrest was only announced on May 31, with state media reporting that the woman, who also runs an online shop, had charged from 4pc to 8pc.
Vowing to crack down on brokers offering to buy deposits for cash, the police said the woman had been “taking advantage” of the “cash withdrawal situation” – a euphemistic reference to the banking crisis.
News of the arrest seemed to have an immediate effect, with many of the once-active Facebook groups now scrubbed of all their earlier posts in which users advertised their services and rates.....Entrepreneurs or profiteers?: While those buying deposits for cash have been castigated as unscrupulous profiteers, they have played an undeniably important role in providing businesses with the cash they need to pay staff, suppliers and other expenses.
Edmund Malesky, a professor of political science at Duke University in the United States who has studied Myanmar’s economy, said those willing to provide cash could be seen as “entrepreneurs taking risks to provide a valuable service that is keeping economic transactions moving forward”.
“They did not create the banking crisis, but they are finding ways to make cash available to those who believe they can best use it. The fees they are charging compensate them for their risks and the prices are likely driven upward by those who most need cash for their operations, and who believe they can still make profits at those higher prices,” he said.
He said he doubted that any “top-down regulation or punitive measure” would stop the practice of charging for cash amid the current scarcity. “A critical part of the banking crisis has to do with the fact that financial markets do not function well in climates of low trust and political uncertainty,” he said.
Malesky said the cash shortage was likely hurting not only customers unable to access their savings, but also the economy more broadly. When people have trouble accessing cash, it limits the number of transactions that are possible and reduces the “velocity of money”, which is an indicator of the health of an economy.
“When velocity is high, it means that people are making and selling goods and services, earning returns, which they use to buy other goods and services,” he said. “Artificial cash shortages interrupt this process and raise the cost of daily transactions, slowing economic activity and impeding growth.”
But for San Lwin, the fees are hard to stomach. “I’ve heard some KPay agents are charging as much as 20pc … I think they are just taking advantage of the bad political situation,” he said.
“A handful of capitalists are working with a lot of money and making a big profit from the fees,” San Lwin said, suggesting the public should follow his example by shunning the brokers and joining ATM queues.
“I want to encourage other people to line up to withdraw money rather than support the capitalists by paying these exorbitant fees.”
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-06-06
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Banking, Business and the Military, Illegal Economy - general, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"Pressure is growing on foreign governments as elected parliamentarians and campaign groups push for sanctions on Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) and state banks, which are now under junta control.
On Tuesday, 40 French parliamentarians called on their government to advocate for EU sanctions against MOGE, describing it as a “significant financial windfall for the junta”.
The parliamentarians also demanded official recognition for the National Unity Government and Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw.
In April, six US senators wrote to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken urging for sanctions on MOGE.
“History shows that when the junta was previously in place in the 1990s, gas revenues from Total and Chevron/Unocal helped them to withstand international sanctions as their reserves dwindled. This time, we believe that the Tatmadaw must be entirely prevented from accessing a steady stream of international resources,” the senators wrote.
In the same month, the Washington Post published an editorial advocating for action on oil and gas revenue flows to the junta.
“The Biden administration can break this impasse by enacting sanctions on MOGE. These could be tailored to allow Total and Chevron to continue gas production — provided they do not transfer profits. Alternatively, the Treasury department could sanction the bank accounts in Thailand and Singapore that MOGE uses to collect royalties,” the paper proposed.
Civil society pressure
Campaign groups have stepped up efforts in recent weeks.
On May 25, Daniel Eriksson, CEO of global anti-corruption organisation Transparency International sent a letter to European Commission Vice-President Josep Borrell Fontelles calling for EU action on oil and gas revenue flowing to Myanmar’s military junta.
“The junta will likely use [oil and gas] revenues to sustain its control of the government apparatus, finance atrocities against the local population, purchase arms and seize portions for private gain,” Daniel wrote.
The letter called for EU sanctions on MOGE, Myanma Foreign Trade Bank and Myanmar Investment and Commercial Bank, the intermediary banks that collect oil and gas revenue.
Campaigners intensified calls for sanctions in response to an announcement by TotalEnergies and Chevron to suspend dividend payments from the Yadana pipeline project, costing the junta tens of millions of dollars.
On Friday, 408 civil society organisations issued a statement demanding that TotalEnergies and Chevron “support targeted sanctions rather than lobbying for exemptions as you have in the past.”
TotalEnergies Chairperson Patrick Pouyanné told its shareholder meeting last week that the company would comply with any further sanctions.
Human Rights Watch responded to TotalEnergies and Chevron announcement, stating that a suspension of pipeline profits is not enough without targeted sanctions.
“Chevron and Total’s recent decision is a step in the right direction, but it affects less than 5 percent of the natural gas revenue the Myanmar junta receives,” said John Sifton of Human Rights Watch. “To have real impact, governments and companies need to go further to stop the junta from receiving funds or accessing bank accounts that receive payments.”
Human Rights Watch has also drawn attention to the role played by Thai oil company PTT and called ongovernments that have sanctioned military conglomerates to push Japan, Singapore and Thailand to adopt similar measures.
Global Witness called for targeted sanctions and for oil and gas funds to be kept in a protected account, echoing an earlier demand from the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw.
“In order to capture the remainder of these revenues the international community must place targeted economic sanctions on the military’s economic interests in the oil and gas industry. This will ensure that all payments related to the sale of Myanmar’s natural gas are held for the benefit of a future, legitimate government rather than funding the military regime,” said Keel Dietz of Global Witness.
Myanmar was forecast to earn 2,305 billion kyat (about US$1.4 billion) from oil and gas in the year to March 2022, according to a Myanmar budget document drawn up before the coup. The sector is expected to contribute just over 10% of total government revenues this year..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-06-05
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, Sanctions, Business and the Military, Oil and gas, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"The Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) is launching a live record of actions taken since the attempted coup in Myanmar by States, businesses, and other entities – including sanctions, operation suspensions and divestments – that contribute to cutting the junta’s finances. SAC-M is calling for a global ‘Three Cuts’ strategy against the junta in Myanmar: cut the weapons, cut the cash, cut the impunity.
The live record can be found here: https://specialadvisorycouncil.org/cut-the-cash/
The junta in Myanmar – once the Myanmar military – is infamous for having a long-established and complex web of commercial interests composed of military-linked companies and subsidiaries, State-owned enterprises, and private crony companies. The wealth generated through this corrupt system that spans Myanmar’s economy creates immense personal wealth for the junta’s leadership and enables its forces to carry out massive human rights violations across the country.
“The junta relies heavily on revenues from domestic and foreign business deals to support its operations and insulate its leaders from the extreme economic hardship they are forcing on the rest of the country” says Chris Sidoti of SAC-M. “Cutting off the junta’s multi-million-dollar income is essential to support the people’s Civil Disobedience Movement, halt the junta’s massive human rights violations and hold the perpetrators accountable. This live record is intended to highlight who has taken action and who has not.”
Since launching a coup on 1 February 2021, the junta’s forces have murdered at least 840 people – including dozens of children – abducted and detained thousands, and committed brazen acts of torture, sexual and gender-based violence and other forms of extreme brutality. The junta has launched airstrikes and fired heavy artillery into towns and villages in rural areas. Tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of people are newly displaced from their homes both in the cities and towns and along Myanmar’s western and eastern borders.
Responding to the many calls from Myanmar civil society organizations, States, businesses and other entities have begun taking action against the junta such as with targeted sanctions, operation suspensions and divestments. SAC-M acknowledges and welcomes the efforts and actions taken so far and will continue to track future actions as well as their implementation.
“States and business enterprises have international legal obligations to respect human rights and must do the utmost to avoid that their activities and businesses cause adverse human rights impacts,” says Marzuki Darusman of SAC-M. “In view of these obligations, as part of the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, we called in 2019 for complete economic disengagement from the Myanmar military, military leaders and their families, and corporations and businesses owned or controlled by the military. Those calls remain critical today.”
SAC-M maintains that economic sanctions will work in Myanmar insofar as they are targeted at cutting the junta’s finances. Besides economic disengagement from the Myanmar military, the Fact-Finding Mission also called for the promotion of economic ties and engagement with non-military companies in Myanmar as a means of building the non-military sector of the economy.
The inescapable fact is that at the moment it is impossible to do business in Myanmar. Under the current circumstances, businesses should be supporting the anti-coup resistance by suspending all operations in Myanmar apart from essential humanitarian operations.
However, in time the removal of the junta from the economy will create the legal and economic environment where corruption can be addressed seriously for the first time. It will open up greatly expanded opportunities for non-military businesses, local and foreign. Private business will be needed for the long-delayed economic development of Myanmar.
With the live record, SAC-M intends to provide an overview of actions taken so far by States, businesses and other financial entities since 1 February 2021 towards cutting all direct or indirect financial support to the junta. The record is intended as a living document that SAC-M will continue to maintain and update as necessary. SAC-M encourages business enterprises, including those that may not be mentioned in this record, to inform SAC-M of any relevant action undertaken with regard to their economic activities in Myanmar.
The record lists business enterprises that have proactively taken actions against the junta as a result of the coup and the ensuing human rights violations committed against civilians, who have resisted the unlawful attempted takeover of power. It does not include companies that had to suspend their business activities because of actions of the Civil Disobedience Movement.
“There are already signs that these collective cuts to the junta’s finances are starting to bite,” says Yanghee Lee of SAC-M. “It is essential that we continue to build the pressure. A priority is coordinated international sanctions on the junta’s extractive industry so-called State-owned enterprises – including Myanmar Timber Enterprise, Myanmar Gems Enterprise, and of course, Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise. I first raised my concerns over these entities as UN Special Rapporteur in 2019. They are central to the junta’s finances, and it will use them to exploit every last inch of Myanmar’s natural wealth while oppressing the people and driving the country to ruin.”
Cutting the junta’s finances is part of a global ‘Three Cuts’ strategy that SAC-M is calling for: cut the junta’s arms supply through comprehensive arms embargos, cut the cash flow through targeted economic sanctions, and cut the junta’s impunity through referral to the International Criminal Court and other accountability mechanisms. The progress of all ‘Three Cuts’ will be tracked on SAC-M’s website..."
Source/publisher:
Special Advisory Council for Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-06-04
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Sanctions, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Description:
"The European Union will impose a new round of sanctions on Myanmar's military junta and its economic interests in the coming days, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell told Reuters on Thursday.
In an interview in Jakarta after meetings with Southeast Asian diplomats, Borrell said the fresh sanctions from the EU would be the third batch introduced since the military ousted Myanmar's democratically-elected government on Feb. 1.
"There is a third row of sanctions in preparation that will be approved (in) the coming days (targeting) personnel of the military junta and also the entity that represents the economic interests of the military," he said.
Since the coup, EU sanctions have frozen assets or applied travel bans on 21 military and civilian members of Myanmar's junta. European citizens and companies are also forbidden from making funds available to those sanctioned.
The bloc's last round of sanctions in April targeted military-owned conglomerates Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), barring EU investors and banks from doing business with them.
The EU sanctions, along with those of other Western powers, have yet to persuade the junta to cede to their demands to restore democracy, release political detainees or begin dialogue with members of the ousted government, many of whom are imprisoned.
The coup plunged Myanmar into crisis after 10 years of tentative steps toward democracy. Mass demonstrations have met with a deadly crackdown by security forces and the economy has collapsed. A refugee crisis is growing and some of Myanmar's many ethnic armed groups are taking up arms against the junta.
While in Jakarta, Borrell met with envoys from countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Thursday. The headquarters of ASEAN, which includes Myanmar as one of its 10 members, is based in the Indonesian capital.
Borrell said he told the Myanmar representative to ASEAN: to "end repression and go back to normal political behaviour through free and fair elections".
He said he wanted ASEAN to continue to lead the global diplomatic effort to restore stability and democracy to Myanmar, even though the group has been criticised by human rights groups, opponents of the junta and experts for being too slow and too meek in responding to the coup.
"They are doing the best possible job," said Borrell.
As first reported by Reuters, two senior ASEAN officials are heading to Myanmar this week to meet with the junta, the first visit by the bloc's representatives since the coup was launched.
ASEAN has also said it opposed a non-binding United Nations resolution for an arms embargo on Myanmar. The EU already has a freeze on the sale and transfer of weapons to the country.
A further 14 high-ranking Myanmar military officials were sanctioned by the EU for serious human rights abuses against the Rohingya minority after some 700,000 of the Muslim ethnic group were violently expelled from Buddhist-majority Myanmar by security forces in 2017..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-06-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Muslims in Burma, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Sub-title:
Punitive sanctions policies should be recalibrated
Description:
"International calls for the restoration of democracy in strategically located Myanmar obscure an important divide between that country's neighbors and the West.
The sanctions-centered approach of the United States and the European Union has sought to punitively isolate Myanmar, while neighboring countries favor a policy of constructive engagement with the military junta.
After a gradual, decadelong democratization process, Myanmar's military, or Tatmadaw, seized power on Feb. 1 and began cracking down on those peacefully protesting the coup. The continuing unrest has carried important international implications, including the flight of political dissidents and ordinary refugees to neighboring countries.
The cross-border impacts explain why neighbors view engagement as essential, including urging Myanmar's military rulers to address the domestic unrest through political reconciliation.
Myanmar's land frontiers are porous, with cross-border ethnic linkages with communities in India and Thailand making the transboundary movement of people common. Trade, investment and counterinsurgency cooperation also link Myanmar with the countries that surround it.
Can anyone imagine the U.S. seeking to isolate and squeeze its southern neighbor Mexico? U.S. President Joe Biden, in fact, is relying on the Mexican government to address the present border crisis precipitated by the tide of mainly Central American refugees trying to enter the U.S. since he took office.
Likewise, it is inconceivable that Myanmar's immediate neighbors, saddled with a refugee influx since the coup, would embrace the punitive approach adopted by the U.S. and the EU. Yet, the Biden administration initiated a sanctions campaign against Myanmar without consultations with neighboring countries.
There is truth in the common diplomatic view that the farther a country is from Myanmar, the more likely it will favor a punitive approach, while those nearby will keep the channels of communication open through calibrated engagement. The history of sanctions shows that punitive actions have rarely worked without some form of engagement.
In this light, the presence of junta leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing at the Apr. 24 in-person Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Jakarta -- and the carefully nuanced summit statement on Myanmar that emphasized the "ASEAN family" -- represented a rebuff to the U.S.-led approach to isolate Myanmar.
According to the five-point consensus that emerged from the summit, ASEAN will mediate to help resolve the crisis. This is, however, easier said than done. ASEAN, for example, has failed to resolve the crisis in Thailand, where the leader of the 2014 coup remains ensconced in power -- in civilian garb -- by cracking down on pro-democracy protesters, including using a feared lese-majeste law to imprison those who insult the royal family.
More broadly, the retreat of the Myanmar spring exemplifies how democracy is under siege around the world. The wave of rollback of democracies highlights the growing threat from a fusion of autocratic politics and crony, state-guided capitalism.
Today, all the countries of continental Southeast Asia -- Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam -- are under authoritarian rule, like their giant northern neighbor, China. In fact, only two of ASEAN's 10 members are true democracies with judicial independence and free media.
Still, Myanmar's generals are discovering the hard way that rolling back democratic freedoms once people take them as their right carries enduring challenges. Although Myanmar had been under military rule for 50 of its 73 years since independence, the continuing protests show that many of its citizens are unwilling to accept a return to military rule.
Only the military can return Myanmar to the path of democratization. After all, it was the military that voluntarily ushered in the country's democratic transition that began in 2011. It is thus critical for outside states, including in the West, to maintain lines of communication with Myanmar's top generals.
One of the world's most ethnically diverse countries, Myanmar has long been an easy sanctions target because it has remained a weak, divided state torn by ethnic insurgencies. Its failure to construct an inclusive national identity has allowed old ethnic rivalries to fester, stifling the resource-rich country's potential.
As past experience has shown, however, an uncompromisingly harsh approach toward Myanmar has had the perverse effect of weakening America's hand while strengthening China's.
China values Myanmar as a strategic gateway to the Indian Ocean. Like India, Myanmar has long complained about the flow of Chinese arms to guerrilla groups, accusing Beijing of backing several of them as levers against it. The nationalistic military is wary of reliance on China. But international isolation could leave it with no choice.
As Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen told Nikkei's Future of Asia 2021 conference earlier this month: "If I don't rely on China, who will I rely on? If I don't ask China, who am I to ask?" Cambodia is a cautionary tale of how international isolation pushes an economically vulnerable nation into China's arms. Myanmar could be next, unless the U.S. recalibrates its sanctions policy.
The international divide over how to deal with Myanmar also represents a division between Western and Asian values. In contrast to the West's interventionist impulse and democratic evangelism, the Asian way of standing up for one's principles and beliefs does not extend to imposing them on others through coercive activism.
Today, with little prospect that the West could engineer a color revolution in Myanmar, friendly conversations with that country's generals to persuade them to halt their crackdown and release political prisoners are likely to make more headway toward influencing future events than the current heavy-handed approach..."
Source/publisher:
"Nikkei Asian Review" (Japan)
Date of publication:
2021-06-01
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, ASEAN-Burma relations, Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"Statement to TOTAL'S Press Release, stopping MGTC's dividend payments: In my capacity as Minister of Planning, Finance, and Investment of Myanmar's civilian-led democratic National Unity Government, I welcome the recent decision made by TOTAL and others to suspend the distribution of dividend payments to all shareholders of the Moattama Gas Transportation Company Ltd (MGTC). These distributions are a part of the oil and gas revenues are now being used to finance the military's campaign of terror and gross human rights abuses against the people of Myanmar, under
the illegitimate State Administration Council (SAC).
We welcome this action as a step in the right direction, with both TOTAL and Chevron having now acknowledged that it is wrong to continue supporting the military. The SAC steals from the people of
Myanmar to fund its crimes against the same people of Myanmar.
TOTAL was right to condemn the violence and human rights abuses perpetrated by the Myanmar military. I also note TOTAL'S affirmation that the company will comply with applicable sanctions
issued by EU and US authorities. We welcome both TOTAL and Chevron have now publicly acknowledged that facilitating such
payments is at odds with their commitment to responsible business practices that respect the law. protect human rights, and benefit the communities in which they work. However suspending cash distributions to pipeline shareholders will deny the military only a
small portion of the substantial revenues that the military receives from TOTAL'S ongoing operations in Myanmar.
Based on recent financial data, the dividend payment amounts to roughly USD 40 million per year. This is a very small portion of overall revenues flowing to MOGE and state institutions under
SAC's control from the Yadana project operated by TOTAL. In 2020/2021 FY, for instance, an estimated 400 million USD will flow to state institutions that are now under the direct control of the
SAC. It must also be noted that other offshore oil/gas projects provide significant revenue streams to the military, the combined payments from these projects to the MOGE amount to over USD 1 billion
per annum. Despite the action announced by TOTAL. SAC will still receive the vast majority of revenue that accrues to state institutions from the Yadana project, and from the other projects that export of
Myanmar's natural resources. This constitutes single most significant flow of funds to SAC. allowing it to use such funds procure weapons, jet fuel, and other strategic necessities as part of its campaign of terror and gross human rights abuses. It does not stop payments that are now accruing to the military through SAC from Myanmar's natural resources, including royalties, production shanng payments and tax obligations. It bears repeating - while the National Unity Government and I do welcome this decision, it must be understood that this step does little to stop most payments that are now accruing to the military
from Myanmar’s natural wealth, including royalties, production sharing payments, and tax obligations. Yet. with actions such as these, the tides are now turning. Cracks are emerging. Some of the
largest companies in the world have now acknowledged that it is unacceptable to provide material support that directly benefits the Myanmar military through its present control of the state apparatus.
We are not calling for production to stop, but for payments to be withheld from institutions that are presently under the military's control. This is, in fact, the only way for the oil and gas contractors to
honor their obligations to the people of Myanmar. By acknowledging this reality — that providing financial resources to military-controlled
institutions conflicts with their commitment to responsible business practices — TOTAL and Chevron have set a precedent for cutting the junta’s access to crucial funds. All who continue to fund the
military can and must follow this approach, out of basic respect for human dignity. With new US government sanctions announced on May 17, 2021, oil and gas companies should be on notice that of there are legal and reputational risks arising from their failure to stop payments to MOGE and other state institutions under the control of the SAC. There is still a long way to go to protect the people of Myanmar from a military regime which has illegally attempted to seize power from the legitimate government of Myanmar. Denying them funds will ensure that they are unable to maintain their illegal and illegitimate regime. This work is just beginning, but we are confident we will succeed..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Planning, Finance and Investment - NUG
Date of publication:
2021-05-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Human Rights and international relations, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Sanctions - general, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"ကြေညာချက် (၄/၂၀၂၁)
မေလ ၃၀ ရက် ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်။
===============
TOTAL ကုမ္ပဏီက မုတ္တမဓာတ်ငွေ့သယ်ယူပို့ဆောင်ရေးကုမ္ပဏီလီမိတက် ( MGTC) ၏ အမြတ်ငွေခွဲဝေမှုအားဆိုင်းငံ့လိုက်ကြောင်း ကြေညာခြင်းနှင့် စပ်လျဉ်း၍ သဘောထားမှတ်ချက်ထုတ်ပြန်ခြင်း။
--------------------------
၁။ ဒီမိုကရေစီနည်းလမ်းတကျ ရွေးကောက်တင်မြှောက်ဖွဲ့စည်းထားသော ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတမြန်မာနိုင်ငံ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေး အစိုးရအဖွဲ့၊ စီမံကိန်း၊ ဘဏ္ဍာရေး နှင့် ရင်းနှီးမြုပ်နှံမှုဝန်ကြီး အနေဖြင့် TOTAL နှင့် မိတ်ဖက်ကုမ္ပဏီများ စုပေါင်းဖွဲ့စည်းထားသည့် မုတ္တမဓာတ်ငွေ့သယ်ယူပို့ဆောင်ရေး ကုမ္ပဏီလီမိတက် (MGTC) က အစုရှယ်ယာရှင်များအား အမြတ်ငွေခွဲဝေမှု ဆိုင်းငံ့လိုက် ခြင်းအပေါ် ကြိုဆိုပါသည်။
၂။ အဆိုပါအမြတ်ငွေများသည် မြန်မာပြည်သူလူထုအပေါ် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီက ကျုးလွန်နေသည့် အကြမ်းဖက်သတ်ဖြတ် မှုများနှင့် ဆိုးရွားလှသည့် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများအတွက် အဓိက အထောက်အပံ့ပြုနေသော ရေနံနှင့်သဘာ၀ဓါတ်ငွေ့မှ ရရှိသည့် စုစုပေါင်းဝင်ငွေ၏ အစိတ်အပိုင်းတစ်ရပ်ဖြစ်သည်။
၃။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီအား ဆက်လက်ထောက်ပံ့ပေးနေခြင်းသည် မှားယွင်းသည့် လုပ်ရပ်ဖြစ်သည်ဟု TOTAL နှင့် CHEVRON ကုမ္ပဏီတို့က တရားဝင်ထုတ်ဖော်ပြောဆိုလျက် ယခုကဲ့သို့ မှန်ကန်သော ရွေးချယ်ဆုံးဖြတ်မှုအတွက် ကြိုဆိုပါသည်။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီသည် ၎င်းတို့ ခိုးဝှက်ယူထားသည့် ပြည်သူ့ဘဏ္ဍာငွေများအား ပြန်လည်သုံးစွဲ၍ ပြည်သူလူထုအပေါ် ရာဇဝတ်မှုကျူးလွန်နေသည့် အဖွဲ့အစည်းသာဖြစ်သည်။
၄။ TOTAL ကုမ္ပဏီအနေဖြင့် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများနှင့် အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများအား ပြစ်တင် ရှုံ့ချရန် တာဝန်ရှိသည့်အပြင် EU နှင့် US တို့၏ ပိတ်ဆို့အရေးယူမှုများနှင့်အညီ လိုက်နာဆောင်ရွက်သွားမည်ဟု အတိအလင်း ထုတ်ဖော် ပြောဆိုထားမှုအားလည်း မှတ်တမ်းတင်စောင့်ကြည့် နေပါသည်။
၅။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီထံသို့ ဘဏ္ဍာငွေများ ပေးဆောင်နေခြင်းသည် တာဝန်ယူမှု၊ တာဝန်ခံမှုရှိသော စီးပွားရေးလုပ်ငန်းမျာ ၏ စံတန်ဖိုးများဖြစ်သည့် ဥပဒေကိုလေးစားလိုက်နာမှု၊ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးကို ကာကွယ်စောင့်ရှောက်မှုနှင့် လုပ်ငန်းတည်ရာဒေသရှိ လူမှုအသိုက်အဝန်း၊ ဒေသခံပြည်သူများအပေါ် အကျိုးကျေးဇူး ဖြစ်ထွန်းစေမှု စသည့်အချက်များနှင့် ဖီလာဆန့်ကျင်လျက်ရှိသည် ဟု TOTAL နှင့် CHEVRON ကုမ္ပဏီတို့က တရားဝင် ထုတ်ဖော်ပြောဆိုသည့်အတွက်လည်း အသိအမှတ်ပြုပါသည်။
၆။ သို့သော် ယခုဆိုင်းငံ့လိုက်သည့် အမြတ်ငွေခွဲဝေမှုသည် TOTAL ကုမ္ပဏီထံမှ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီရရှိနေသည့်စုစု ပေါင်းဝင်ငွေနှင့် နှိုင်းယှဉ်လျှင် မပြောပလောက်သည့် ပမာဏသာဖြစ်ကြောင်း စိစစ်တွေ့ရှိရသည်။
၇။ ယခုအခါ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ ထိန်းချုပ်မှုအောက် လုံးလုံးလျားလျား ရောက်ရှိနေသည့် မြန်မာ့ ရေနံနှင့်သဘာဝဓာတ် ငွေ့လုပ်ငန်း (MOGE) ထံသို့ TOTAL ကုမ္ပဏီ၏ ရတနာ သဘာဝဓါတ်ငွေ့တူးဖော် ထုတ်လုပ်ရောင်းချရေးစီမံကိန်းမှ နှစ်စဉ် ပေးဆောင်နေရသည့် ဘဏ္ဍာငွေပမာဏမှာ တရားဝင် ကိန်းဂဏန်း အချက်အလက်များအရ ၂၀၂၀/၂၀၂၁ ဘဏ္ဍာရေးနှစ် အတွက် ခန့်မှန်းခြေ အမေရိကန် ဒေါ်လာ သန်း ၄၀၀ ခန့်ရှိပြီး၊ ဆိုင်းငံ့လိုက်သည့် အမြတ်ငွေခွဲဝေမှုသည် အမေရိကန်ဒေါ်လာသန်း ၄၀ ခန့်သာ ရှိပါသည်။
၈။ အထူးသတိပြုရန်မှာ အခြား ရေနံနှင့် သဘာဝဓာတ်ငွေ့ ဆိုင်ရာ နိုင်ငံတကာ ကုမ္ပဏီကြီးများကလည်း လွန်စွာများပြား လှသည့် ဝင်ငွေပမာဏကို အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီအတွက် ဖန်တီးရှာဖွေပေးနေသည့် အချက်ဖြစ်သည်။ TOTAL ကုမ္ပဏီအပါအဝင် အဆိုပါ ကုမ္ပဏီကြီးများထံမှ စစ်ကောင်စီလက်အောက်ခံ မြန်မာ့ရေနံနှင့် သဘာ၀ဓါတ်ငွေ့လုပ်ငန်း (MOGE) က နှစ်စဉ်ရရှိနေသည့် ဝင်ငွေစုစုပေါင်းမှာ အမေရိကန်ဒေါ်လာ သန်းပေါင်း ၁၀၀၀ ကျော် ရှိပါသည်။
၉။ ထို့ကြောင့် ယခုကဲ့သို့ TOTAL ကုမ္ပဏီမှ အမြတ်ငွေခွဲဝေမှုအား ဆိုင်းငံ့ထားလိုက်သည်ဟု ကြေညာသည့်တိုင် အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်ကောင်စီသည် ပုံမှန်ရရှိမြဲ ဝင်ငွေအများစုအား ဆက်လက်ရရှိနေမည်ဖြစ်ပြီး ယင်းဝင်ငွေများဖြင့် ၎င်းတို့၏ အကြမ်းဖက်ယန္တရား သက်ဆိုးရှည်စေရန် အဓိကလိုအပ်သည့် စစ်လက်နက်များ၊ လေယာဉ်ဆီများ ဝယ်ယူခြင်း အပါအဝင် အခြားစစ်အသုံးစရိတ် များစွာအတွက်လည်း ဆက်လက်ဖြည့်ဆည်း သုံးစွဲနိုင်မည်သာ ဖြစ်သည်။
၁၀။ ထပ်လောင်း ပြောကြားလိုသည်မှာ ကျွန်ုပ်တို့ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ အနေဖြင့် သဘောဝဓာတ်ငွေ့သယ်ယူ ပို့ဆောင် ရေးကဏ္ဍ၏ အမြတ်ငွေခွဲဝေမှုအား ဆိုင်းငံ့လိုက်သည့် ဆုံးဖြတ်ချက်အားကြိုဆိုပါသည်။ ယင်းဆုံးဖြတ်ချက်မှ အစပြု၍ သယံဇာတ ထုတ်ယူမှုကဏ္ဍမှ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီရရှိနေသည့် အခြားများပြားလှသော ဝင်ငွေများဖြစ်သည့် ခိုင်ကြေးများ၊ ထုတ်လုပ်မှုအပေါ်ခွဲဝေခြင်းများ နှင့် အခွန်အကောက်များကိုပါ အလားတူဆိုင်းငံ့ရန် ထပ်တိုးဆောင်ရွက်သွားနိုင်မည်ဟု နားလည် ယုံကြည်ပါသည်။
၁၁။ ယခုအခါ ကမ္ဘာ့အကြီးဆုံး ကုမ္ပဏီတချို့သည် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ ထိန်းချုပ်စီမံမှု အောက်တွင်ရှိနေသော လက်အောက်ခံအဖွဲ့အစည်း၊ ယန္တရားများမှတဆင့် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီထံ တိုက်ရိုက်အကျိုးဖြစ်ထွန်းစေသည့် ဆောင်ရွက်ချက်နှင့် ထောက်ပံ့ကူညီမှုမှန်သမျှကို လက်မခံနိုင်ကြောင်းနှင့် ပေးအပ်ရန်မသင့်ကြောင်း ပြတ်ပြတ်သားသား အသိပေး ထုတ်ဖော်ပြောကြားလျက် ရှိပါသည်။
၁၂။ ကျွန်ုပ်တို့ အစဉ်တစိုက် တောင်းဆိုနေသည်မှာ ရေနံနှင့်သဘာဝဓာတ်ငွေ့ တူးဖော်ထုတ်လုပ်ရောင်းချသည့် ကုမ္ပဏီများ၏ ထုတ်လုပ်မှုအား ရပ်ဆိုင်းထားရန် မဟုတ်ဘဲ ပြည်သူ့ဘဏ္ဍာငွေများအား အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ ထံသို့ ၎င်း၏လက်အောက်ခံ အဖွဲ့အစည်းများမှတဆင့် စီးဝင်မှုမရှိစေရေး တားဆီးထိန်းသိမ်းထားရန်သာ ဖြစ်သည်။
၁၃။ TOTAL ကုမ္ပဏီနှင့် CHEVRON ကုမ္ပဏီတို့အနေဖြင့် ကျွန်ုပ်တို့တောင်းဆိုသည့်အတိုင်း အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ ထိန်းချုပ် ထားသော အဖွဲ့အစည်းများသို့ စီးဝင်လျက်ရှိသည့် ဘဏ္ဍာရေးအရင်းအမြစ်အားလုံးအား ဖြတ်တောက်ခြင်းသည် မိမိတို့၏ တာဝန်ယူမှု၊ တာဝန်ခံမှု ရှိသော စီးပွားရေး ကျင့်ဝတ်များအား လိုက်နာကျင့်သုံးခြင်းသာဖြစ်ပြီး အခြားအလားတူ နိုင်ငံတကာ ကုမ္ပဏီများ အတွက်လည်း အတုယူ လိုက်နာကျင့်သုံးရန် စံနမူနာကောင်း တစ်ခုအဖြစ် ပေါ်ထွန်းလာစေမည် ဖြစ်သည်။
၁၄။ ရေနံနှင့်သဘာဝဓာတ်ငွေ့ကုမ္ပဏီများ အနေဖြင့် မြန်မာ့ရေနံနှင့်သဘာဝဓာတ်ငွေ့လုပ်ငန်း (MOGE) အပါအဝင် အခြားအလားတူ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီလက်အောက်ခံ အဖွဲ့အစည်းများသို့ ငွေကြေးလွှဲပြောင်းမှုများ ဆက်လက်လုပ်ဆောင်နေခြင်းသည် အမေရိကန် အစိုးရ၏ ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် မေလ ၁၇ ရက်တွင် ချမှတ်ကြေညာခဲ့သည့် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီအပေါ် အရေးယူပိတ်ဆို့ ကန့်သတ်မှုများအရ မိမိတို့အဖွဲ့အစည်း၏ ကျင့်ဝတ် ဂုဏ်သိက္ခာပိုင်းအရသော်လည်းကောင်း၊ နိုင်ငံတကာဥပဒေရေးရာအရ သော်လည်းကောင်း အရင်းအနှီးကြီးမားစွာ ပေးဆပ်၍ စွန့်စားလုပ်ဆောင်ရာကျနေကြောင်းကို အထူးသတိပြုစေလိုပါသည်။
၁၅။ အကြမ်းဖက်ကာ နိုင်ငံ၏ ကြွယ်ဝမှုများအား ခိုးဝှက်ယူနေသော တရားမဝင် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ ရန်မှ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံသူနိုင်ငံသားများအား ကာကွယ်နိုင်ရေးသည် ခရီးရှည်တစ်ရပ်ဖြစ်နိုင်ပါသည်။ အဆိုပါ အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်ကောင်စီအား မည်သည့်ဘဏ္ဍာရန်ပုံငွေမျှ မရရှိစေခြင်းသည် ၎င်းတို့ ကျရှုံးစေရေးအတွက် လွန်စွာ အရေးပါသော လုပ်ငန်းစဉ်တစ်ရပ်ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ယခု ခြေလှမ်းသည် အစကနဦးသာဖြစ်သော်လည်း အောင်မြင် ရမည်ဟု ကျွန်ုပ်တို့ ခိုင်ခိုင်မာမာယုံကြည်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Planning, Finance and Investment - NUG
Date of publication:
2021-05-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Business and the Military, Sanctions, Human Rights and international relations, Sanctions - general, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
Energy boss says revenue goes to the state – not the generals
Description:
"Energy giant, Total was forced to justify its response to the Myanmar coup to shareholders yesterday amid growing pressure from international campaigners to halt payments to the military regime.
Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting, Total’s chairman and chief executive Patrick Pouyanné said the company “condemned violence and the human rights violations that have taken place in Burma”.
Pouyanné said he was outraged by the coup.
He argued the “only way to stop the flow of cash going to the state of Burma is to stop production”.
“But as a company we have to abide by the law,” he concluded.
Total shareholders heard Pouyanné say the company was obliged to maintain production from its Yadana gas fields to honour contracts signed with PTT, its partner in Thailand which buys much of the gas produced there.
“If we decide to stop paying taxes we are not abiding by the law,” he said. “It is a criminal risk and I cannot expose the collaborators of Total in Burma to jail sentences. In this country there is also forced labour in force. So I cannot expose them to this risk.”
But the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw and opposition campaigners have called for Total not to suspend gas production, but to put the regime’s share of gas revenues into a protected account until democracy is restored, so that the regime does not have access to the money.
Offshore
Two days before the AGM, Total and its co-investor Chevron announced that the immensely profitable pipeline which carries Yadana’s gas to Thailand would “suspend” dividend payments to its shareholders.
“We listen to the stakeholders. And we have taken the call to limit the income going to the military junta. We have tried everything to reduce this,” the French oil boss told shareholders.
The state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) is likely to lose about US$40 million a year in dividends as a result. This is because MOGE owns 15 per cent of the company which owns the pipeline, the Bermuda-based Moattama Gas Transportation Company (MGTC).
But campaign group, EarthRights International estimates that the suspension of Yadana pipeline dividends amounts to less than 10% of state revenue generated from Total’s Yadana gas project and described the move as “a small step in the right direction.”
“A more comprehensive action would be a complete shut-down of revenue-sharing with MOGE - its accounts are controlled by the regime,” EarthRights International wrote in a response on Twitter.
Pouyanné rejected suggestions that Total was paying money “offshore” to the military junta, despite the company locating MGTC in Bermuda. He said that Myanmar receives most of its share of gas revenue from Yadana via banks in Thailand.
Taxes
Total also told investors it stopped developing new potential projects in Myanmar, but the Total boss rejected calls to stop paying taxes to Myanmar while the junta is in charge of the country.
“When we pay taxes we don’t pay this to the army. We pay it to a state. We’ve been paying these taxes to the state for 20 years and we continue to do so. And we did so when Madam Aung San Suu Kyi was at the head of Burma.”
Pouyanné said it was not accurate for media reports to suggest that by partnering with MOGE it means it is paying Myanmar’s generals.
“When you read these newspapers, it sounds like the income is falling right into the pockets of these generals. It is not the case. The state obtains the income. (MOGE) was still in place when democracy was back in Burma.”
But campaigners have pointed out that MOGE – like all government agencies in Myanmar – is now under the control of the junta and has to obey its orders.
Total, now renamed TotalEnergies, would comply with any sanctions imposed by the United States or European Union, Pouyanné confirmed.
Sophie Brondel, coordinator of France-based campaign group Info Birmanie, told Myanmar Now: “Total continues to fund a junta labelled as a murderous criminal enterprise by a UN expert. This has to stop.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-05-29
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Oil and gas, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Sanctions - general
Language:
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Topic:
Business , Crisis and Conflict
Sub-title:
Governments Should Take Stronger Steps to Cut Natural Gas Revenues
Topic:
Business , Crisis and Conflict
Description:
"Governments and energy companies should follow up a recent decision by Chevron and Total SA to suspend payments from a gas pipeline project in Myanmar with additional steps to cut off funding to the country’s military junta, Human Rights Watch said today. While the May 26, 2021 announcement reflects a shift in corporate dealings with the junta that seized power on February 1 and has engaged in a brutal crackdown since, the payments are just a modest amount of the military’s overall gas revenues.
Governments and all energy companies operating in Myanmar should take stronger action to block natural gas revenues flowing to the Myanmar military. Natural gas revenue is the military’s largest source of foreign currency income, including approximately $1 billion in duties, taxes, royalties, fees, tariffs, and other profits. The dividends suspended by Chevron and Total are a minimal part of the overall payments the government receives from natural gas.
“Chevron and Total’s recent decision is a step in the right direction, but it affects less than 5 percent of the natural gas revenue the Myanmar junta receives,” said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director. “To have real impact, governments and companies need to go further to stop the junta from receiving funds or accessing bank accounts that receive payments.”
The decision announced by Total and Chevron concerns only a 15 percent dividend paid by a pipeline company, the Moattama Gas Transportation Company (“Moattama”), from profits from transportation fees it earns moving gas from Myanmar’s offshore Yadana gas field to Myanmar and Thailand. Total said the payments were suspended as of April 1.
Total and Chevron together are the majority owners in Moattama, with 31.2 percent and 28.3 percent of the project, respectively. The military-controlled company Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), owns 15 percent, and the Thailand state-owned gas company PTT owns 25.5 percent. Total acts as the “operator” of the Yadana wellheads and Moattama’s pipeline infrastructure. The suspended payments are dividends to these companies based on their ownership share. According to Moattama financial records, the company paid MOGE about $38 million in 2018 and approximately $52 million in 2019, consistent with EITI reporting indicating that MOGE’s overall gas transportation dividends from gas operations are less than 7 percent of overall state revenue from natural gas.
Total’s and Chevron’s statements do not mention the hundreds of millions of dollars in additional tariffs, fees, and tax payments that Moattama pays to Myanmar military-controlled bank accounts. The statement does not apply to hundreds of millions of dollars more that MOGE receives from its share of revenues from selling gas to PTT.
“While only a modest amount of the overall revenues was suspended, Total and Chevron’s decision signifies that at least some companies in Myanmar recognize that their cash payments to junta-controlled accounts create major reputational risks,” Sifton said.
Total acknowledged the dire situation in Myanmar and suggested in its statement that further action might be taken: “Total condemns the violence and human rights abuses occurring in Myanmar and reaffirms that it will comply with any decision that may be taken by international and national authorities, including applicable sanctions issued by the EU or US authorities.”
Chevron’s statement noted that the company “condemns the violence and human rights abuses occurring in Myanmar. We stand with the people of Myanmar and the global community in urging for a peaceful resolution that respects the will of the people.” The company said that it would respect sanctions imposed on additional gas revenue but cautioned against them.
Total and Chevron should provide more information on the value of the dividends that have been suspended. They and other energy companies operating in Myanmar should also clarify their positions on sanctions and explain why carefully applied sanctions would not allow their operations to continue while revenues to the junta were blocked. The companies should also adhere to applicable international sanctions and make public information about all payments they make to military-controlled and state-owned entities.
Total has not yet replied to a May 11 letter in which Human Rights Watch asked about the potential effects, if any, of the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, and others imposing sanctions on Myanmar military-controlled entities or imposing economic measures to block Myanmar military-controlled bank accounts from receiving revenues. Specifically, the letter asked whether such measures would prevent Total from continuing to operate in Myanmar.
Governments considering new sanctions on gas revenue should focus more attention on PTT, a shareholder and primary purchaser of the gas that Moattama transports, and the banks that send and receive its payments to Myanmar military-controlled accounts. All the revenue from Total’s joint ventures in Myanmar come from PTT in the first instance, and the company separately pays military accounts hundreds of millions of dollars yearly.
PTT alone also operates a separate smaller gas field, Zawtika, which provides the Myanmar junta hundreds of millions of dollars in additional payments.
Another gas production and pipeline venture run by the South Korean company POSCO operates in the country’s third major field, Shwe, and receives payments from a Chinese-owned company that pays the junta several hundred million dollars per year.
Total, Chevron, PTT, and POSCO should signal support to authorities in the US, EU, Thailand, and other jurisdictions for sanctions or other measures to block royalties, share dividends, tariffs, and tax payments to Myanmar military-controlled accounts.
“If governments effectively sanction or suspend the natural gas revenue generated for the military junta, it will lose $1 billion a year being used to hurt Myanmar’s people,” Sifton said. “That kind of economic impact could put real pressure on the military to stop its brutal repression and return the country to a democratic path.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-05-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Formal Sanctions, Sanctions, Business and the Military, Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
more
Topic:
Myanmar/Burma, China, ASEAN, sanctions, pariah states, authoritarian transitions, Aung San Suu Kyi
Topic:
Myanmar/Burma, China, ASEAN, sanctions, pariah states, authoritarian transitions, Aung San Suu Kyi
Description:
"Abstract: Myanmar’s liberalizing reforms since late 2010 have effectively shed the country’s decades-long “pariah state” status. This article evaluates competing explanations for why Myanmar’s leaders made the strategic decision to pursue reform and opening. We examine whether the strategic decision was motivated by fears of sudden regime change, by socialization into the norms of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), or by the geopolitics of overreliance on China. Drawing on newly available materials and recent field interviews in Myanmar, we demonstrate how difficult it is for international actors to persuade a pariah state through sanctions or engagement, given the pariah regime’s intense focus on maintaining power. However, reliance on a more powerful neighbour can reach a point where costs to national autonomy become unacceptable, motivating reforms for the sake of economic and diplomatic diversification.....Acknowledgments: We gratefully acknowledge the participation of interviewees in Yangon, Naypyidaw, Seoul, and Washington, DC. Research assistance was provided by Andrew Choi, Esther Pau Sann Cing, Li Xuan, Li Zimeng, Wang Qichao, Wu Shangwei, Zhang Xiaorui, and Zhou Xin. We also wish to thank the editor, three anonymous reviewers, and participants at the 2014 Murdoch-Macau Colloquium on Political Change and Governance in Asia, whose comments greatly improved this article. We thank the Asan Institute for Policy Studies for supporting Leif-Eric Easley’s research travel to Myanmar in 2014. Research for this article was funded in part by a grant from the University of Macau (SRG2013-00057-FSS). For over two decades, Myanmar suffered the reputation of an international pariah. After the 1988 coup that inaugurated 22 years of military rule under the State Law and Order Restoration Council / State Peace and Development Council (SLORC/SPDC),1
Myanmar incurred international condemnation and sanctions for human rights violations, including annulling the National League for Democracy’s (NLD) electoral victory in 1990; detaining opposition leaders, including NLD General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi; killing civilians during military campaigns against armed ethnic
minority groups; violently suppressing civil protests in the 2007 “Saffron Revolution”; and muzzling free speech and the press.2
The junta appeared unmoved by sanctions and international exhortations to pursue reform and opening. Its apparent steps toward ending military rule under the 2003 “Roadmap to Discipline-Flourishing Democracy” were often marred by process irregularities, lack of inclusiveness and transparency, and restrictions
on and sometimes violent repression of opposition parties. Though the SPDC held landmark elections for a civilian government in November 2010, supporters of democracy were not encouraged when the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) swept the polls and elevated Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein to the presidency.
Many were surprised, however, when Thein Sein initiated extensive
reforms in 2011: releasing political prisoners, loosening media and civil
society restrictions, and allowing Aung San Suu Kyi and other opposition members to run for parliament. Myanmar’s pariah status quickly abated as a parade of foreign leaders visited the country and eased sanctions. In November 2015, Myanmar’s first general election under nominally civilian rule saw the NLD defeat the USDP in a landslide, marking a new era in Myanmar’s politics.3
The manner in which Myanmar pursued transformative reforms raises
important questions. Why did the SPDC pursue reform and opening when it did? What motivated the strategic decision to pursue transformative policies? Several scholars have argued that domestic factors drove Myanmar’s reforms. Jones maintains that the junta’s co-optation of ethnic militias allowed it to resume a democratization process it had begun and aborted in 1990 and again in 1996.4 Bünte, along with Croissant and Kamerling, emphasizes
the aging SPDC leaders’ desire to manage succession politics through institutionalization.5 Roger Lee Huang argues that the junta sought to retain political control but did not foresee the extent of reforms under Thein Sein, an assessment shared by MacDonald.6 Other scholarship emphasizes international factors as primary catalysts
for reform. One argument is that Myanmar’s leaders implemented domestic reforms to pursue rapprochement with the European Union, the United States, and other sanctions-imposing countries, and to counterbalance China’s growing political and economic influence.7
Another possible factor behind Myanmar’s transition is the socializing role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and more generally, Myanmar’s desire for international prestige.8
While more than one of these factors may have motivated Myanmar’s reforms, an “all of the above” answer leaves the country’s political transformation over-determined and under-examined.
This article weighs the theoretical logic and empirical evidence for three competing explanations for Myanmar’s strategic decision to pursue transformative policies: first, junta leaders’ desire to maintain power and avoid sudden regime change; second, socialization into ASEAN norms; and third, the desire to reduce China’s political and economic influence over Myanmar.9 We base our research on numerous interviews with key informants in or engaged with Myanmar, as well as on primary documents. We find that
while multiple factors motivated Myanmar’s strategic decision, the most important driver was concern about China’s growing influence.
To frame the analysis, the next section defines pariah states and what it means to make a strategic decision to pursue transformative policies and exit pariahdom. We then briefly outline our interview methodology before discussing the timing of Myanmar’s transformative reforms. Subsequent sections review theoretical bases and empirical support for each of the three competing explanations. In the conclusion, we summarize our findings and discuss possible implications for other pariah states and for Myanmar’s political future..."
Source/publisher:
Pacific Affairs (Canada)
Date of publication:
2016-09-00
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, ASEAN-Burma relations, China-Burma relations, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Burma's economic relations with China, About Aung San Suu Kyi, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Articles on the NLD, Military History, Political History
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Format :
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Size:
130.43 KB
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Description:
"Energy giant TotalEnergies(TOTF.PA) said on Friday it had gone as far as it could for now to limit the revenues going to the military junta in Myanmar while staying within a legal framework and assuring power supplies.
Total and U.S. energy company Chevron (CVX.N) earlier this week said they were suspending some payments from a gas joint venture that would have reached the junta, earning praise from pro-democracy activists for taking an important first step.
International companies doing business in the country have come under pressure from rights groups and Myanmar's parallel civilian government to review their operations to stop payments flowing to a military government that seized power on Feb. 1.
TotalEnergies Chairman and Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne told a shareholder meeting on Friday that the only way to fully stop all revenues flowing to the junta would be to halt production in the Yadana gas fields, which supply power plants in Thailand and Myanmar's domestic market.
The company has rejected this option for now, saying it would expose workers and the group to legal threats and penalise the region in terms of energy access.
"First of all, the bulk of revenues come from the fact there's a client that buys that production, which is Thai company PTTEP ... and then there are the taxes," Pouyanne said.
"Deciding to not pay taxes would mean we would be in breach of the law, there's a criminal risk attached.".....SANCTIONS: Total would comply with any further sanctions imposed on Myanmar, including by the United States and the European Union, Pouyanne added.
Earlier this week shareholders in the Moattama Gas Transportation Company (MGTC) - led by Total and Chevron and which also includes Thailand's PTTEP and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) - voted to suspend all cash distributions.
That move will curtail revenues going to MOGE.
But MOGE, which is a state energy firm, is also an operator of the Yadana gas field, meaning it receives revenues from there.
Pouyanne said no revenues flowing to Myanmar state coffers went through offshore accounts, even though MGTC, the gas transportation company, is domiciled in Bermuda.
He said MOGE received its payments from Thai group PTTEP through bank accounts set up by the Myanmar state in Thailand, and that payments to MGTC were also made via Thai bank accounts.
A spokesman for Myanmar's military junta did not answer phone calls seeking comment on the issue.
MGTC paid its taxes in Myanmar, Pouyanne added..."
Source/publisher:
Total SE ( Paris)
Date of publication:
2021-05-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Oil and gas, Business and the Military, Sanctions, The Burmese military's role in the economy, Sanctions - general
Language:
more
Description:
"Lux et veritas. Light and truth. These are the words proudly emblazoned on the banners that adorn Yale’s New Haven buildings, stamped in the seals imprinted in the diplomas we earn after graduating, guiding us during the years we pore through books and listen to lectures, always to learn more, to do better, to thrive for the most.
I went to Yale for my undergraduate studies where I took classes on conflict resolution and was mentored by pre-eminent academics in understanding root causes and patterns of genocide. I tried to understand how and why people commit mass atrocities, and what political and social forces enable them. I believed that the more we study atrocities, the more we can do to prevent them. I have since realized that a key element in the enablement of mass atrocities is the mobilization of financial resources that powers and legitimizes oppressive regimes. I’ve been dismayed to see a representative of a Yale-founded institution linked to the funding of the Myanmar military.
Here is a truth: in 2011, Kay Kuok Oon Kwong, the Director of Shangri-La Hotel Limited and niece of Malaysia’s richest man, was announced as the Chair of the Yale-NUS Governing Board. Yale-NUS was jointly founded by Yale and NUS in 2011 and Yale-NUS graduates join the ranks of the Yale Alumni Association as international affiliates. When Kuok joined the Governing Board, she was also the Director of the Trader Square Group (a subsidiary of Shangri-La Asia), which signed a land lease agreement with the Quartermaster General, an office of the Myanmar military under the Ministry of Defense. The land lease agreement was to develop an office tower and retail mall, Sule Square, in Yangon. As the Director, Kuok was responsible for overseeing the agreement. The following year, in a public ceremony, Kuok thanked the Quartermaster General for leasing the land. In October 2017, the Sule Square development was opened, with Kuok present at the ceremony.
Myanmar’s Quartermaster General plays a key role in managing the military’s business, and is responsible for purchasing arms and for Ministry of Defense budget requests to the Parliament. Due to its role in managing supplies and budgets, it is responsible for managing leasing arrangements for military-owned land across the country. The defense budget, managed by the Quartermaster General, is used to fund the purchase of weapons and military supplies, such as a missile director system, that in turn has been used to commit genocide against the Rohingya and vast crimes against humanity against ethnic groups in Myanmar.
Kuok’s opening ceremony of the Sule Square took place 2 months after the Rohingya clearance operations committed by the Myanmar military, which, in September 2017 alone, resulted in the deaths of at least 6,700 Rohingya, followed by the exodus of 742,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh and the internal displacement of over 130,000 Rohingya. In December 2019, the Myanmar military was brought to the International Court of Justice for genocidal acts against the Rohingya.
Here is some light: By leasing land from and engaging in business with the Myanmar military, Kuok is directly contributing to the financing of the military, which may amount to aiding and abetting the commission of their international crimes. The UN Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar in 2019 examined the military’s sources of revenue that “enhances its ability to carry out gross violations of human rights with impunity”. The report assessed how the military uses its own businesses in addition to foreign companies to support military operations. The Mission examined military owned businesses, such as MEC and MEHL, and named Shangri-La’s land lease in its report. It found that “any foreign business involving the Tatmadaw poses a high risk of contributing to or being linked to violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law”. It recommended that foreign businesses sever ties with the Myanmar military to ensure they were not complicit in crimes against humanity. The Mission stated it “puts companies on further and effective notice of the human rights implications that arise from maintaining business connections with the Tatmadaw”. Yet Kuok continued to maintain her business with the Myanmar military, paying likely significant amounts in land leasing that go directly to the Myanmar army. Although the exact terms of the Sule Square land lease are unknown, a different shopping and hotel complex in Yangon brings in about $20 million a year to the military.
On February 1 2021, the Myanmar military attempted a coup d’etat and has escalated its crimes nationwide, which, according to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, almost certainly amount to crimes against humanity. The violence since the coup is part of a continuation of decades of extreme violence perpetuated against ethnic and religious minorities, including the Rohingya. Over the 3 months since the coup, the Myanmar military has killed over 780 people, including over 40 children, arbitrarily imprisoned over 3800 people, internally displaced 50,000 individuals, and has injured and tortured countless others. There is video evidence of men being burnt alive, rescue workers and doctors being shot and abducted for helping the injured, and the bodies of the murdered being held for ransom by military soldiers, depriving families of closure. Many activists, politicians, ordinary people who are holding on to hope for a future free of repression and fear are on the run. Yet they continue to fight for their rights, and they demand that, at the very least, the international community stop providing the military with the finances to brutalize them.
Given the escalation of violence since the coup, various companies have been assessing their business connections to the military more seriously. The Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) has announced suspension of trading of ETC, a company that is involved in leasing land from the Quartermaster General. Civil society organizations, including Human Rights Watch, sent a submission to the UN Working Group on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Businesses inquiring into the land lease agreements of Japanese businesses with the Quartermaster General. Kuok’s tenants, Coca Cola and McKinsey & Company, stated they would terminate their lease from the Sule Square office, and Reuters and the World Bank Group stated they were reviewing their plans.
And while this is happening, Kuok, the Chair of the Yale-NUS Governing Board, allegedly continues her business with the Myanmar’s military junta.
The Governing Board of Yale-NUS provides “oversight of the College and its development and management,” and is responsible for overseeing the operations and establishing policies for the college. As the Chair of the Governing Board, Kuok thus plays a very important role in the strategic direction of the college, which makes it all the more paramount to assess whether and how her business interests might be impacting the college.
In particular, although Yale-NUS’ spokesperson Jeannie Tay Meow Sein has stated that Kuok’s business affairs are distinct from her role on the Governing Board, Kuok’s role raises questions about whether Yale-NUS is receiving donations from her, and whether these donations are tainted with the carnage of the Myanmar military. It raises the question overall about the finances of Yale-NUS, and where these finances come from.
There were concerns from students and professors about Yale extending its outreach to Singapore due to limits on freedom of expression in the country, nonetheless Yale established Yale-NUS and continues to play an ancillary role in the school. Yale’s mission states that it is “committed to improving the world today and for future generations”. Yale President Peter Salovey, who sits on the Governing Board of Yale-NUS, has written that “the country and the world need the very best from Yale – right now”. The best cannot entail doing business with a murderous regime.
As one of the founders of Yale-NUS, it is past time that Yale shed light and truth on its school in Singapore, conduct a thorough investigation into Kuok’s business affairs in Myanmar, and assess whether she is representing or compromising Yale’s mission to improve the world..."
Source/publisher:
"Tea Circle" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-05-26
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Business and the Military, Human Rights and international relations, Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups, Genocide, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Sub-title:
Total and Chevron halt some payments to military in wake of coup but advocacy groups say more needs to be done
Description:
"Advocacy groups have called on French fossil fuel giant Total and US company Chevron to further cut ties with Myanmar’s military, after announcing they would suspend dividend payments to the junta from a large gas project in the wake of February’s coup.
“Total condemns the violence and human rights abuses occurring in Myanmar and reaffirms that it will comply with any decision that may be taken by the relevant international and national authorities, including applicable sanctions issued by the EU or the US authorities,” the company said in a statement.
But advocacy groups said 90% of the money the junta makes from the Yadana gasfield joint venture with Total and Chevron – as well as the gas itself – continues to flow.
Since the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, more than 5,400 people have been arrested, according to monitoring group AAPP Burma, with the majority still in detention, often in unknown locations. At least 824 people have been killed by the junta, including dozens of children, sparking global outcry and calls for international companies to cut their business ties with the military.
Total told a shareholder meeting this month that Moattama Gas Transportation Company Limited (MGTC) – a joint venture that pipes gas from the Yadana field in the Andaman sea to Myanmar – had decided to stop making dividend payments to the junta.
The resolution was put forward by Total, which owns 31.24% of MGTC, and Chevron, which owns 28.26% of MGTC – shareholdings that give the two multinationals a controlling stake.
The rest of MGTC is owned by PTTEP, which is controlled by the Thai state (25.5%) and Myanmar government company Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (15%).
However, advocacy group Justice for Myanmar pointed out oil was still flowing through the pipeline and the vast majority of payments to the junta have not been affected.
The junta, which seized power on 1 February, still earns the state’s share of gas revenue, royalties and cost recovery from the Yadana gas field operation and corporate income tax from the MGTC.
MGTC’s suspension of dividends accounts for a tiny proportion of the estimated US$1.5bn Myanmar earns annual from offshore oil and gas projects.
Spokesperson for Justice For Myanmar Yadanar Maung said the decision to suspend dividend payments would curb one source of revenue for the illegitimate military government in Myanmar.
“Total and Chevron have made enormous profits in Myanmar in the past while simultaneously bolstering brutal military regimes … [they] have made the right choice by finally acknowledging that MOGE [Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise] is under the control of the military and finances the junta’s crimes.”
Anti-corruption group Publish What You Pay Australia said Total and Chevron’s decision to stop dividends was “a positive first step in supporting the people of Myanmar and will begin to limit the murderous Myanmar military regime’s access to vital foreign currency”.
“We urge them to stop the other 90% of payments flowing to the military from the pipeline,” the group’s director, Clancy Moore, said.
He said that in the 2017-18 financial year, MGTC paid $141m to MOGE in taxes and dividends, made up of $41m in dividends and $100m in taxes.
“Total and Chevron must stop financing the military generals who have blood on their hands and put payments into escrow accounts,” he said.
Chevron said it was aware of calls to shut off the gas and put all payments due to MOGE into an escrow account instead of paying the regime.
“Any actions should be carefully considered to ensure the people of Myanmar are not further disadvantaged by unintended and unpredictable consequences of well-intentioned decisions,” it said in a statement.
“Gas produced by the Yadana project is used to supply electricity for approximately half the population of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, and also for people in Thailand.
“Effectively turning off the power to half of Yangon’s homes, schools and hospitals – in the middle of a state of emergency and a pandemic – risks creating even more hardship.”
In its statement, Total did not address the other payments made to the junta. “Total continues to act as a responsible operator of the Yadana field, maintaining the production of gas in accordance with applicable laws, so as not to disrupt the electricity supply that is vital to the local populations of Myanmar and Thailand,” it said..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-05-27
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Oil and gas, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Sanctions - general, Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Sub-title:
Oil and Gas Firm PTT Should Cut Ties with Military Enterprises, Abusive Cronies
Description:
"Thailand’s majority state-owned oil and gas company, PTT, is partnering with military-linked companies to expand its engagement in Myanmar, Human Rights Watch said today. This growth comes on top of the half a billion dollars PTT already pays annually to junta-controlled enterprises through its existing operations in Myanmar’s gas fields.
A 2019 PTT joint venture is paying the military conglomerate Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) nearly US$1 million in annual rent for the construction of a fuel terminal on land seized from farmers. The United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and Canada have sanctioned MEC and the other military conglomerate, Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL), for their role in generating vast revenues that help fund the military’s abuses and enshrine its impunity.
PTT should end ties with Myanmar’s military enterprises and suspend all new investment in the country until a democratic government is established. Foreign governments should also adopt measures to block direct or indirect payments to the State Administration Council (SAC) junta from oil and gas projects operated by PTT and other companies.
“By expanding business ties with the Myanmar military as it carries out a bloody crackdown, the Thai state-owned PTT has shown little regard for the lives and freedom of Myanmar’s people,” said Shayna Bauchner, Asia researcher. “PTT’s leadership should respect international sanctions and cut ties with the junta to avoid being complicit in its crimes.”
Since the February 1, 2021 coup that overthrew the duly elected government, Myanmar’s military has responded with increasing brutality to nationwide pro-democracy protests. State security forces have killed over 820 people and detained an estimated 4,300 activists, journalists, civil servants, and politicians.
PTT has conducted oil and gas exploration and production in Myanmar since 1989, paying Myanmar state-controlled entities billions of dollars for gas in fees, taxes, royalties, and revenues. But with production declining in recent years, the company has ramped up its midstream and downstream investments in the country, with the stated goal of becoming the “top Myanmar provider” of petroleum products. Human Rights Watch wrote PTT on May 11, inquiring about the company’s operations in Myanmar, but received no response.
The Indian company Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone was recently removed from the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices due to “heightened risks to the company regarding their commercial relationship with Myanmar’s military,” following a campaign by groups Justice for Myanmar, the Australian Centre for International Justice, and Market Forces. Like PTT, Adani had acquired land from MEC. PTT and four subsidiaries are listed on the same sustainability index. Human Rights Watch contacted S&P Dow Jones Indices requesting that they review PTT according to the same standard as Adani.
PTT’s plans for growth are outlined in part in a March 2017 memorandum of understanding, recently leaked by transparency collective DDoSecrets, with the military-aligned Kanbawza Group (KBZ). The company later announced plans to invest over $200 million in its partnership with KBZ.
In 2019, PTT Oil and Retail (PTTOR, a PTT subsidiary) and KBZ began a joint venture to build a jetty, fuel oil storage terminal, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) filling plant in the Thilawa area of Kyauktan township, Yangon Region, with a stated investment of $150 million. The terminal will be largest in the country, according to PTT, with a reported capacity of one million barrels of oil and 4,500 metric tons of LPG. It was originally slated for completion in 2021.
KBZ, a major Myanmar conglomerate owned by a longtime military crony, Aung Ko Win, runs the country’s largest bank and dozens of companies across mining, manufacturing, technology, trade, and other industries. KBZ maintains close personal, financial, and commercial ties to the military that benefit and enable the security forces. In 2019, the United Nations-backed Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar found that KBZ donated US$4.7 million to the 2017 security force operations against the ethnic Rohingya in Rakhine State, and concluded that KBZ officials should be investigated and prosecuted as appropriate for having “aided, abetted, or otherwise assisted in the crimes against humanity of persecution and other inhumane acts.”
KBZ has also partnered with the military-conglomerate MEHL for over two decades in jade and gems mining ventures. The EU sanctioned Kanbawza Bank, Aung Ko Win, and his family members until 2012 for their engagement with the prior military junta. Human Rights Watch wrote KBZ on May 11 but received no response.
To develop the fuel terminal, the PTTOR and KBZ joint venture, Brighter Energy, is leasing land from MEC and the Ministry of Defense under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) agreement, according to leaked Myanmar Investment Commission documents. PTT bought a 35 percent stake in Brighter Energy from KBZ in 2019.
The BOT agreement covers 168.5 acres of land owned by MEC near its shipbreaking factory in Thilawa and is valid for 50 years following a two-year construction period, with the option to renew for two additional 10-year terms. Lease payments to MEC include a $1,685,000 land use premium fee and $808,800 annual rent, for a total of $42 million over the contract period. All fuel terminal structures and fixtures are to be transferred to MEC at no cost when the lease ends. The agreement is signed by Thant Swe, MEC managing director, who was recently sanctioned by the UK, and Brighter Energy directors.
The authorities acquired the land in Kyauktan’s Thida Myaing ward by seizing it from farmers who had worked there for decades, nongovernmental organizations EarthRights International and Namati reported. In 2014, MEC filed a criminal trespass complaint against 33 farmers based on a 1996 illegal confiscation attempt by military government officials. The farmers were found guilty in 2018. That year, MEC filed land record forms of the area in an application to use 168.5 acres for “buildings and storage tanks.”
PTT and KBZ will also pay a significant amount in taxes to the junta-controlled Internal Revenue Department. In an annex to the contract, the combined commercial and income tax over the first 20 years is estimated at $1.36 billion. Brighter Energy lists the terminal’s estimated net profit as $65.7 million in the first year of operation and $104 million annually after 10 years, with an additional $63 million per year from oil and gas sales.
The fuel terminal project is just one example of PTT’s planned expansion in Myanmar. In December 2020, PTT signed an agreement to invest $2 billion in a new gas-to-power project for domestic use with the Ministry of Electricity and Energy, now led by SAC Minister Aung Than Oo, who was sanctioned by the EU for his role in the previous military junta. A PTT executive, Phongsthorn Thavisin, told reporters in March that the project was not affected by the coup and would move ahead, saying the company was politically neutral. PTT sought tenders in May for a drilling rig in the project location.
PTT already pays Myanmar over $500 million a year through its projects with the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) in three of the country’s four major gas fields. The company reported paying $125 million in taxes in 2019 to the Ministry of Planning, Finance, and Industry, now led by SAC Minister Win Shein, recently sanctioned by the US.
PTT’s human rights standards state that the company is guided by international human rights treaties and other internationally accepted standards on human rights applicable to companies, including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Since the coup, the State Administration Council has seized control of all government ministries and state-owned enterprises – as well as their bank accounts – including those involved in PTT’s projects. The junta has also overhauled the Myanmar Investment Commission, responsible for facilitating all foreign investment, installing as chair Lt. Gen. Moe Myint Tun, also a member of the junta. The US, UK, EU, and Canada have sanctioned Moe Myint Tun for committing serious human rights violations, both as a member of SAC and in his previous role as army chief of staff overseeing operations against the Rohingya in 2017. As with other military leaders, Moe Myint Tun is a director of both MEC and MEHL.
Foreign governments should block payments to the junta and state-owned enterprises from foreign-financed oil and gas projects, such as those operated by PTT, Total, and Chevron. Such measures can be designed to target the junta’s access to foreign accounts while allowing for the continued production of gas and electricity.
Thai financial authorities should cooperate with governments that have imposed sanctions and instruct Thai banks processing foreign currency transactions to comply with other countries’ economic measures and sanctions.
Governments that have sanctioned MEC and MEHL should encourage Thailand, Japan, Singapore, and other countries with significant investment in Myanmar to adopt similar measures.
“PTT’s investments in Myanmar provide hundreds of millions of dollars to the military,” Bauchner said. “Concerned governments should zero in on these sources of funds as a prime target for sanctions to make it much harder for coup leader Min Aung Hlaing, the junta, and other generals to benefit from their atrocities.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-05-26
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Thailand-Burma relations, Sanctions - general, Sanctions, Business and the Military, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
more
Sub-title:
‘They will condone and fund a military coup just to keep their profits flowing. We want Chevron to stop funding the coup,’ a protest organiser says
Description:
"Protests against US oil giant Chevron were held in multiple locations on Friday and Saturday as part of “Anti-Chevron Day,” in the lead-up to the company’s annual shareholder meeting scheduled for Wednesday.
At the El Segundo oil refinery in California, organisers estimated that 80 people participated in a Saturday demonstration against Chevron’s business in both Myanmar and the Amazon rainforest in South America, and its role in contributing to climate change.
Protest organiser Jack Eidt from SoCal 350 Climate Action told Myanmar Now that Chevron should work in concert with the US government to pressure Myanmar’s junta to restore democracy.
“We are concerned by [Chevron’s] environmentally corrupt business practices. The case in Myanmar fits with their business model – the pursuit of profits no matter the cost to people and planet. They will condone and fund a military coup just to keep their profits flowing. We want Chevron to stop funding the coup,” Jack Eidt said.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, protesters gathered outside the Chevron Richmond Refinery on Friday.
In a statement, Nyunt Than, a member of the Burmese American Democratic Alliance, demanded US sanctions be imposed against Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE).
“More than 800 people have been killed since the military coup in Myanmar on February 1st. Chevron is funding slaughter in Myanmar and to stop it, President Biden must sanction MOGE to make such payment illegal,” he said.
MOGE, a state-owned enterprise under the Ministry of Electricity and Energy, came under direct military control as a result of the February 1 coup.
Other Anti-Chevron protests were held in Australia and the Philippines.
Civil society groups are also pressuring Chevron through an online petition to CEO Michael Wirth, demanding that the company “stop bankrolling the Myanmar military.” It has received more than 15,000 signatures.
Chevron, headquartered in California, is one of the world’s biggest oil companies with a market capitalisation of more than US$200 billion.
In Myanmar, Chevron owns 28.3 percent of the offshore Yadana gas field, operated by Total. The company is also an investor in the Yadana pipeline.
Chevron subsidiary Unocal was sued by Karen villagers in US courts in 1996 for human rights violations linked to the Yadana pipeline, including killings, forced relocation, forced labour and rape. They received compensation in an out of court settlement..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-05-25
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
History of the Tatmadaw, Business and the Military, Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
more
Description:
"ကြေညာချက် (၁/၂၀၂၁)
မေလ ၂၃ ရက် ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်။
===============
အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စုပိုင် စီးပွားရေးလုပ်ငန်းစုများနှင့် ဆက်စပ်ထုတ်ကုန်ပစ္စည်းများ၊ ဝန်ဆောင်မှုများအား အရှိန်အဟုန်မြှင့် သပိတ်မှောက်ကြရန် တိုက်တွန်းနှိုးဆော်ခြင်း
--------------------------
၁။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စု၏ ဝင်ငွေရလမ်းများအား ဟန့်တား၊ ပိတ်ဆို့၊ဖြတ်တောက်နိုင်ရေးသည် မြန်မာ့မြေပေါ်မှ စစ်အာဏာရှင်စနစ် လုံး၀ချုပ်ငြိမ်းပျောက်ကွယ်သွားစေရေးအတွက် လွန်စွာအရေးပါသည့် လုပ်ငန်းစဉ်တစ်ရပ် ဖြစ်သည်။
၂။ အဆိုပါလုပ်ငန်းစဉ်တွင် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စုပိုင် စီးပွားရေးလုပ်ငန်းစုများနှင့် ဆက်စပ်ထုတ်ကုန်ပစ္စည်းများ၊ ဝန်ဆောင်မှုများ အား ပြတ်ပြတ်သားသား ဆန့်ကျင်သပိတ်မှောက်ခြင်းသည်လည်း အရေးကြီးသည့် အခန်းကဏ္ဍတစ်ခုအဖြစ် ပါဝင်သည်။
၃။ ခေတ်အဆက်ဆက် လက်နက်အားကိုးဖြင့် နိုင်ငံတော်အာဏာအား အကြမ်းဖက်သိမ်းယူခဲ့သည့် နောက်ကွယ်က တစ်ခုတည်း သော အဓိက အကြောင်းအရင်းသည် စစ်ခေါင်းဆောင်များနှင့် ၎င်းတို့မိသားစုဝင်များ၏ စီးပွားရေး အကျိုးအမြတ်များကို တည်ဆောက်ထူထောင် ၊ ချဲ့ထွင်ကာကွယ်ရန်သာဖြစ်သည်။
၄။ ယခုအခါ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စု၏ စီးပွားရေးအင်ပါယာသည် ကျောက်မျက် ရတနာရောင်းဝယ်ခြင်း၊ စက်သုံးဆီဖြန့်ဖြူး ရောင်းချခြင်း၊ ဟိုတယ်လုပ်
ငန်း၊ ဘဏ်လုပ်ငန်း၊ အာမခံလုပ်ငန်း၊ ဆောက်လုပ်ရေးလုပ်ငန်း၊ ဆိပ်ကမ်းဝန်ဆောင်မှု မှစ၍ အရက်၊ ဘီယာ၊ စီးကရက်၊ ဘိလပ်မြေ၊ သံချောင်း၊ အိမ်မိုးသွပ်ပြား ထုတ်လုပ်ရောင်းချခြင်းအပါအဝင် ကော်ဖီမစ်၊ တီးမစ်၊ ဆပ်ပြာ၊ သွားတိုက်ဆေးပါမကျန် ဈေးကွက်နယ်ပယ်စုံ၌ ထိုးဖောက်နေရာယူကာ စီးပွားရေးအကျိုးအမြတ်များစွာ နှစ်စဉ်ရရှိနေပါသည်။
၅။ ထို့ကြောင့် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စု သက်ဆိုးရှည်ရေးအတွက် အဓိကအသက်သွေးကြော ဝင်ငွေရလမ်းဖြစ်သည့် ပူးတွဲဖော်ပြပါ စစ်တပ်ပိုင် စီးပွားရေးလုပ်ငန်းစုများနှင့် ဆက်စပ်ထုတ်ကုန်ပစ္စည်းများ၊ ဝန်ဆောင်မှုများအားဝယ်ယူသုံးစွဲခြင်း၊ သိုလှောင် ဖြန့်ဖြူး ရောင်းချခြင်း အလျဉ်းမပြုလုပ်ကြရန်နှင့် အရှိန်အဟုန်မြှင့် သပိတ်မှောက်ကြရန် အထူးတိုက်တွန်း နှိုးဆော်အပ်ပါသည်။
တင်ထွန်းနိုင်
ပြည်ထောင်စုဝန်ကြီး
စီမံကိန်း ဘဏ္ဍာရေးနှင့် ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုဝန်ကြီးဌာန..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Planning, Finance and Investment - Myanmar - NUG
Date of publication:
2021
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Economic activities of the Myanmar Military, Business and the Military, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"PetroChina International Singapore Pte Ltd sold a cargo of jet fuel into Myanmar in April, according to government import data reviewed by Reuters, the first such shipment since before the military seized power in a coup in February.
Industry sources say suppliers have been particularly wary of selling jet fuel because it could be used in planes to bomb ethnic armed groups that have been supporting anti-junta protesters, as well as in civilian airliners.
The shipment could raise new questions over China's role in Myanmar at a time when it has been accused by the junta's opponents of backing coup leader Min Aung Hlaing - an accusation rejected by Beijing.
China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. PetroChina, a listed company controlled by state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPET.UL), did not respond to requests for comment about the fuel shipment.
The import data, which hasn't been published, shows PetroChina International shipped 13,300 tonnes of jet fuel and 4,000 tonnes of gasoline onboard tanker MT Yu Dong for discharge at Myanmar's Thilawa terminal on April 15.
Western nations including the United States and Britain have condemned the junta for killing hundreds of civilians and have applied limited sanctions, but there are currently no international measures outlawing oil product shipments.
And while the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to which Myanmar belongs, has called for an end to violence and dialogue among the parties, it stopped well short of calling for sanctions in an April statement.
China has not been so forceful in condemning the junta and has simply said it wants to see stability in its neighbour, drawing accusations from some of the junta's opponents that it is supporting the military authorities.
"Given Beijing's desire to boost its influence in Naypyidaw, it seems unlikely that any Chinese state firm would be too concerned by the threat of backlash from the international community over doing business with Myanmar's government," said Henrick Tsjeng, an associate research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.
Activist group Justice for Myanmar condemned the fuel sale.
"We're appalled that PetroChina is exporting jet fuel to Myanmar, doing business with the war criminals who are conducting indiscriminate air strikes against ethnic communities," said spokeswoman Yadanar Maung.
Data from Singapore trade agency Enterprise Singapore confirmed a mid-April shipment of aviation turbine fuel into Myanmar. The fuel can be used by both commercial and military planes, possibly needing to be blended depending on the grade.
Reuters saw no evidence that the fuel was destined for military jets. The junta spokesman did not respond to calls requesting comment.
Military jets have carried out frequent bombing raids against ethnic armies opposed to the junta in northern and eastern Myanmar as fighting has surged since the Feb. 1 coup that toppled elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
One of the forces that has been bombed, the Kachin Independence Army, told Reuters it had attacked seven oil trucks it suspected of bringing aviation fuel in by road from China this week. It did not comment on the PetroChina shipment.
The Myanmar data showed PetroChina International sold the jet fuel to National Energy Puma Aviation Services Co Ltd (NEPAS), a joint venture between Puma Energy and Myanma Petroleum Enterprise (MPE). The gasoline went to three other local fuel importers.
Puma Energy told Reuters NEPAS arranged for delivery of a cargo at the Thilawa terminal on April 15, but declined to comment on the type of fuel being offloaded.
Puma Energy, a fuel storage and retail firm majority-owned by global commodities trader Trafigura, said it had suspended operations in Myanmar on Feb. 10 to ensure employee safety.
Since then, operations of the NEPAS joint venture are being carried out by majority shareholder MPE, Puma Energy's spokesman said.
MPE, owned by the Ministry of Electrical and Energy (MOEE) which is now under junta control, did not respond to a request for comment.
In addition to the jet fuel, 79,500 tonnes of gasoline and 110,700 tonnes of diesel were shipped to Myanmar last month from Asia's oil trading hub, Enterprise Singapore's data showed.
Myanmar last imported about 13,800 tonnes of jet fuel in February, according to government data. Monthly imports in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, were about 14,500 tonnes.
PetroChina International Singapore is the Singapore-based trading unit of PetroChina Co Ltd (601857.SS), ..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-05-20
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Business and the Military, Oil and gas, Burma's economic relations with China, Economic activities of the Myanmar Military, Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"This is the first Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB) e-newsletter since the military took over on 1 February. Rather than the usual format, this message to MCRB stakeholders takes a wider look at responsible business in the current political crisis, and what this means for MCRB’s future activities.
Since 1 February MCRB has been focused on our team’s welfare and safety. We have seen that employee and customer safety is also the top priority of all businesses, both local and foreign. We have shared tips with companies and other organisations how they can support staff digital safety and mental welfare, including responding to detention of loved ones. The MCRB team has also taken up the opportunity of a group workplace counselling session to share their feelings. Counselling Corner also have regular free online sessions.
We know the other main priority of business in Myanmar right now is commercial survival. The survey undertaken in April by ten Chambers of Commerce demonstrated very clearly the massive economic impact of the coup on the Myanmar economy and employment, and showed this to be far more significant than COVID-19. Main challenges for business are disruptions to banking (77%), internet (70%) and employee safety (66%). The survey also showed that the biggest impact has been felt by Myanmar companies, particularly SMEs which unlike multinationals, have little ability to absorb it. Against this very negative business outlook, and with foreign investors now scaling back and avoiding Myanmar, MCRB has been reflecting on what responsible business means in the current crisis and how the Centre can be useful to our stakeholders.....ဤ အီလက်ထရောနစ် သတင်းလွှာသည် ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ ၁ ရက်နေ့တွင် တပ်မတော်မှ အာဏာသိမ်းပြီး သည့်နောက် မြန်မာ့စီးပွားရေးကဏ္ဍ တာဝန်ယူမှုရှိရေး အထောက်အကူပြုဌာန (MCRB) မှ ပထမဆုံးအကြိမ် ထုတ်ပြန်သည့် သတင်းလွှာ ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ဤ တွင် MCRB နှင့် ပတ်သက်ဆက်နွယ်သူများ (stakeholders) အတွက် ပုံမှန်ထုတ်ပြန်နေကြပုံစံထက် လက်ရှိနိုင်ငံရေး အကျပ်အတည်းကာလနှင့် ဆိုင်သော တာ၀န်ယူမှုရှိသော စီးပွားရေးလုပ်ငန်း အကြောင်း ပိုမိုကျယ်ပြန့်စွာ ကြည့်ရှုရန် နှင့် MCRB ၏ အနာဂတ် လုပ်ငန်းများအတွက် မည်သို့ဆိုလိုသည်ကို တင်ပြရန်ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ ၁ ရက်နေ့မှစ၍ MCRB သည် MCRB အဖွဲ့သားများ ၏ အဆင်ပြေစိတ်အေးချမ်းမှု (welfare) နှင့် ဘေးကင်းလုံခြုံမှု (safety) ကို အဓိကထားခဲ့ပါသည်။ ထိုနည်းတူစွာ ပြည်တွင်း နှင့် နိုင်ငံခြား စီးပွားရေးလုပ်ငန်း အားလုံးအတွက်လည်း ၎င်းတို့၏ ဝန်ထမ်းများနှင့် ဝယ်ယူစားသုံးသူများ/ ဝန်ဆောင်မှု ဌားရမ်းသူများ (customer) ၏ ဘေးကင်း လုံခြုံမှုသည် ပထမဦးစားပေး ဖြစ်ကြောင်းကို ကျွန်ုပ်တို့ တွေ့ရှိခဲ့ပါသည်။ ကျွန်ုပ်တို့သည် ကုမ္ပဏီများ၊ အခြားသော အဖွဲ့အစည်းများနှင့် ၎င်းတို့၏ ဝန်ထမ်းများ အတွက် ချစ်ခင်သူများ အထိန်းသိမ်းခံရပါက မည်သို့လုပ်ဆောင်သင့်ကြောင်း အပါအဝင် ဒစ်ဂျစ်တယ် လုံခြုံရေး (digital safety) နှင့် စိတ်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာ ကောင်းမွန်အဆင်ပြေစေရေး (mental welfare) အတွက် မည်သို့ ပံ့ပိုးကူညီပေးနိုင်ကြောင်း အကြံဥာဏ်များကို မျှဝေခဲ့ပါသည်။ MCRB အဖွဲ့သားများ အနေဖြင့် ၎င်းတို့၏ စိတ်ခံစားချက်များကို မျှဝေရန် လုပ်ငန်းခွင်အတွင်း အဖွဲ့လိုက် ကောင်းစလင်း ဆွေးနွေးခြင်း အစီအစဥ် (workplace counselling session) တစ်ခု ပြုလုပ်ခဲ့ပါသည်။ Counselling Corner တွင်လည်း အခမဲ့ အွန်လိုင်း အစီအစဥ်များ ပုံမှန်ရှိပါသည်။
လက်ရှိတွင် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင်း စီးပွားရေးလုပ်ငန်းများ အတွက် အခြားသော အဓိကဦးစားပေးမှာ စီးပွားရေးဆက်လက်ရှင်သန်နိုင်ရန် (commercial survival) ဖြစ်ကြောင်းသိရှိပါသည်။ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအခြေစိုက် နိုင်ငံတကာကုန်သည်အသင်း ၁၀ ခု မှ ဧပြီလတွင် ပြုလုပ်ခဲ့သည့် စစ်တမ်းကောက်ယူမှု အရ အာဏာသိမ်းမှုကြောင့် မြန်မာ့စီးပွားရေးနှင့် အလုပ်အကိုင်အပေါ် ကြီးမားသော ဆိုးကျိုး သက်ရောက်မှုမှာ COVID-19 ထက်ပို၍ သိသာထင်ရှားကြောင်း ရှင်းလင်းစွာ ဖော်ပြခဲ့ပါသည်။ စီးပွားရေးလုပ်ငန်းများအတွက် အဓိကစိန်ခေါ်မှုများမှာ ဘဏ်လုပ်ငန်း (၇၇%)၊ အင်တာနက် (၇၀%) နှင့် ဝန်ထမ်းများ၏ ဘေးကင်းလုံခြုံမှု (၆၆%) ဆိုင်ရာ မငြိမ်မသက်မှုများကြောင့်ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ၎င်းစစ်တမ်း ဖော်ပြချက်အရ မြန်မာကုမ္ပဏီများ၊ အထူးသဖြင့် နိုင်ငံစုံကုမ္ပဏီများနှင့်မတူသည့် ခံနိုင်ရည်မရှိသော အသေးစားနှင့် အလတ်စား စီးပွားရေးလုပ်ငန်းများ အပေါ် အကြီးမားဆုံး သက်ရောက်မှုများ ဖြစ်စေခဲ့ပါသည်။ ဤ အနုတ်သဘောဆောင်သည့် စီးပွားရေးအလားအလာကို မလိုလားကြသော နိုင်ငံခြား ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုများသည် ယခုအခါ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံကို ရှောင်ရှားခြင်းနှင့် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံမှ ပြန်လည်ဆုတ်ခွာခြင်း တို့ကြောင့် MCRB သည် လက်ရှိ အကျပ်အတည်းတွင် တာ၀န်ယူမှုရှိသော စီးပွားရေး လုပ်ငန်းဆိုသည်မှာ မည်သည်ကို ဆိုလိုကြောင်းနှင့် ကျွန်ုပ်တို့နှင့် ပတ်သက်ဆက်နွယ်သူများ အတွက် စင်တာ (Centre) မှာ မည်သို့ အသုံးဝင်နိုင်မည်ကို အလေးအနက်ထား စဉ်းစားသုံးသပ်နေပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business
Date of publication:
2021-05-21
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military, Economy: general, analytical, statistical (various sources), Human Rights and international relations, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
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"UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews on Thursday urged all countries to follow the path taken by the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.....Ramp up sanctions: “It is imperative that the international community ramp up the size and scope of sanctions as the junta ramps up its repression of the people of Myanmar”, he said.
Myanmar’s military leaders, known as the State Administrative Council (SAC), seized power in a coup in February and have launched brutal crackdowns against pro-democracy demonstrators.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has repeatedly called on the military to respect the will of the people, and his Special Envoy, Christine Schraner Burgener, continues ongoing dialogue with key stakeholders in the region.....‘A new blow’: Mr. Andrews particularly highlighted the US decision to target the SAC and 16 individuals, announced on Monday, which freezes their assets and bars US nationals from providing funds, goods or services that benefit the coup leaders.
“This week the United States has taken one of the most significant steps to date against the Myanmar junta, first by sanctioning not only individuals but the State Administrative Council itself; and second, by opening the door to targeting those who continue to do business with the junta and therefore aid and abet their relentless attacks against the people of Myanmar,” he said.
“The designation of the SAC strikes a new blow to the junta’s finances. It is a significant step in the right direction.”.....A wake-up call: Mr Andrews added that the naming of the SAC paves the way for further designations of individuals or entities determined to have “materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to” the Council.
“This is a warning to all those who are willing to conduct business as usual with the junta,” he said. “Those who continue to aid and abet this murderous enterprise — be they international businesses, banks, arms traffickers, or government entities providing financial, technological or other support — are now on notice that they themselves could face sanctions.”
The rights expert added “I am hopeful that this action will be a wake-up call. Not only is doing business with the junta morally reprehensible, it could now mean being cut off from the U.S. financial system and/or facing criminal or civil penalties in the United States. If doing the right and just thing is not a factor in one’s decision making, then perhaps protecting one’s self interest will be.”.....Step up now: Mr Andrews also welcomed fresh sanctions imposed on Monday by the UK and Canada, including those which target the military from profiting from the timber and gems trade.
“The coordination of these sanctions by the US, UK, and Canada is a welcome development”, the UN expert said. “Hopefully it will lead to a tough, fully coordinated multilateral sanctions regime that enables nations to deliver the most powerful blow possible against the horror that is being inflicted on the people of Myanmar.”
He said, however, more must be done, and quickly.
“The revenue that they continue to seize from the oil and gas sector has become a lifeline for the junta. Profits from this sector are estimated to be close to what is needed to supply the forces that are keeping them in power,” he said.
“We know the junta’s sources of funds are limited and that the income from oil and gas sales helped previous juntas withstand international sanctions. The people of Myanmar cannot afford for history to repeat itself.”
Mr Andrews also called for other nations to take action. “I urge those countries that have yet to impose costs on the junta for its illegal coup and its systematic atrocities and human rights violations to reconsider,” he said. “Now is the time to step up.”.....Role of Special Rapporteurs: Special Rapporteurs, like Mr. Andrews, are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor specific countries or thematic issues.
They serve in their individual capacity and are not UN staff, nor are they paid by the Organization..."
Source/publisher:
UN News
Date of publication:
2021-05-20
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, Sanctions - general, Economic activities of the Myanmar Military, Business and the Military, Sanctions, The UN and Burma - news and commentary
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Description:
"Today I would like to express my most sincere thanks to the Government of Canada for designating 16 individuals and 10 entities with strict sanctions who are supporting the killing of innocent civilians nationwide, most recently in Mindat, Chin State.
I would also like to reiterate my sincere thanks to the People and Government of Canada for standing in solidarity and being a strong voice for the people of Myanmar. I also want to express my gratitude for the efforts of the Canadian Government on coordinating targeted sanctions against key tatmadaw personnel, tatmadaw linked companies and enterprises such as MEC, MGE and MEHL together
with the United States and Great Britain. Additionally, I would like to further thank the Government of Canada for taking a strong leadership role in the UN and G7 summits on behalf of the people of Myanmar, and for the recognition of CRPH and NUG as important voices of many in this nation. The official press release is as follows:
May 17, 2021 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
“The Honourable Marc Gameau, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced additional sanctions against 16 individuals and 10 entities under the Special Economic Measures (Burma) Regulations in response to the military’s ongoing brutal repression of the people of Myanmar and their refusal to take steps to restore democracy.
These actions are taken in coordination with the United Kingdom and the United States, and align with measures recently imposed by the European Union. They are also consistent with our G7 commitment to continue to take action should the Tatmadaw fail to reverse its course. This latest step demonstrates our unwavering determination to hold the Tatmadaw accountable and help restore democracy as
demanded by the people of Myanmar. Canada will continue to take additional actions, in coordination with our partners, should the Tatmadaw refuse to reverse course. Canada urges other countries to impose similar measures, including arms embargos. For more than 100 days, the people of Myanmar have demonstrated
impressive resilience and determination in the face of a violent military regime. Canada stands in solidarity with the people of Myanmar and their desire for a peaceful, inclusive and democratic future.
We acknowledge and appreciate the central role of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in responding to the crisis in Myanmar. Canada is ready to work with ASEAN to advance the swift implementation of the 5-point consensus. We urge the Tatmadaw to cooperate unconditionally and immediately with ASEAN and the UN.
“Despite numerous international calls for the Tatmadaw to end its violence against its own people in Myanmar, it is clearly showing its unwillingness to change its course of action. Canada stands ready to lend our support to ASEAN and UN efforts to initiate an inclusive political dialogue to end the crisis and restore democratic, civilian governance. Canada stands with the people of Myanmar as they
continue to fight to restore democracy and freedom in their country and we will not hesitate to take further action.” - Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs” We urge the international communities to help us put more financial pressure on the junta. Ideally, this would come through coordinated international action following
passage of a strong resolution by the UNSC. Unfortunately, that is not likely to happen, so it is critical for all the nations of the world who stand with us to band together in a coordinated campaign of further sanctions that would cut the flow of revenue and weapons sales to this murderous regime. If stricter and tougher sanctions are not imposed right away, it won’t be long before strife and bloodshed break out across this nation as the tatmadaw terrorist forces unleash more inhumane cruelty against innocent and defenseless citizens. We
once again appeal to the International Communities which have the power to end this nightmare - this reign of terror, especially all like-minded free and democratic countries around the world to come together to put targeted, coordinated, stronger sanctions on the murderous regime of the terrorist junta in Myanmar. I am therefore
asking the Government of Canada and the International communities to place sanctions against Myanmar Oil and Gas and all state-owned enterprises as quickly as possible. We once again urge all children and families of the terrorist junta 'SAC' to help end your parent's reign of terror on the 54 million people of Myanmar. Nearly 800
National Heroes, including 52 children have been murdered by your parents. H.E. Dr. Sasa Union Minister of the Ministry of International Cooperation & NUG Spokesperson.."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-05-18
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Canada-Burma relations, Sanctions - general, Economic activities of the Myanmar Military, Business and the Military, Sanctions, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
Myanmar's peaceful protests are morphing into a hit-and-run resistance movement against military rule
Description:
"Another military airbase has come under rocket attack in central Myanmar, a shadowy but strategic assault that even tightly censored, military-controlled media felt compelled to report.
On May 15, three 107mm rockets were fired at Toungoo airbase, situated just 95 kilometers from the capital Naypyitaw, according to the state mouthpiece Global New Light of Myanmar. The rocket attack follows similar assaults on air bases at Magwe and Meiktila in late April.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but they come after recent Tatmadaw aerial bombardments in Kayin and Kachin states, where ethnic armies are battling the military and anti-coup protesters have recently taken refuge from rising, lethal military violence in urban areas.
Myanmar’s civil wars, until now confined mainly to relatively remote ethnic frontier regions, are now spreading to the country’s heartland and urban areas. Rather than ethnic army fighters, recent attacks have more likely been launched by new-age militants from the ethnic Bamar majority.
Shadowy attacks on military soft and hard targets are mounting. On May 18, a local junta-appointed official was assassinated in Yangon’s Lanmadaw district after two bomb blasts at his office. According to Yangon-based sources, the official was known to be a key military informant and his actions had led to the arrest of several pro-democracy protesters.
Bombs have also detonated in various towns in Sagaing and Mandalay Regions and in Shan, Mon and Chin states. When the coup leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, visited Sagaing City on May 18 a bomb exploded even there despite tight security.
A clear example of this new resistance to military rule was recently seen in Mindat, a town in Chin State but close to the border with the central region of Magwe. The Chinland Defense Force (CDF), a newly formed local militia, took over the town and retreated only after heavily armed Tatmadaw units counterattacked with artillery and helicopter gunfire.
Before those reinforcements arrived, local militants armed with only hunting rifles and homemade bombs killed several Tatmadaw soldiers. Until now, Chin state is the only ethnic state in Myanmar that has not seen widespread insurgency. (The ceasefire Chin National Front was never a formidable force.)
What began as peaceful, even joyful demonstrations against coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s democracy-suspending February 1 coup is now morphing into shadowy armed resistance across the country. The list of anti-military counterattacks is growing by the day.
For instance, a bomb exploded at the Daik-U township’s education office in the Bago Region on May 16. That same day, another bomb detonated at the Mogok township general administrator’s office in the Mandalay Region.
On May 17, the Htone Bo Ward administration office in Sagaing township was burned down. On May 18, a truck carrying food supplies for Myanmar army soldiers was torched on the Mogaung-Tanai Ledo road in Kachin State.
The shift from peaceful to violent protest came only after demonstrators were violently and lethally attacked by soldiers and police, with snipers shooting teenagers and even killing children as young as five, according to news reports.
Nearly 800 people have been killed by the police and Tatmadaw since Min Aung Hlaing seized power from an elected government. Close to 5,000 have been arrested, including politicians, journalists, lawyers and community workers. An unknown number are now in hiding or have fled to border areas or across the border into exile.
Yangon residents say the persistent unrest appears to be taking a toll on the mental health of front-line police and soldiers who are ordered by their superiors to use lethal force against the general population.
“They are staying inside hospitals, schools, police stations and secluded compounds and when they venture out of those, local activists inform their comrades in other parts of Yangon,” one Yangon-based source said.
Three and a half months after the coup, anti-coup demonstrators are still marching in the streets in defiance. Many others, sources say, are getting ready for more violent action.
They say the assassination of the official in Lanmadaw is probably only the beginning of what could quickly turn into urban warfare scenarios in major cities nationwide. According to some reports, automatic weapons and grenades have already been sent to activists in Yangon.
Myanmar may not become a full-blown failed state — much of the economy is and has always been run underground and thus not measured in official statistics — but the nation is definitely now a failing state.
Tens of thousands of health workers and teachers have been fired for taking part in the so-called Civil Disobedience Movement. Banks are reportedly running out of cash as people — if they are lucky — withdraw their savings. Many have imposed fees of 8%-9% to withdraw funds or imposed outright limits on the amount that can be taken out.
A brain drain has also begun as many well-educated people have leveraged various channels to leave the country. What happens next is not clear, but Min Aung Hlaing’s power-grab is measuring up as perhaps the most unsuccessful military coup in modern Asian history.
To be sure United States (US) and European Union (EU) sanctions have so far had no deterrent effect on the military’s onslaught. The severest action that can be taken by the United Nations (UN) would be a resolution calling for an “immediate suspension” of weapons transfers to the junta.
Although recently introduced by the tiny European principality of Liechtenstein, which is not an EU member, and supported by the EU, UK and US, it will inevitably be vetoed at the UN Security Council by permanent members China and Russia.
What is clear, however, is that Min Aung Hlaing has ruined his chance of becoming a credible political leader. As military commander-in-chief, he traveled more widely than any of his predecessors on what the Tatmadaw called “goodwill missions.”
According to a study compiled by the Tagaung Institute of Political Studies, a Yangon-based think tank, his trips took him to China, Russia, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Belarus, Serbia, Brunei, Pakistan and even Belgium, Austria, Germany and Italy.
He won’t likely be welcome again in many of those countries. His future standing in Myanmar is also on shaky ground, with critics and commentators saying he has single-handedly destroyed his legacy as an armed forces commander while making the military even more an object of contempt in the public’s eye.
But even if the Tatmadaw moved to oust him from his positions of power in a face-saving counter-coup – for now, more wishful thinking than likely scenario – there is no guarantee that his military successors would be in favor of the kind of openness Myanmar enjoyed from 2011 until this year’s disastrous coup..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2021-05-19
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Spring Revolution, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Human Rights and international relations, Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"Burma Campaign UK today welcomed an announcement by the British government that they are imposing sanctions on Myanmar Gems Enterprise (MGE). MGE manages the gemstones industry in Burma, which will be a significant source of revenue for the military now that it has seized control of government ministries.
MGE is a state-owned enterprise under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation. MGE was sanctioned by the USA on 8th April 2021.
The UK sanctions follow previous sanctions on two military-owned conglomerates, Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC).
Since the military coup on 1st February 2021 around 800 people have been killed, more than 5,000 arrested and more than 60,000 displaced from their homes by the Burmese military. It is essential that the British government uses all tools at its disposal, economic, legal, diplomatic and building an arms embargo coalition, in order to maximise pressure on the Burmese military.
“Today’s new sanctions are another positive step by the British government towards cutting revenue going to the military,” said Anna Roberts, Executive Director of Burma Campaign UK. “The government now needs to moves swiftly to ban imports of gems from Burma, and expand sanctions to the timber industry as well.”
Burma Campaign UK is also calling on the European Union to sanction Burma’s timber and gems industries, now that the military is the main beneficiary of revenue from these industries..."
Source/publisher:
"Burma Campaign UK" (London)
Date of publication:
2021-05-17
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, UK-Burma relations, Economic activities of the Myanmar Military, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Gems - mining and trade, Gems
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Description:
"The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced additional sanctions against 16 individuals and 10 entities under the Special Economic Measures (Burma) Regulations in response to the military’s ongoing brutal repression of the people of Myanmar and their refusal to take steps to restore democracy.
These actions are taken in coordination with the United Kingdom and the United States, and align with measures recently imposed by the European Union. They are also consistent with our G7 commitment to continue to take action should the Tatmadaw fail to reverse its course. This latest step demonstrates our unwavering determination to hold the Tatmadaw accountable and help restore democracy as demanded by the people of Myanmar. Canada will continue to take additional actions, in coordination with our partners, should the Tatmadaw refuse to reverse course. Canada urges other countries to impose similar measures, including arms embargos.
For more than 100 days, the people of Myanmar have demonstrated impressive resilience and determination in the face of a violent military regime. Canada stands in solidarity with the people of Myanmar and their desire for a peaceful, inclusive and democratic future.
We acknowledge and appreciate the central role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in responding to the crisis in Myanmar. Canada is ready to work with ASEAN to advance the swift implementation of the 5-point consensus. We urge the Tatmadaw to cooperate unconditionally and immediately with ASEAN and the UN..."
Source/publisher:
Global Affairs Canada
Date of publication:
2021-05-17
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Canada-Burma relations, Sanctions - general, ASEAN-Burma relations, Economic activities of the Myanmar Military, Business and the Military, Sanctions
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Description:
"Today I would like to express my most sincere thanks to the Government of the United Kingdom for designating Myanmar Gems Enterprise (MGE) with strict sanctions as a company that is directly supporting the killing of innocent civilians by supplying huge revenue streams to the terrorist regime forces.
I would also like to reiterate my sincere thanks to the People, Parliament and Government of the United Kingdom for standing in solidarity and being a strong voice for the people of Myanmar. I also want to express my gratitude for the efforts of the UK on coordinating targeted sanctions against key tatmadaw personnel, tatmadaw
linked companies and enterprises such as MEC and MEHL, and for providing extra funding to the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar. Additionally, I would like to further thank the UK government for taking a strong leadership role in the UN and G7 summits on behalf of the people of Myanmar, and for the recognition
of CRPH and NUG as important voices of many in this nation.
The UK has announced additional measures targeting the Myanmar regime today (17 May), with new sanctions imposed against Myanmar Gems Enterprise (MGE). These latest sanctions aim to cut off a key source of funding for the military junta, which is responsible for serious human rights violations against the people of Myanmar, including the killing of children. Foreign Secretary of UK, Dominic Raab, said:
“The military junta in Myanmar continues to crush democracy and attack its own people with brutal ferocity. We are working with our allies to impose sanctions that hit the junta’s access to finance, and deliver a return to democracy.” The asset freeze imposed by the sanctions prevents anyone from dealing with funds
or economic resources which are owned or controlled by MGE and held in the UK. It also blocks others from providing funds or economic resources to MGE..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-05-17
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, UK-Burma relations, Economic activities of the Myanmar Military, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Gems - mining and trade, Gems, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, National Unity Government (NUG)
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"Today I would like to express my most sincere thanks to the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control for designating 16 individuals and one entity (the 'SAC') with strict sanctions who are supporting the killing of innocent
civilians nationwide, most recently in Mindat, Chin State.
I would also like to reiterate my sincere thanks to the People and Government of the United States of America for standing in solidarity and being a strong voice for the people of Myanmar. I also want to express my gratitude for the efforts of the U.S. on
coordinating targeted sanctions against key tatmadaw personnel, tatmadaw linked companies and enterprises such as MEC, MGE and MEHL. Additionally, I would like to further thank the United States government for taking a strong leadership role in
the UN and G7 summits on behalf of the people of Myanmar, and for the recognition of CRPH and NUG as important voices of many in this nation. The official press release is as follows:
"WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 16 individuals and one entity connected to Burma’s military regime. Thirteen of the individuals sanctioned today are key members of Burma’s military
regime, which is violently repressing the pro-democracy movement in the country and is responsible for the ongoing violent and lethal attacks against the people of Burma, including the killing of children. The other three individuals are adult children
of previously designated senior Burmese military officials. The entity is the State Administration Council (SAC), the body created by the military to support its unlawful overthrow of the democratically elected civilian government. These designations today are made pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14014, “Blocking Property with
Respect to the Situation in Burma.” These sanctions are not directed at the people of Burma. In concurrent actions, the U.K. and Canada also sanctioned persons and/or entities in relation to the on-going coup in Burma. “Burma’s military continues to commit human rights abuses and oppress the people of Burma. Today’s action demonstrates the United States' commitment to work with
our international partners to press the Burmese military and promote accountability for those responsible for the coup and ongoing violence," said Andrea Gacki, Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control. As a part of today’s action, the State Administrative Council (SAC) is designated for being a political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of the Government of Burma. The SAC, which is the official name of the military government in Burma, was
formed by Burma’s military on February 2, 2021. It is largely made up of military officials and led by Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, whom Treasury designated on February 11, 2021 pursuant to E.O. 14014. The following four individuals are designated pursuant to E.O. 14014 for being foreign persons who are or were leaders or officials of the Government of Burma on or after
February 2, 2021: Mahn Nyein Maung is a member of the SAC;
Thein Nyunt is a member of the SAC; • Sai Lone Saing is a member of the SAC; and Khin Maung Swe is a member of the SAC.
The following nine individuals, who are members of the military regime, are designated pursuant to E.0.14014 for being foreign persons who are or were leaders or officials of the Government of Burma on or after February 2, 2021: Ko Ko Hlaing is the Minister of International Cooperation; Tun Aung Myint is the Minister for Ethnic Affairs; • Tun Tun Naung is the Minister of Border Affairs;
• Than Nyein is the governor of the Central Bank of Burma;
• Pwint San is the Minister of Commerce; Win Shein is the Minister for Planning, Finance, and Industry; Thein Soe is the chairman of the military-appointed Union Election Commission, the regime’s electoral body; Thet Khaing Win is the Minister of Health and Sports; and
• Khin Maung Yi is the Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation. In addition to the individuals identified above, the following three individuals are designated pursuant to E.O. 14014 for being a spouse or adult child of a person
whose property and interests in property are blocked.
• Hein Htet is the adult child of SAC member General Maung Maung Kyaw, whom Treasury designated on February 22, 2021 pursuant to E.O. 14014; Kaung Htet is also an adult child of General Maung Maung Kyaw; and Yin Min Thu is the adult child of SAC member Admiral Tin Aung San, whom Treasury designated on February 11, 2021 pursuant to E.O. 14014..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-05-18
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), USA-Burma relations, Sanctions - general, Economic activities of the Myanmar Military, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Chin State, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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72.93 KB
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Description:
"Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 16 individuals and one entity connected to Burma’s military regime.
Thirteen of the individuals sanctioned today are key members of Burma’s military regime, which is violently repressing the pro-democracy movement in the country and is responsible for the ongoing violent and lethal attacks against the people of Burma, including the killing of children. The other three individuals are adult children of previously designated senior Burmese military officials. The entity is the State Administration Council (SAC), the body created by the military to support its unlawful overthrow of the democratically elected civilian government. These designations today are made pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14014, “Blocking Property with Respect to the Situation in Burma.” These sanctions are not directed at the people of Burma. In concurrent actions, the U.K. and Canada also sanctioned persons and/or entities in relation to the on-going coup in Burma.
“Burma’s military continues to commit human rights abuses and oppress the people of Burma. Today’s action demonstrates the United States’ commitment to work with our international partners to press the Burmese military and promote accountability for those responsible for the coup and ongoing violence,” said Andrea Gacki, Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
As a part of today’s action, the State Administrative Council (SAC) is designated for being a political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of the Government of Burma. The SAC, which is the official name of the military government in Burma, was formed by Burma’s military on February 2, 2021. It is largely made up of military officials and led by Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, whom Treasury designated on February 11, 2021 pursuant to E.O. 14014.
The following four individuals are designated pursuant to E.O. 14014 for being foreign persons who are or were leaders or officials of the Government of Burma on or after February 2, 2021:
Mahn Nyein Maung is a member of the SAC;
Thein Nyunt is a member of the SAC;
Sai Lone Saing is a member of the SAC; and
Khin Maung Swe is a member of the SAC.
The following nine individuals, who are members of the military regime, are designated pursuant to E.O.14014 for being foreign persons who are or were leaders or officials of the Government of Burma on or after February 2, 2021:
Ko Ko Hlaing is the Minister of International Cooperation;
Tun Aung Myint is the Minister for Ethnic Affairs;
Tun Tun Naung is the Minister of Border Affairs;
Than Nyein is the governor of the Central Bank of Burma;
Pwint San is the Minister of Commerce;
Win Shein is the Minister for Planning, Finance, and Industry;
Thein Soe is the chairman of the military-appointed Union Election Commission, the regime’s electoral body;
Thet Khaing Win is the Minister of Health and Sports; and
Khin Maung Yi is the Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation.
In addition to the individuals identified above, the following three individuals are designated pursuant to E.O. 14014 for being a spouse or adult child of a person whose property and interests in property are blocked.
Hein Htet is the adult child of SAC member General Maung Maung Kyaw, whom Treasury designated on February 22, 2021 pursuant to E.O. 14014;
Kaung Htet is also an adult child of General Maung Maung Kyaw; and
Yin Min Thu is the adult child of SAC member Admiral Tin Aung San, whom Treasury designated on February 11, 2021 pursuant to E.O. 14014.
As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the persons named above that are in the United States, or in the possession or control of U.S. persons, are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.
Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or otherwise exempt, all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons are prohibited. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any blocked person or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person..."
Source/publisher:
United States Department of the Treasury (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-05-17
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
USA-Burma relations, Sanctions - general, Economic activities of the Myanmar Military, Business and the Military, Sanctions, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Description:
"Myanmar is on the brink of collapse. Its armed forces are continuing a brutal crackdown—arresting, torturing and killing protesters—as Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s de-facto leader, is detained. Our experts answer your questions..."
Source/publisher:
The Economist
Date of publication:
2021-05-11
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups, China-Burma-India relations, Russia-Burma relations, Sanctions - general, Political History, Economic activities of the Myanmar Military, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Spring Revolution
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Sub-title:
Dictatorship must be resisted, but that’s not enough. Solving the country’s economic crisis could transform society
Description:
"Myanmar is facing an economic and humanitarian disaster of epic proportions. There is an urgent need to protect the poorest and most vulnerable and provide assistance in a way that doesn’t entrench dictatorship. Equally important is to use this crisis to transform Myanmar’s incredibly unequal and singularly exploitative political economy. It’s the key to democratic change. It’s also the key to creating a fairer, as well as a freer and more prosperous, society.
The army’s coup d’état in February has been followed by strikes and protests, and intense repression. The army has not been able to consolidate its coup and has instead unwittingly unleashed revolutionary movements determined to end the military’s role in politics once and for all. Years of turbulence lie ahead.
Meanwhile, the economy has collapsed, with tens of millions of people descending fast into extreme poverty and the World Food Programme estimating that 3.4 million people will be unable to feed themselves properly within the next six months. The healthcare system has also collapsed, jeopardising the lives of many more, including the several hundred thousand people dependent on TB and HIV drugs and the 950,000 infants normally inoculated each year against measles, polio and other diseases. There is now next to no Covid-19 testing and no possibility of large-scale vaccination.
The proximate cause of the unfolding catastrophe is the coup and its aftermath but understanding the history of Myanmar’s political economy is critical for thinking about what may come next.
Myanmar’s economy under British rule was based on the immigration of Indian labourers and the export of primary commodities. After independence in 1948, politics was dominated by the left and efforts to overturn the colonial legacies. But in the late 1980s a new army junta ended the “Burmese way to socialism”, creating new markets, in particular around extractive industries tied to China’s industrial revolution next door. Taxation and social services were practically non-existent. Inequality skyrocketed and a mix of climate change and massive land confiscations drove millions to Thailand in search of work. In the uplands, alongside a patchwork of army battalions, militia and ethnic minority forces, were money-making networks far richer than even the men with guns, including a methamphetamine racket said by the UN to be worth billions.
The political reforms of the past 10 years were not accompanied by any structural change to the economy. The army took a big step back from business, and liberalisation led to more foreign competition as well as growth in a few sectors such as tourism, property and telecoms. A small middle class emerged but most Myanmar people continued to live on the edge of violence and extreme poverty, including the most vulnerable: upland farmers, landless villagers, new urban slum-dwellers, people of South Asian descent and other minorities. The ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya in 2017 was unmatched in scale and brutality. But the Myanmar state has long failed many of its peoples.
With the pandemic came an economic shock that sent an already fragile economy into a tailspin, the result of lockdowns and disruptions to foreign trade. The garment sector, the country’s one promising manufacturing industry, was brought to its knees. An international study last October found that income poverty (people making less than $1.90 (£1.36) a day) had risen from 16% to 63% of the population. There was almost no state support.
Now in the aftermath of the coup, the economy is at a virtual standstill. A general strike coupled with the army’s internet blockages have shut down much of the financial system, disrupting business and payroll payments worth the equivalent of billions of US dollars a month. With confidence plummeting and the central bank unwilling or unable to provide needed liquidity, families are hoarding as much cash as possible. It’s difficult to imagine how ordinary people will survive these coming months, especially the rural poor, most of whom are landless and entirely dependent on casual work.
However, the army regime is likely to survive any economic downturn because Myanmar’s system has never veered far from the one that grew up under past juntas and under the toughest possible western sanctions. The new businesses of the past decade, such as manufacturing, will wither, old ones, such as timber and mining, will gain renewed ground, and illicit ones in the uplands, from narcotics to money-laundering and wildlife trafficking will flourish in the protracted instability to come.
Whatever happens, the international priority should be to ensure that Myanmar’s poor and vulnerable communities are able to receive the assistance needed to stay alive, with special attention paid to children’s inoculations. But this must be done with political skill, so as not to undermine chances for the radical political changes to government that the vast majority of people desperately want.
Today’s revolutionary movements aim to cut revenues to the junta and are willing to pay a high economic cost. But a successful transition will come over years, not months, and it’s important to identify the economic landscape best suited for democratic change. Measures to weaken the junta that inadvertently strengthen the hand of transnational criminal networks may lead not to state collapse but a mutated political order, one that will take generations to unwind.
Dictatorship must be resisted but democracy is not enough. Over recent months, a new generation of leaders have come to the fore and many have rejected the ethno-nationalism at the heart of Myanmar politics, seeking fresh alliances across racial, ethnic and religious divides. This is not only welcome but essential for any future success. But there should also be a focus on issues of inequality and underdevelopment, protecting the vulnerable now, while reimagining and mobilising around a fairer political economy of tomorrow..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-05-15
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military, WFP (World Food Programme), Human Rights and international relations, Public Health, Anti-coup protesters, Economic History - general, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
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