Author: Simon Billenness

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Tell Secretary Blinken to recognize the genocide in Myanmar

Let’s hold the Myanmar military accountable.

Last week, we joined over 90 organizations calling on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to publicly determine that Myanmar has committed genocide and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya people. This is a crucial initiative to hold the Myanmar military accountable for its atrocities throughout the country.

Lead sponsored by Senator Ben Cardin and Rep. Gregory Meeks, the new Burma bill to be introduced shortly in Congress will, not only hold accountable the Myanmar military for its mass atrocities but also to provide much-needed humanitarian assistance directly to the Myanmar people. Now, let’s make the final push to get this bill introduced!

Even if you’ve sent a message before, click here today to urge your Members of Congress to co-sponsor the new Burma bill.

Later this month, we will mark the fourth anniversary of the Myanmar military’s worst crackdown on the Rohingya, a campaign that killed thousands and forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. It’s long past time for Secretary of State Antony Blinken to declare that the Rohingya are genocide victims.

Such a designation by the U.S. government will underpin the case for further US sanctions on the Myanmar military junta and assistance to Burmese civil society organizations. It would also improve the prospect for growing US recognition of the democratic and multi-ethnic National Unity Government of Myanmar.

Click here to join the thousands signing our petition to Secretary Blinken calling on him to recognize the Myanmar military’s genocide of the Rohingya.

Just one email or phone call from a constituent can make a difference. Your Members of Congress need to know that you want Congress to act. The people of Myanmar can’t wait any longer.

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Our challenge for the fall

Six short months ago, we witnessed the Myanmar military depose the civilian government in a coup d’etat. Using the same tactics that it used against the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities, the Burmese army has brutally cracked down on the new, young, and multi-ethnic Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM).

In response, we immediately swung into action. Just hours after the military coup, we launched petitions to the Biden Administration and Congress to impose tough and targeted sanctions on the military and support the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). We threw everything we had into building on our campaigns to end the Myanmar military’s genocide of the Rohingya and launch our broader Campaign for a New Myanmar.Click here to make a gift. Your support will us raise together the $50,000 we need to sustain our crucial advocacy work through year-end.
When the Myanmar people most needed help, you stepped up. Your collective voices have had a significant impact.

  • You put effective pressure on the White House. Since the coup, the U.S. Administration has been the leader worldwide in imposing further tough and targeted sanctions on the military and its business interests.
  • Congress heeds your voice. Thanks to thousands of your emails, phone calls, and meetings, Congress will soon introduce a comprehensive new “Burma bill” supporting the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) and further holding the military to account.
  • Your campaign of “citizen sanctions” forced companies to end partnerships with the Myanmar military. You successfully pressed Cartier, Western Union, and Kirin to end their business partnerships with the Myanmar military.Because of your pressure, oil giants Chevron and Total have suspended a portion of their payments to the military-controlled Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise.

This fall, let’s dig deep to support our work to hold the Myanmar military to account.
Your gift is crucial this fall as we further build our grassroots movement to end the atrocities and the repression of the Burmese army. Your support will fund our campaigns to:

  • lobby governments worldwide to impose sanctions on Burma’s generals and their business empire;
  • put consumer, shareholder, and media pressure on corporations – such as Facebook, Cloudflare, and Chevron – to end their business partnerships with Burma’s army;
  • organize students and faculty to press their campus to step up and join the movement to end genocide in Burma and throughout the world;
  • promote “end genocide” bills in cities and states globally.

Please make a gift of $30, $60, or $120 to help sustain and expand our vital work.

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Let’s build our movement for Myanmar

we can help Myanmar

If we work together, we can help the people of Myanmar

Just hours after the military coup in Myanmar, we stepped up and organized petitions to President Biden. Next week, we are helping to organize lobby days in Washington, DC, for the introduction of the new Burma Bills. We never let up in supporting Myanmar’s Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) in its struggle against the military junta.

Please give to build our campaigns to support Myanmar’s Civil Disobedience Movement.
With Myanmar at this crossroads, the Meah Family Foundation and the Louis Kraar Memorial Fund have pledged $20,000 to scale up our successful campaigns. They are challenging you to match or exceed their $20,000 gift. You’ve already stepped up with gifts of over $17,000. Would you help us raise the $3,000 we need to hit our match of $20,000 by the end of this month?

We are both humbled and inspired by how you have already built our movement. Together, we’ve effectively lobbied our governments to sanction Myanmar’s military and its business empire. We’ve also put effective pressure on companies – such as Western Union, online jeweler Angara, and beer giant Kirin – to stop their flow of money to Burma’s army. Together, we have made it crystal clear: there can be no “business as usual” with Myanmar’s military dictators.

Now, more than ever, we must dig deep to support our work to hold the Myanmar military to account.

Your gift will build our grassroots movement to end the atrocities and the repression of the Burmese army. Your support will fund our campaigns to:

  • lobby governments worldwide to impose sanctions on Burma’s generals and their business empire;
  • put consumer, shareholder, and media pressure on corporations – such as Facebook, Cloudflare, and Chevron – to end their business partnerships with Burma’s army;
  • organize students and faculty to press their campus to step up and join the movement to end genocide in Burma and throughout the world;
  • promote “end genocide” bills in cities and states globally.

Please make a gift of $30, $60, or $120 to help sustain and expand our vital work.

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Can you join us in Washington to help Burma?

army chief declares himself prime minister

It’s time for us to demand that Congress introduce the new Burma Bill.

Currently being drafted by Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), the new Burma Bill would provide additional humanitarian assistance and support for the Myanmar people and further hold accountable the Myanmar military.

Now, let’s make the final push to get this bill introduced!  We are working with several of our partners to organize lobby days in Washington, DC, on August 5th and 6th. These days will be capped by a march from the White House to the Capitol Building on Saturday, August 7th.

Click here to sign up for our lobby days and rally in Washington, DC.

After the lobby meetings on August 5th and 6th, activists from around the country will meet up on August 7th to march from the White House to the Capitol Building in Washington, DC.

August 7th Schedule

  • 1 pm, LaFayette Plaza (across from the White House, 16th Street, NW and Pennsylvania Ave, NW)
  • 3:30 pm, The Capitol Building (Between Madison Dr, NW and Jefferson Drive, SW — the National Mall)

Can’t make it to Washington, DC?

Not everyone can travel next month. If you can’t come to DC, you can always email your Members of Congress directly at any time with this simple link. Every email makes a difference. Senators and Congresspeople do listen to their constituents. So please reach out.

Click this link to email your Members of Congress to urge them to support and co-sponsor the new Burma Bill..

Please also share with your friends this short link to the action: http://bit.ly/sign-burma-bill

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email: [email protected]

You can find more information about the Burma Bill here. Congress needs to produce and pass the Burma Bill – Campaign for a New Myanmar

If you can help us continue our work, please check this out.

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Military is Letting Covid Ravage Myanmar

covid

The third – and thus far most serious – wave of Covid is hitting Myanmar hard. Hospitals have reached maximum capacity. At military hospitals, staff are turning away civilians under orders to limit treatment to military personnel and their relatives. As Progressive Voice reports:

“Ultimately, the root cause of all these human rights and humanitarian catastrophes is the military junta’s insatiable lust for power at all costs, including letting the people of Myanmar perish from COVID-19 as collateral damage to their ends. This is another impasse which requires the international community’s emergency response.”

Again and again, the military junta has proved itself to be illegitimate, brutal, corrupt, and incompetent. We need the international communuty to not only to hold accountable the Myanmar military, but also to provide humanitarian assistance directly to the Myanmar people. It is also time for the world to recognize instead the National Unity Government of Myanmar.

Thank you for signing our petition to President Biden urging that the US recognize the National Unity Government of Myanmar. Would you share the petition with your friends and family?

To share the petition urging the US to recognize the NUG, you can simply copy and paste the following message. You can also personalise the message as you wish. Email, text, and post this message on your social media.

Please join me in signing this petition urging that President Biden recognize the civilian National Unity Goverment of Myanmar. It’s vital that we support democracy and human rights in Myanmar following the military coup. Just click this link to sign: https://bit.ly/usa4nug

The NUG is made up of elected representatives, ethnic minority leaders, and prominent members of civil society. It was created to formalize and continue to fight for the profound changes that are happening in Myanmar. The NUG has vowed to abolish the 1982 citizenship law that has been the basis for excluding the Rohingya. It has also promised to abolish the 2008 constitution which grants the military vast powers.

To succeed, the NUG, however, needs recognition and access to the resources. This is why recognition from the U.S. government is so crucial to its success. For the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) in Myanmar to be successful, the world must recognize the NUG as the legitimate representative of the Myanmar people.

So please share our petition widely. Let’s build the movement of people worldwide taking action to support democracy and human rights in Myanmar. Thank you so much,

ps. Your gifts will help us keep building the campaigns and tools that we need to take effective action together. Please click here to make a gift of $30, $60, $120, $250, or more.

For Further Reading:

“Why the Biden administration should recognize Myanmar’s shadow government,”by Michael Haack and SiuSue Mark, Washington Post, 15 July 2021

National Unity Government– official website (English)

“Why the National Unity Government’s Statement on Myanmar’s Rohingya Is Important,” by Angshuman Choudhury, The Diplomat, 9 June 2021

Follow the up-to-the-minute news on Twitter using these hashags: #CivilDisobedienceMovement #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar #JusticeForMyanmar

Subscribe to Frontier Myanmar’s excellent daily coverage from inside the country.

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This Ramadan, let’s support the Rohingya

ramadan

This Ramadan, we ask that you turn your support into a gift that helps amplify the voices of the Rohingya worldwide.

We’re proud that the board, staff, and supporters of the International Campaign for the Rohingya include people of all faiths. We also have a deep appreciation for the strong support of the Rohingya among Muslim communities worldwide. This Ramadan, we hope you will help us continue our important work.

Two donors, the Meah Family Foundation and the Louis Kraar Memorial Fund, have generously given to scale up our successful work. They are asking you to match or exceed their $20,000 gift.

This Emergency Challenge Fund For a New Myanmar will build up our successful campaigns to hold the Myanmar military accountable for its genocide against the Rohingya and its other atrocities.

The International Campaign for the Rohingya is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and its EIN is 81-4234076. Your gift is tax-deductible as a charitable contribution.  To donate, you can click here.

If you are available on April 28 at 7:00 pm EDT, we are holding our first Iftar event. You can learn more about that here.

You may also mail a check to:

International Campaign for the Rohingya
PO Box 48698
Washington, DC 20002-0698

Send us a PayPal payment to: [email protected]