Category: Blog

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Interfaith Iftar Against Business as Usual

iftar

This is our first Iftar event and we’d love you to join us.

Please join us for prayers and a panel discussion with Imam Catovic from GreenFaith, Alan Senauke from Engaged Buddhists, Jan Jan Maran from STAND and Simon Billenness from the International Campaign for the Rohingya.

This is an online event so you can join us from anywhere. Click here to join us.

If you would like to help us continue our work to help the Rohingya, please consider making a donation by going here. You can learn more about our emergency fund here.

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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]

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Tell Apparel Brands to Support the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) in Myanmar

For Immediate Release: 11 March 2021

Apparel Brands Must Act to End Intimidation of Workers Engaged in the CDM in Myanmar

Today, 40 human and labor rights organizations published an open letter calling on the apparel brands sourcing from Myanmar to act to end the intimidation of workers engaged in peaceful pro-democracy protests as part of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM).

Apparel workers are the backbone of the CDM in Myanmar
The Myanmar Times

On February 1st, the military executed a coup against the elected civilian government. In response, people of all walks of life in Myanmar have risen up in the new Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). Garment workers have played a central role in the CDM’s recent pro-democracy protests and, on March 8th, 2021, they launched a general strike.

However, workers who participate in or show support for CDM protests are being intimidated, threatened and, in some cases, laid off by factory management. Intimidation includes workplace discrimination, detracting salary from workers who take holiday leave to participate in the protests, and threats of mass dismissals. This compounds a deteriorating situation where the military is shooting protesters and raiding worker dormitories at night in search of union leaders.

In a 14 February letter, the Industrial Workers Federation Myanmar made four demands to international brands with Myanmar suppliers, including a public condemnation of the military coup and an effort to ensure that no worker or union leaders should be punished for going on strike or joining the demonstrations. Another letter, dated 18 February, asks brands to exercise due diligence to ensure that their suppliers respect their workers’ right to freedom of association, right to join trade union activities, and other fundamental human and labor rights.

“We are being shot in the streets during the day. Our homes are being raided at night. We have made the global apparel brands huge profits with our bare hands over the years, the very least they should do right now is ensure we are not fired simply for wishing not to live under a military dictatorship. Amidst such an undisputed human rights travesty, their silence thus far is appalling,” stated Ma Moe Sandar Myint, Chairwoman of the Federation of General Workers of Myanmar (FGWM).

“We call on all international brands sourcing from Myanmar factories to both respect and comply with the call by the Industrial Workers Federation Myanmar and Federation of Garment Workers Myanmar,” stated Simon Billenness, Executive Director of the International Campaign for the Rohingya.

High-profile global brands such as Adidas, Lidl, and Zara (Inditex) produce apparel in Myanmar factories, but none have issued a public statement explicitly demanding that no workers producing their goods be dismissed for participation in the pro-democracy demonstrations. A recent investigation by Frontier, Danwatch, and Myanmar Now found evidence of discrimination against labor leaders and violations of basic labor standards at garment factories across Yangon supplying major apparel brands.

In their open letter, the 40 labor and human rights organizations state:

“We further call on these brands to exhibit rigorous due diligence in instructing the owners and management of the factories, from which they source, to comply fully with the brands’ standards for the rights of workers who make their apparel. These instructions must include a prohibition of any intimidation by management of workers who miss work due to participation in the civil disobedience campaign. Such instruction must be accompanied by a warning that the brands will terminate their contracts with factories that violate this requirement. We will be closely monitoring the situation in Myanmar. We reserve our right to take all appropriate action in support of workers as they assert their rights both as workers and as citizens of Myanmar.”

For more information contact:

Simon Billenness

Executive Director, International Campaign for the Rohingya

Campaign Director, No Business With Genocide

Mobile (US): 617-596-6158

Twitter: @Rohingya_ICR

[email protected]

www.rohingyacampaign.org

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Open Letter to Apparel Brands Sourcing From Myanmar: Ensure Protection of Worker Rights

We write to you as brands that have ramped up sourcing from Myanmar over the past ten years. That decade has seen huge steps forward for both international business and workers’ rights in Myanmar. In particular, we appreciate the efforts of brands to promote workers’ rights standards that include the promotion of workplace health and safety, the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex, ethnicity and political opinion, and respect for the right to organize unions and engage in collective bargaining.

The Solidarity Center

On February 1st, the military executed a coup against the elected civilian government. In response, people of all walks of life in Myanmar have risen up in a new Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). As part of this opposition to military rule, workers are launching a general strike.

Garment workers have played a central role in the CDM’s recent pro-democracy protests and opposition to the military coup. However, workers who participate in or show support for CDM protests are being intimidated, threatened and, in some cases, laid off by factory management. Intimidation includes workplace discrimination, detracting salary from workers who take holiday leave to participate in the protests, and threats of mass dismissals. This compounds a deteriorating situation where the military is shooting protesters and raiding worker dormitories at night in search of union leaders.

Myanmar garment workers are asking international brands that source from the country to issue a public, and preferably collective, declaration in support of the workers who make their products. We believe that such a public communication from every international brand would dramatically reduce the intimidation and retaliation from factory owners.

As Ma Moe Sandar Myint, chairwoman of the Federation of Garment Workers of Myanmar, has stated: “This is the time for brands to help the workers of Myanmar, because workers and our country need democracy.”

In a 14 February letter, the Industrial Workers Federation Myanmar made four demands to international brands with Myanmar suppliers, including a public condemnation of the military coup and an effort to ensure that no worker or union leaders should be punished for going on strike or joining the demonstrations. Another letter, dated 18 February, asks brands to exercise due diligence to ensure that their suppliers respect their workers’ right to freedom of association, right to join trade union activities, and other fundamental human and labor rights.

We call on all international brands sourcing from Myanmar factories to both respect and comply with the call by the Industrial Workers Federation Myanmar and Federation of Garment Workers Myanmar.

We further call on these brands to exhibit rigorous due diligence in instructing the owners and management of the factories, from which they source, to comply fully with the brands’ standards for the rights of workers who make their apparel. These instructions must include a prohibition of any intimidation by management of workers who miss work due to participation in the civil disobedience campaign. Such instruction must be accompanied by a warning that the brands will terminate their contracts with factories that violate this requirement.

We will be closely monitoring the situation in Myanmar. We reserve our right to take all appropriate action in support of workers as they assert their rights both as workers and as citizens of Myanmar.

Signed

Arakan Rohingya Union

Association Suisse-Birmanie

Be Slavery Free

Burma Action Ireland

Burma Campaign UK

Burmese Rohingya Community in Denmark (BRCD)

Burmese Rohingya Association in Japan ( BRAJ )

The Burmese Rohingya Association North America

Citizen Power Initiatives for China

CodePink

Crane Center for Mass Atrocity Prevention

Dana Investment Advisors

Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids

For All

Fund Our Future

Global Movement for Myanmar Democracy

Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition

Harrington Investments, Inc

Heartland Initiative 

Karen Organization of America

Human Rights Watch

IFI Watch Myanmar

Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility

International Campaign for the Rohingya

Maryknoll Sisters

Maven Women

Mercy Investment Services, Inc.

Missionary Oblates/OIP Trust

Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies

Never Again Coalition

No Business With Genocide

Nonviolence International

Partners Relief & Development UK

The PLAN: Public Legal Aid Network

Project Maje

Responsible Sourcing Network

SharePower Responsible Investing

Sisters of St. Dominic of Caldwell, NJ

The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia

Solidarity Center

Workers Rights Consortium

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TikTok; Tool to Threaten, Target, and Terrorize

By Alyson Chadwick

About 800 million people around the world use TikTok, the video sharing app. If you are unfamiliar with it, think YouTube for super short video. The vast majority of the content posted there is innocuous and fun. What can be so bad about such an app? If what’s happening in Myanmar is any indication, a lot. It has become the go-to app to threaten and peaceful protesters. This is how members of the military and police are using it these days.

According to Reuters:

Andalou Agency/Getty Images

One video from late February reviewed by Reuters shows a man in army fatigues aiming an assault rifle at the camera and addressing protesters: “I will shoot in your fucking faces… and I’m using real bullets. I am going to patrol the whole city tonight and I will shoot whoever I see… If you want to become a martyr, I will fulfil your wish.”

If that was said in other countries, it may just be written off as just bravado but that assumption can’t be made here. Thirty-eight protesters were murdered by security forces. They were all unarmed. When TikTok was reached for a comment about how their service is being used to terrify and threaten people, they responded,

“The promotion of hate and violence has absolutely no place on our platform. We are aggressively removing content in Myanmar that violates our principles, and continue to monitor the situation.”

tiffany diep, Tiktok spokesperson

I sent a follow up question asking about whether they were considering doing more than remove any violent content but have not heard back. It is not enough to just take down videos that violate their policy. It has been estimated that one billion TikTok videos are watched each day. It is crazy to assume their current approach will be at all effective. The only approach that may make a difference is to ban the users who post threats.

What can you do to get TikTok to act? Let them know you want them to. Here are their social media sites as well as those of ByteDance, their parent company:

In normal situations, I do not support taking down an individual’s social media channels because I don’t like what they post but these are not normal situations. Even the Freedom of Speech has its limitations. If TikTok allows its platform to be used to terrorize people, it becomes complicit in that terror. We can make them stop. We have to make them stop.

Alyson Chadwick, Digital Campaign Strategist

For the International Campaign for the Rohingya: Simon Billenness, Debbie Stothard, Jack Rendler, J. Mark Brinkmoeller, Simran Stuelpnagel, Michael DeLong, Hannah Sussman, and Mike Haack.

And in the memory of our late co-founder and board chair emeritus, Joseph K. Grieboski.

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:

“Partial ban on military Facebook pages welcomed by Burma Campaign UK,” Burma Campaign UK, 25 February 2021

“Facebook has continued to fail Myanmar. Now its people have to pay the price.,” Media Matters, 25 February 2021

“Sanction Myanmar Military, Not Myanmar People,” Justice For Myanmar and Burma Campaign UK, 5 February 2021

“How to squeeze Myanmar’s military without hurting its people,” Southeast Asia Globe, 12 February 2021

“Who Profits From a Coup? The Power and Greed of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing,” Justice For Myanmar, January 2021

“Dirty List” of companies doing business with the Myanmar military, Burma Campaign UK

“Military Ltd,” Amnesty International, September 2020

“Will Myanmar’s ‘Genocide Gems’ Become the New Blood Diamonds?,” BusinessWeek,  October 17, 2018

“No Genocide Gems! Burmese Military Takes a Hit From Citizens Sanctions,” International Campaign for the Rohingya blog

“Cloudflare must terminate its services for the Myanmar military,” International Campaign for the Rohingya and Burma Campaign UK, 8 February 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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Dozens killed today: what you can do for the Myanmar people

The videos coming out of Myanmar today are horrific. There’s evidence that the military killed dozens of peaceful protesters, including at least one person in a close-range execution. Reports are that the security forces killed dozens of people in the worst daily atrocity since the military coup.

The brave young people of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) are demanding an end to military rule. They are leading a boycott of all military owned businesses. Let’s back up their call to us to impose tough and targeted sanctions on the military, including its business empire.

Your actions work. Using our power as consumers, we have already forced both Western Union and Japanese beer giant Kirin to end their partnerships with the Myanmar military. So let’s all take four actions today to end corporate collaboration with the security forces.

Action #1: End the Myanmar military’s trade in #GenocideGems

Tell luxury jeweller Harry Winston (owned by Swatch) to stop selling jewellery with Burmese #GenocideGems.

Myanmar produces more than 90% of the world’s rubies and jade. The Myanmar military’s extensive commercial interests in gemstone extraction and trade mean that the military profits when high-end jewelry retailers – like Harry Winston (owned by Swatch) – buy Burmese gems for their collections.

Would you also help us track down the jewelers who are selling gems from Burma? Search online for jewelers who are selling Burmese rubies or jade. If you find on sale, jewelry containing rubies or sapphires labeled as Burmese or from Myanmar, email us a tip at [email protected]

Action #2: Stop the flow of oil and gas money to the military

Sign – and share – our petition demanding that Chevron stop bankrolling the Myanmar military.

As Myanmar’s generals look for revenues to prop up their new dictatorship following the February 1 coup, there’s one source of money they can count on: natural gas projects backed by foreign investors including Chevron of the US, France’s Total, South Korea’s Posco, China’s CNOOC, Australia’s Woodbridge, and Malaysia’s Petronas.

The Myanmar regime earns close to US$1 billion a year from natural gas sales.Much of this money is not paid directly from oil companies to the government. It flows through Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), a state-owned enterprise with deep links to the military’s business empire. Alarmingly, the military coup places MOGE and the rest of the government under direct military control.

Action #3: Demand Cloudflare Stop Protecting the Military

Sign our petition to demand that Cloudflare stop protecting military websites.

Cloudflare provides website services for the military-controlled Ministry of Home Affairs and Myanmar police force. Cloudflare protects and shields the websites of the security forces that are attacking, injuring, and killing young people peacefully protesting on the streets.

Action #4: Demand that Facebook completely ban the Myanmar military

Facebook still lets the military use Facebook to promote its companies and products. 

The military’s profits from its business empire help fund the Burmese army’s march towards its genocide of the Rohingya and its atrocities against the Kachin, Shan, Karen, and other ethnic minorities in Myanmar.

Action #5. Make a gift to build our movementWe can and must build our pressure on Myanmar’s military. Your actions have moved your governments to pass tough sanctions and successfully pressed companies, such as Facebook, Western Union, online jeweler Angara, and Kirin Brewing, to end their business partnerships with the Burmese military.

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.

Together, we can build our movement to end the Myanmar military’s corrupt and brutal rule.Thank you so much,

Simon Billenness, Executive Director

For the International Campaign for the Rohingya: Debbie Stothard, Jack Rendler, J. Mark Brinkmoeller, Simran Stuelpnagel, Michael DeLong, Alyson Chadwick, and Hannah Sussman.

And in the memory of our late co-founder and board chair emeritus, Joseph K. Grieboski.

For Further Reading:

“Partial ban on military Facebook pages welcomed by Burma Campaign UK,” Burma Campaign UK, 25 February 2021

“Facebook has continued to fail Myanmar. Now its people have to pay the price.,” Media Matters, 25 February 2021

“Sanction Myanmar Military, Not Myanmar People,” Justice For Myanmar and Burma Campaign UK, 5 February 2021

“How to squeeze Myanmar’s military without hurting its people,” Southeast Asia Globe, 12 February 2021

“Who Profits From a Coup? The Power and Greed of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing,” Justice For Myanmar, January 2021

“Dirty List” of companies doing business with the Myanmar military, Burma Campaign UK

“Military Ltd,” Amnesty International, September 2020

“Will Myanmar’s ‘Genocide Gems’ Become the New Blood Diamonds?,” BusinessWeek,  October 17, 2018

“No Genocide Gems! Burmese Military Takes a Hit From Citizens Sanctions,” International Campaign for the Rohingya blog

“Cloudflare must terminate its services for the Myanmar military,” International Campaign for the Rohingya and Burma Campaign UK, 8 February 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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Two dead in Myanmar, murdered by the military

This is the deadly crackdown that we have feared. This morning, Myanmar troops fired on peaceful #CivilDisobedienceMovement protesters in Mandalay. Two people are reported dead, murdered by the military. The youngest was a 14 year old boy.

It is reported that the killers are from the 33rd division of the Burmese army. This division was involved in the Inn Dinn massacre and other atrocities against both the Rohingya and the Kachin. In August 2018, the US sanctioned the entire 33rd division for its war crimes. Very disturbingly, the army is now using troops, complicit in atrocities against ethnic minorities, against the Burman majority in the Myanmar heartlands.

We must respond fast to this atrocitiy and do whatever we can to end the military’s long brutal and corrupt rule in Burma. Will you take six actions today to help bring down and hold to account the Myanmar military?

Action #1: Stay Informed

Keep track of breaking news by following our Twitter: @rohingya_icr.  Follow the up-to-the-minute news using these hashags: #CivilDisobedienceMovement #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar #JusticeForMyanmar

Excellent coverage from inside Myanmar is also available daily from Frontier Myanmar. as long as the military allows them to stay open, read their website and sign up for their daily emails.

Action #2. Demand the U.S. enact tough sanctions on the Myanmar military

Click here to urge U.S. President Joe Biden impose further tough and targeted sanctions on the Myanmar military

If you have already signed the petition, share it with your friends worldwide. If so, please email, message, or text ten or more of your friends to ask them to join you. Send them this short link to the petition: http://bit.ly/BidenSanctionMyanmar

Action #3: Stop the flow of oil and gas money to the military

Sign – and share – our petition demanding that Chevron stop bankrolling the Myanmar military.

As Myanmar’s generals look for revenues to prop up their new dictatorship following the February 1 coup, there’s one source of money they can count on: natural gas projects backed by foreign investors including Chevron of the US, France’s Total, South Korea’s Posco, China’s CNOOC, Australia’s Woodbridge, and Malaysia’s Petronas. The Myanmar regime earns close to US$1 billion a year from natural gas sales.

Much of this money is not paid directly from oil companies to the government. It flows through Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), a state-owned enterprise with deep links to the military’s business empire. Alarmingly, the military coup places MOGE and the rest of the government under direct military control.

Action #4: End the Myanmar military’s trade in #GenocideGems

Tell luxury jeweller Harry Winston (owned by Swatch) to stop selling jewellery with Burmese #GenocideGems.

Myanmar produces more than 90% of the world’s rubies and jade. The Myanmar military’s extensive commercial interests in gemstone extraction and trade mean that the military profits when high-end jewelry retailers – like Harry Winston (owned by Swatch) – buy Burmese gems for their collections.

Would you also help us track down the jewelers who are selling gems from Burma? Search online for jewelers who are selling Burmese rubies or jade. If you find on sale, jewelry containing rubies or sapphires labeled as Burmese or from Myanmar, email us a tip at [email protected]

Action #5: Demand that Facebook ban the Myanmar military

Sign our petition telling Facebook to ban all accounts of the Myanmar military.

Facebook allows the Burmese military to use Facebook to spread hate speech, recruit soldiers, and build its lucrative business empire. The Myanmar military’s profits from its business empire help fund the Burmese army’s march towards its genocide of the Rohingya and its atrocities against the Kachin, Shan, Karen, and other ethnic minorities in Myanmar.

Action #6. Make a gift to build our movement

We can and must build our pressure on Myanmar’s military. Your actions have moved your governments to pass tough sanctions and successfully pressed companies, such as Western Union, online jeweler Angara, and Kirin Brewing, to end their business partnerships with the Burmese military.

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.

Together, we can build our movement to end the Myanmar military’s corrupt and brutal rule.Thank you so much,

Simon Billenness, Executive Director

For the International Campaign for the Rohingya: Debbie Stothard, Jack Rendler, J. Mark Brinkmoeller, Joseph K. Grieboski, Simran Stuelpnagel, Michael DeLong, and Alyson Chadwick.

For Further Reading:

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

“Sanction Myanmar Military, Not Myanmar People,” Justice For Myanmar and Burma Campaign UK, 5 February 2021

“How to squeeze Myanmar’s military without hurting its people,” Southeast Asia Globe, 12 February 2021

“Who Profits From a Coup? The Power and Greed of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing,” Justice For Myanmar, January 2021

“Dirty List” of companies doing business with the Myanmar military, Burma Campaign UK

“Military Ltd,” Amnesty International, September 2020

“Will Myanmar’s ‘Genocide Gems’ Become the New Blood Diamonds?,” BusinessWeek,  October 17, 2018

“No Genocide Gems! Burmese Military Takes a Hit From Citizens Sanctions,” International Campaign for the Rohingya blog

“Time for Facebook to kick Burma military off Facebook,” Burma Campaign UK, 16 February 2021

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Let’s be the Myanmar military’s worst nightmare

We are the Myanmar military’s worst nightmare. We are a growing united front, led by the brave young people of #CivilDisobedienceMovement on the streets in Myanmar. We include people of every ethnicity and every religion in Myanmar. And we also comprise the supporters of the peoples of Myanmar around the world, taking action in solidarity with their struggle for democracy and human rights.

We are the global movement that can end the Myanmar military’s long brutal and corrupt rule in Burma. Will you take six actions today to help bring down and hold to account the Myanmar military?

Action #1: Stay Informed

Keep track of breaking news in Myanmar by following our Twitter: @rohingya_icr. Follow the news from inside Myanmar on Twitter using these hashags: #CivilDisobedienceMovement #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar #JusticeForMyanmar

Excellent coverage from inside Myanmar is available daily from Frontier Myanmar. As long as the military allows them to stay open, read their website and sign up for their daily emails.

Action #2. Demand the U.S. enact tough sanctions on the Myanmar military

Click here to urge U.S. President Joe Biden impose further tough and targeted sanctions on the Myanmar military.

If you have already signed the petition, share it with your friends worldwide. If so, please email, message, or text ten or more of your friends to ask them to join you. Send them this short link to the petition: http://bit.ly/BidenSanctionMyanmar

Action #3: Stop the flow of oil and gas money to the military

Sign – and share – our petition demanding that Chevron stop bankrolling the Myanmar military.

As Myanmar’s generals look for revenues to prop up their new dictatorship following the February 1 coup, there’s one source of money they can count on: natural gas projects backed by foreign investors including Chevron of the US, France’s Total, South Korea’s Posco, China’s CNOOC, Australia’s Woodbridge, and Malaysia’s Petronas. The Myanmar regime earns close to US$1 billion a year from natural gas sales.

Much of this money is not paid directly from oil companies to the government. It flows through Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), a state-owned enterprise with deep links to the military’s business empire. Alarmingly, the military coup places MOGE and the rest of the government under direct military control.

Action #4: End the Myanmar military’s trade in #GenocideGems

Tell luxury jeweller Harry Winston (owned by Swatch) to stop selling jewellery with Burmese #GenocideGems.

Myanmar produces more than 90% of the world’s rubies and jade. The Myanmar military’s extensive commercial interests in gemstone extraction and trade mean that the military profits when high-end jewelry retailers – like Harry Winston (owned by Swatch) – buy Burmese gems for their collections.

Would you also help us track down the jewelers who are selling gems from Burma? Search online for jewelers who are selling Burmese rubies or jade. If you find on sale, jewelry containing rubies or sapphires labeled as Burmese or from Myanmar, email us a tip at [email protected]

Action #5: Demand that Facebook ban the Myanmar military

Sign our petition telling Facebook to ban all accounts of the Myanmar military.

Facebook allows the Burmese military to use Facebook to spread hate speech, recruit soldiers, and build its lucrative business empire. The Myanmar military’s profits from its business empire help fund the Burmese army’s march towards its genocide of the Rohingya and its atrocities against the Kachin, Shan, Karen, and other ethnic minorities in Myanmar.

Action #6. Make a gift to build our movement

We can and must build our pressure on Myanmar’s military. Your actions have moved your governments to pass tough sanctions and successfully pressed companies, such as Western Union, online jeweler Angara, and Kirin Brewing, to end their business partnerships with the Burmese military.

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.

Together, we can build our movement to end the Myanmar military’s corrupt and brutal rule.

Simon Billenness, Executive Director

For the International Campaign for the Rohingya: Debbie Stothard, Jack Rendler, J. Mark Brinkmoeller, Joseph K. Grieboski, Simran Stuelpnagel, Michael DeLong, and Alyson Chadwick.

For Further Reading:

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

“Sanction Myanmar Military, Not Myanmar People,” Justice For Myanmar and Burma Campaign UK, 5 February 2021

“How to squeeze Myanmar’s military without hurting its people,” Southeast Asia Globe, 12 February 2021

“Who Profits From a Coup? The Power and Greed of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing,” Justice For Myanmar, January 2021

“Dirty List” of companies doing business with the Myanmar military, Burma Campaign UK

“Military Ltd,” Amnesty International, September 2020

“Will Myanmar’s ‘Genocide Gems’ Become the New Blood Diamonds?,” BusinessWeek,  October 17, 2018

“No Genocide Gems! Burmese Military Takes a Hit From Citizens Sanctions,” International Campaign for the Rohingya blog

“Time for Facebook to kick Burma military off Facebook,” Burma Campaign UK, 16 February 2021

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Myanmar military cracks down; what you can do.

It’s night in Myanmar now and the military is cracking down violently. In Myitkyina in Kachin State, soldiers have fired on pro-democracy protesters. All over Myanmar, the military has shut down the Internet and deployed armored vehicles apparently for use in mass arrests.

Today, please strike back at this military crackdown by taking the following five actions.

Action #1: Stay Informed

Keep track of breaking news in Myanmar by following our Twitter: @rohingya_icr.  Follow the news from inside Myanmar on Twitter using these hashags: #CivilDisobedienceMovement #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar #JusticeForMyanmar

Excellent coverage from inside Myanmar is also available daily from Frontier Myanmar. Read their website and sign up for their daily emails as long as the military allows them to stay open.

Action #2. Lobby Your Government

Wherever you live, please demand that the U.S. Administration step up its tough and targeted sanctions on the Myanmar military.

Click here to urge U.S. President Joe Biden impose further tough and targeted sanctions on the Myanmar military.

If you have already signed the petition, share it with your friends worldwide. If so, please email, message, or text ten or more of your friends to ask them to join you. Send them this short link to the petition: http://bit.ly/BidenSanctionMyanmar

Action #3: Stop the flow of oil and gas money to the military

We join Justice For Myanmar in calling for all corporations to immediately stop bankrolling the Myanmar military. The people of Myanmar have mobilized against the dictatorship through a national campaign of civil disobedience and boycotts against military-owned companies. We must back up the peoples of Myanmar in their struggle.

Sign – and share – our petition demanding that Chevron stop bankrolling the Myanmar military.

As Myanmar’s generals look for revenues to prop up their new dictatorship following the February 1 coup, there’s one source of money they can count on: natural gas projects backed by foreign investors including Chevron, France’s Total, South Korea’s Posco, China’s CNOOC, Australia’s Woodbridge, and Malaysia’s Petronas. The Myanmar regime earns close to US$1 billion a year from natural gas sales.

Much of this money is not paid directly from oil companies to the government. It flows through Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), a state-owned enterprise with deep links to the military’s business empire. Alarmingly, the recent military coup places MOGE and the rest of the government under direct military control.

Action #4: End the Myanmar military’s trade in #GenocideGems

Tell luxury jeweller Harry Winston (owned by Swatch) to stop selling jewellery with Burmese #GenocideGems.

For decades, Myanmar’s military has committed numerous war crimes against ethnic minorities in Burma including the Karen, Shan, and Kachin. The military has systematically burned down villages, gang-raped women and girls, and killed those who resist. Moreover, Myanmar now stands at the International Court of Justice on charges of genocide against the Rohingya. Together, we can demand that Jewellery retailers, such as Harry Winston, stop buying Burmese gems that help fund the military’s atrocities against the peoples of Myanmar.

Myanmar produces more than 90% of the world’s rubies and jade, and these stones command the highest prices on the international market. The military dominates the gemstone industry in Myanmar. Its extensive commercial interests in gemstone extraction and trade mean that the military profits when high-end jewelry retailers – like Harry Winston (owned by Swatch) – buy Burmese gems for their collections.

Action #5. Make a gift to build our movement

We can and must build our pressure on Myanmar’s military. Your actions have moved your governments to pass tough sanctions and successfully pressed companies, such as Western Union, online jeweler Angara, and Kirin Brewing, to end their business partnerships with the Burmese military.

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.

Together, we can build our movement to end the Myanmar military’s corrupt and brutal rule.Thank you so much,Simon Billenness, Executive Director

For the International Campaign for the Rohingya: Debbie Stothard, Jack Rendler, J. Mark Brinkmoeller, Joseph K. Grieboski, Simran Stuelpnagel, Michael DeLong, and Alyson Chadwick.

For Further Reading:

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

“Sanction Myanmar Military, Not Myanmar People,” Justice For Myanmar and Burma Campaign UK, 5 February 2021

“How to squeeze Myanmar’s military without hurting its people,” Southeast Asia Globe, 12 February 2021

“Who Profits From a Coup? The Power and Greed of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing,” Justice For Myanmar, January 2021

“Dirty List” of companies doing business with the Myanmar military, Burma Campaign UK

“Military Ltd,” Amnesty International, September 2020

“Will Myanmar’s ‘Genocide Gems’ Become the New Blood Diamonds?,” BusinessWeek,  October 17, 2018

“No Genocide Gems! Burmese Military Takes a Hit From Citizens Sanctions,” International Campaign for the Rohingya blog

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No Valentine’s Day for Harry Winston and Swatch

Tomorow is Valentine’s Day. It’s the biggest day for gifts of jewelry second only to Christmas. This weekend, let’s send a strong message to luxury jeweler Harry Winston, and its owner Swatch, to stop selling Burmese gems that profit Myanmar’s military.

Sign our petition to Harry Winston demanding that it stop supporting the Myanmar military.

For decades, Myanmar’s military has systematically burned down villages, gang-raped women and girls, and killed those who resist. This has been the Myanmar army’s brutal strategy of atrocities against ethnic minorities, such as the Kachin, Karen, and Shan as well as the military’s genocide against the Rohingya. Together, we can demand that Jewellery retailers, such as Harry Winston, stop buying Burmese gems that help fund the military’s atrocities against the peoples of Myanmar.

Myanmar produces more than 90% of the world’s rubies and jade, and these stones command the highest prices on the international market. The military dominates the gemstone industry in Myanmar. Its extensive commercial interests in gemstone extraction and trade mean that the military profits when high-end jewelry retailers – like Harry Winston (owned by Swatch) – buy Burmese gems for their collections.

Take action now to demand that Harry Winston stop selling Myanmar genocide gems.

We can make this Valentine’s Day weekend stand out for Harry Winston and Swatch. In addition to signing the petition, follow up by posting messages on the companies’ social media accounts.

Copy the message below and adapt it as you wish. Add it as a comment on posts showcasing jewelry or watches on the Facebook and Instagram pages of Harry Winston and Swatch.

I refuse to buy your brands while Harry Winston (owned by Swatch) buys #GenocideGems from Myanmar that profit the Burmese military and its atrocities against the peoples of Myanmar.

Read the truth about Harry Winston here. https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-harry-winston-stop-selling-burmese-genocide-gems

Harry Winston’s Facebook

Harry Winston’s Instagram

Swatch’s Facebook

Swatch’s Instagram

Don’t neglect to post similar comments on the companies’ LinkedIn page. Join us in telling the companies on their job postings why you would never work for a company that supports the Myanmar military.

Harry Winston’s LinkedIn

Swatch’s LinkedIn

We can and must build our pressure on Myanmar’s military. Your actions have moved your governments to pass tough sanctions and successfully pressed companies, such as Western Union, online jeweler Angara, and Kirin brewery, to end their business partnerships with the Burmese military.

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.

Together, we can build our movement to end the Myanmar military’s corrupt and brutal rule.

Thank you so much,

Simon Billenness, Executive Director

For the International Campaign for the Rohingya: Debbie Stothard, Jack Rendler, J. Mark Brinkmoeller, Joseph K. Grieboski, Simran Stuelpnagel, Michael DeLong, and Alyson Chadwick.

Harry Winston item featuring Burmese gems

Ruby and Diamond ring by Harry Winston

“A 20.25 carat oval-shaped Burmese ruby center stone with 28 round brilliant diamonds weighing a total of approximately 4.64 carats, set in platinum.”

For Further Reading:

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

“Will Myanmar’s ‘Genocide Gems’ Become the New Blood Diamonds?,” BusinessWeek,  October 17, 2018

“No Genocide Gems! Burmese Military Takes a Hit From Citizens Sanctions,” International Campaign for the Rohingya blog

“Sanction Myanmar Military, Not Myanmar People,” Justice For Myanmar and Burma Campaign UK, 5 February 2021

“Who Profits From a Coup? The Power and Greed of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing,” Justice For Myanmar, January 2021

“Dirty List” of companies doing business with the Myanmar military, Burma Campaign UK

“Military Ltd,” Amnesty International, September 2020