Media Release from Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK

For Immediate Release: 22nd June 2021

BROUK Welcomes New Round of Sanctions by EU and UK

BROUK welcomes new sanctions announced by the EU and the UK on the 21st June, targeting more financial interests of the Myanmar military as well as individuals with links to the military dictatorship.

“It is of outmost importance that the international community keeps the pressure on the Myanmar military,” said Tun Khin, President of BROUK. “Rohingya, as genocide survivors, stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Myanmar protesting the illegal military regime, and the international community must do all they can to support Myanmar’s struggle for true federal democracy.”

The EU announced sanctions on Myanmar Gems Enterprise (MGE), Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE), Forest Products Joint Venture Corporation Limited, The Myanmar War Veterans Organisation (MWVO) as well as asset freezes and travel bans on 8 individual connected to the military dictatorship. The UK announced sanctions on Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE), Myanmar Pearl Enterprise (MPE) and the State Administrative Council (SAC), which has been appointed by the military to run the administration of the country under the dictatorship. 

“Now we need to see the international community sanction the vast gas and oil revenues, particularly the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) with its $1 billion annual revenue going straight to the pockets of the military, funding their killing of civilians,” said Tun Khin. 

BROUK also called for stronger international action to hold the Myanmar military to account, including for support for a referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and for countries, including the UK, to formally join the ICJ Rohingya genocide case at the Hague.

“We see so many tactics that were used against the Rohingya in 2017 being used on other ethnic groups now: the burning of whole villages, the looting, the arbitrary arrests, tortures and killings. The military keeps committing the same crimes because they keep getting away with it,” said Tun Khin. “Once and for all, the international community must address this impunity and bring these perpetrators to justice.”

The EU Sanctions: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2021/06/21/myanmar-burma-third-round-of-eu-sanctions-over-the-military-coup-and-subsequent-repression/

The UK Sanctions: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-announces-further-sanctions-on-companies-linked-to-myanmars-military-regime

For more information, please contact Tun Khin +44 (0)7888714866.