It’s now Day 6 of the #2121MyanmarCoup.
As I write this blog, I’m seeing on Twitter and Facebook video of brave Burmese citizens on the streets facing down Myanmar police and soldiers. In an attempt to quell the protests of this new #2121Generation, the Myanmar military is now shutting down the Internet and phone lines. The risk of a violent and brutal army crackdown is very real.
This is a very fluid and dangerous situation. Follow the news on social media with the hashtags: #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar #CivilDisobedienceMovement
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.
From here in Washington, DC, where International Campaign for the Rohingya is based, I have been convening meetings for Myanmar civil society leaders and their supporters worldwide to speak directly with top US government officials. We are pressing the US government – and governments around the world – to impose tough sanctions on the Myanmar military and its business empire.
Today, will you help the Burmese peoples currently in the streets in Myanmar in their struggle against the genocidal military oppressors? Will you join them in protesting this military coup and boycotting the Myanmar military’s business interests?
Demand that your government impose tough sanctions on the Myanmar military until it reverses its coup and restores the democratically elected civilian government. Click here to urge U.S. President Joe Biden impose tough sanctions on the Myanmar military.
Because of your emails and calls, the Biden Administration and the U.S. Congress are now considering what sanctions to impose on the Myanmar military for its coup against the civilian government.
Thanks to your actions, Kirin Brewing announced yesterday that it was ending its business partnerships with the Myanmar military. This is a clear success of your campaign of direct citizen sanctions on the Myanmar military’s business empire.
We stand in solidarity with the Burmese people. We join with Justice For Myanmar and Burma Campaign UK in calling for tough sanctions on the Myanmar military and not the Myanmar people.Please take action today to impose your own citizen sanctions on the Myanmar military through these following actions.
Demand Facebook remove all Myanmar military accounts from its platform.
According to Justice For Myanmar, the army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing may have executed this coup to protect his power and his financial interests. In June 2021, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is required to transfer power to a new Commander-in-Chief. Min Aung Hlaing and his family have a lot to lose after having amassed personal wealth through the abuse of his public position as head of the military.
We can and must build our pressure on Myanmar’s military. In the past, your emails and calls have moved your governments to pass tough sanctions. You also successfully pressed companies, such as Western Union, online jeweler Angara, and Kirin brewery to end their business partnerships with the Burmese military.
By sharing our petitions widely, 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, and Michael DeLong.
Our movement to end the genocide in Burma requires our continual support.Please click here to make a sustaining monthly gift of $10, $25, $50, or $100.
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For Further Reading:
“Sanction Myanmar Military, Not Myanmar People,” Justice For Myanmar and Burma Campaign UK, 5 February 2021
“Kirin Ends Partnership With Myanmar Military After the Army’s Genocide and Coup D’Etat,” International Campaign for the Rohingya, 5 February 2021
“Myanmar Military Should End Its Use of Violence and Respect Democracy,” Joint statement of Myanmar civil society organizations, 1 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
Justice for Myanmar – Justice For Myanmar is a campaign to provide a platform for those unjustly persecuted by the Myanmar military – regardless of class, religion, gender or ethnic identity in their efforts to seek justice and end military impunity in Myanmar. The campaign works to expose the Myanmar military’s businesses’ link to human rights violations across the country.
“The economic interests of the Myanmar military,” United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission, September 2019
“Facebook Allowing Burma Military to Recruit For and Fund Genocide,” Burma Campaign UK, 9 January 2021
“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