International Campaign for the Rohingya & Burma Campaign UK
For Immediate Release: 8 February 2021
Cloudflare Must Terminate Its Services For the Myanmar Military
In the wake of the Myanmar military’s February 1st coup d’etat, Burma Campaign UK and International Campaign for the Rohingya today demanded American web services company Cloudflare terminate its services for the Myanmar military.
Cloudflare provides website services for the military controlled Ministry of Home Affairs, and for the military-controlled Burmese police force, which has been firing water cannons at peaceful protestors today. Cloudflare must introduce a policy of not working for the Myanmar military, including military controlled companies.
“Following the attack on U.S. legislators at the U.S. Capitol, Facebook and Twitter suspended US President Donald Trump for inciting violence. At the same time, using its Cloudflare-protected websites, the Myanmar security forces planned, promoted, and executed, not only its February 1st, 2021, military coup, but also its genocide of the Rohingya and numerous other atrocities across the country,” stated Simon Billenness, Executive Director of the International Campaign for the Rohingya.
In the past, Cloudflare has terminated its services for the American neo-Nazi Daily Stormer website and the 8chan website, used by American white supremacists responsible for the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“Cloudflare should not be providing services for the Burmese military or for military controlled companies,” stated Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK. ”No company which has a client such as the Myanmar military, which is holding coups and is involved in genocide, can claim to have any kind of credible human rights or social responsibility policies.”
“Cloudflare dropped as a client Stormfront for supporting the past genocide by the Nazis. Yet. Cloudflare continues to protect the websites of the Myanmar military as it executes its ongoing genocide of the Rohingya people in Burma,” stated Simon Billenness.
In December 2018 Burma Campaign UK placed Cloudflare on its ‘Dirty List’ of companies linked to Burma’s military. Cloudflare have not responded to correspondence from Burma Campaign UK but defended working for Min Aung Hlaing providing services for his website when approached by media. Min Aung Hlaing’s personal website appears to no longer be protected by Cloudflare but it is not clear if Min Aung Hlaing switched providers or if he was dropped by Cloudflare. There is no apparent logic to why Cloudflare might drop Min Aung Hlaing as a client but keep working for parts of the military under his control.
In 2016 and 2017, Min Aung Hlaing ordered major military offensives against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Burma. The main target of the military offensives was children. Almost 800,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh. The Burmese military and security forces used horrific violations against the Rohingya, including mass rape, including of children, and killing thousands of people.
On 17th July the US government designated Min Aung Hlaing as being responsible for gross human rights violations and banned Min Aung Hlaing from visiting America. United Nations investigators have said doing any form of business with the military is indefensible.
Burma Campaign UK publishes a ‘Dirty List’ of international companies doing business with the military. More than 100 are listed. The ‘Dirty List’ is available here.
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
Mark Farmaner
Director of Burma Campaign UK
Mobile (UK): +44 (0794) 1239640
Twitter: @MarkFarmaner