BCUK urges London to toughen stance as junta prepares ‘sham’ election – Mizzima
Burma Campaign UK has called for a revision of the British government’s approach to Myanmar, warning that the UK has slipped from “leaders to laggards” on human rights, reports Mizzima. The call comes as Myanmar’s junta moves ahead with what are widely seen as “sham elections” beginning 28 December.
“When British government ministers have the political will, the UK can be very effective at mobilising international action to assist the people of Burma in their struggle for freedom,” said Mark Farmaner, BCUK’s director. “While the Burmese military implement new sham elections as part of their plan for eternal rule, the British government needs to be proactively cutting off their supply of money and arms.”
The election is a side-show – the real future of Burma is already being built – Mizzima
Across the country in areas freed from Burmese military occupation, a bottom-up federal nation is being built, writes Naw Wahkushee, Director of Advance Myanmar’s partner Karen Peace Support Network, for Mizzima. Local people are finally in charge of their land and natural resources, and for the first time have a say in how they will be governed, with new local constitutions being consulted on.
An example of this is highlighted in a new report, ‘Retaking our Eastern Border’ by the Karen Peace Support Network. Local administrations such as the Karen National Union in Kawthoolei [the Karen name for Karen State], which administer areas freed from Burmese military occupation, need international support to provide essential services to local populations and improve governance.
Supporting the development of local administrations free from Burmese military rule is the most effective approach to long term stability in Burma.
UK leadership imperative as Myanmar’s crisis deepens ahead of junta’s announced sham elections: UN expert
A UN expert today urged the UK to help mobilise international opposition to the Myanmar military junta’s claim that the election that it will stage later this month is legitimate, while taking other measures to strengthen its support of human rights in Myanmar.
“I am heartened by the United Kingdom’s rejection of the junta’s election scheme,” said Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, at the end of his visit to the UK. “I urge the UK Government to proactively reach out to other Governments to ensure they do the same. A strong, coordinated rejection of these sham elections is essential to deny the junta the means to fabricate credibility and legitimacy … The UK can play a decisive role — and now is the moment to act.”
Zoya Phan, BCUK’s Programme Director, meeting Tom Andrews on his visit to the UK.
25 Karen groups join Karen National Union in rejecting the regime’s 2025-26 elections – DVB
Twenty-five Karen civil society groups “overseas,” led by the Karen National Union (KNU), have condemned the regime’s 2025-26 elections which are scheduled to begin on December 28, reports the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB).
“This sham election is not about political reform or genuine peace in the country. History has already shown that the Burmese military is not interested in genuine peace and democracy, they just want to consolidate their power and continue their authoritarian rule,” Zoya Phan, the programme director at Burma Campaign UK, told DVB.
“If Thailand and other neighboring countries want stability in Burma, working with ethnic revolutionary organizations and allies is their best option. You can see Karen State as an example where the KNU works to bring stability, services, and rule of law to the areas under its control.”
Myanmar’s military rulers grant amnesty to thousands ahead of election – Al Jazeera
Myanmar’s military rulers have pardoned or dropped charges against 8,665 people locked up for opposing army rule as the country prepares for next month’s elections, reports Al Jazeera.
Critics have asserted that the upcoming election will be neither free nor fair because there is no free media and most of the leaders of Aung San Suu Kyi’s dissolved National League for Democracy party have been arrested.
“It’s wonderful news for the prisoners,” Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, wrote on X. But “as expected” political prisoners are being used “for public relations purposes by Burmese military to try to build a fake narrative of reform” ahead of the polls.
22,708 political detainees, including Aung San Suu Kyi, remain in detention.
US, China Spur Southeast Asian Scam Crackdown – Asia Sentinel
After more than a decade of rapacious scam activity, reports Asia Sentinel, dual pressure from the US and China has caused the Myanmar military to raid Shwe Kokko, a notorious compound 40 km from the Thai border town of Mae Sot where enslaved workers defraud online victims globally, although analysts are skeptical over the junta’s seriousness.
“A combination of Chinese pressure and US sanctions have panicked Chit Thu [leader of the Karen Border Guard Force, which works together with the Burmese military] and the Burmese military into a public relations exercise to convince the world they are taking action,” said Mark Farmaner, the director of Burma Campaign UK. “We are witnessing a farcical situation where they are raiding their own town to destroy facilities they helped build and which they have been profiting from.”
Stop arms and equipment reaching Burmese military – Zoya Phan
“The Burmese military use foreign jets and bombs to kill civilians”, says Zoya Phan, Burma Campaign UK’s Programme Director, in her social media post. “You must stop arms and equipment reaching them.
“The UK, EU, USA, ASEAN and other countries must do more to cut off the supply of money, arms and aviation fuel reaching the Burmese military.”
Many killed in motor-powered paraglider bombing at protest in Myanmar – Northeast Bylines
At least 26 people died in Myanmar at a combined festival and protest against the brutal military junta, when a motor-powered paraglider (paramotor) dropped bombs.
Northeast Bylines asked Zoya Phan from Burma Campaign UK for her comment on this paramotor bombing incident. Zoya said: “The Burmese military have been escalating airstrikes and military offensives across Burma in recent weeks ahead of sham elections they are planning at the end of this year. It is clear, the use of airstrikes by the Burmese military targeting civilian places is a deliberate strategy to generate fear and maximise casualties.
“The international community cannot let these war criminals continue to bomb people with total impunity. The UK, EU, USA, and other governments must impose more targeted sanctions to limit the ability of the Burmese military to carry out these deadly airstrikes. We ask governments around the world to cut international support, including arms, revenue, equipment, and aviation fuel.”
Refugees facing starvation in war-torn Myanmar – Northeast Bylines
Aid agencies are warning that Rakhine State will soon see people starving, reports Northeast Bylines. As a result, the World Food Programme has issued an urgent appeal for more donations to avoid a “full-blown disaster”.
Zoya Phan, BCUK’s Programme Director, told Northeast Bylines: “International donors must immediately reverse long term aid cuts to camps hosting Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Existing donors must increase funding for both refugees in Bangladesh and internally displaced civilians in Rakhine State. To be able to do so, Bangladesh must lift restrictions on cross-border aid delivery for Rohingya, Rakhine and other civilians who cannot be reached from central Burma. Rakhine State is facing imminent threat of famine and needs urgent attention. World leaders must not ignore it.”
Mark Farmaner interviewed by Radio France Internationale
Mark Farmaner, Burma Campaign UK’s Director, told RFI: “For the refugees in Bangladesh and the Rohingya still in Burma, there is no hope that the situation will improve and that they can go home. In fact, every day, more and more refugees try to flee Rakhine State.
“We have seen the Arakan Army, a resistance army made up mainly of ethnic Rakhine, take control of almost all the State. But it commits the same human rights violations against the Rohingya as the official army. The Rohingya are thus caught in a vice between two violent armed forces, neither of whom want them to stay in Burma.”