British Govt Stops Training Burma Military – UK PM “Stop Using Terrorism as Cover foe Oppression and the Violation of Human Rights…”

The Burma Campaign UK released a statement welcoming the British government’s decision to stop funding and training of Burma’s military forces.

The Burma Campaign UK said that in 2016 “the British government spent £305,000 of British taxpayers’ money training the Burmese military – 67% of the money came from the overseas aid budget.”

The Burma Campaign UK pointed out in its statement that the training for Burma’s military “had no clear goals, no evaluation, and no conditions on human rights were asked before it was provided.”

“This is the first practical sanction against Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the military who has ordered this ethnic cleansing campaign,” said Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK.

Mr Farmaner urged the British government to work “for a global UN mandated arms embargo. The European Union should impose a ban on European companies supplying any kind of equipment to the military, not just arms, and also ban investment and business relationships with military owned companies.”

The Burma Campaign UK released a quote attributed to the British Prime Minister Theresa May that called on Burma’s government to end to the violence in north of the country.

“And we must always guard against those who would use the fight against terrorism as a cover for oppression and the violation of human rights. So as we look at the situation in Northern Burma, I call on the Burmese authorities to put an end to the violence, allow humanitarian access, and fully implement Annan Commission recommendations.”

The Burma Campaign UK reported that “since 25th August, more than 400,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh in the face of a military offensive by the Burmese Army.”

The Burma Campaign UK said its sources estimated that “5,000 or more people have been killed, tens of thousands are internally displaced, and tens of thousands of homes destroyed. It appears that more than half the entire Rohingya population in Burma may have been forced from their homes in just three weeks.”