“I have seen with my own eyes the result of foreign investment in Burma.
More soldiers, more guns, more rapes and more killings.”
Zoya Phan – Burmese refugee from the Karen ethnic minority

URGENT ACTION – WRITE TO IAN MCCARTNEY – FOREIGN OFFICE MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR BURMA

For more than ten years the British government has refused to ban new investment in Burma, despite repeated requests from Burma¹s democracy movement. The regime in Burma has used foreign investment to double the size of the army, reinforcing its grip on power, while ordinary people have become poorer.

Since 1988, Britain has been one of the largest investors in Burma, largely because many foreign companies use places like the British Virgin Islands to channel their investment to Burma. The British government could stop this, but refuses to do so. One of the excuses the government uses for doing nothing is that there is no evidence that investment is still happening.

Well now there is. On the 21st January, media reported that MPRL E&P Ltd, based in Singapore but registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), had signed a contract with the regime to explore for gas. The response from the British government? NOTHING.

Then on February 8th Xinhua news agency reported another BVI company, Rimbunan Petrogas, Ltd, has just signed a gas deal with the regime. The response of the British government? NOTHING.

THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT IS ALLOWING INVESTMENT IN BURMA THAT WILL HELP ARM THE REGIME AND LEAD TO MORE HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES.

Please write to:
Ian McCartney
Minister of State
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
King Charles St
London SW1A 2AH

Ask the Minister to immediately ban new investment in Burma via the British Virgin Islands and other Overseas Territories. (The government can do this using a mechanism called a Queens Order in Council)

Ask the minister to introduce legislation that will also enable the government to ban British companies from investing in Burma (Labour is the only major political party in the UK that does not support a unilateral investment ban)

Find out more about the campaign to stop new investment in Burma here