Dear friends,

We’ve just launched our new edition of the “Dirty List”. It’s the biggest list we’ve ever produced, containing 170 companies that directly or indirectly fund Burma’s brutal regime.

Thanks to your emails over the past year many companies have pulled out of Burma, depriving the regime of hundreds of thousands of pounds. Remember XL insurance? Cotton Traders? Arig insurance? They’ve all pulled out in the past year. So have others like Trailblazer Guides, Jet Gold Corp, CHC and Aquatic.

TAKE ACTION
Please write to a few of these companies right now and tell them to stop bankrolling Burma’s generals: http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/dirty_list/dirty_list_details.html

Every single day foreign companies give millions of dollars to the regime; allowing them to buy the bullets, guns and supplies for the army that keeps them in power. These companies are financing a regime that rapes five-year-old girls, shoots peaceful protestors and leaves storm victims to die.

This is your chance to speak directly to the companies that fund the regime. Tell them why what they’re doing is wrong. Tell them why they must respect the wishes of Burma’s democracy movement and pull out of Burma now: http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/dirty_list/dirty_list_details.html

Do let us know if you receive any replies. You can send them to info@burmacampaign.org.uk

Thank you for your continued support.

Johnny Chatterton

P.S. We also just published our monthly newsletter “Last month in Burma” which gives you the latest news from Burma over the last month. You can read them for free here: http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/lastmonth.html

Dear friend

Today the regime sentenced 14 leading democracy activists in Burma to 65 years in prison. If they are forced to serve their full terms, they will die in jail. The sentences were handed down at around 1pm, behind closed doors in Insein prison special court in Rangoon. Family members were not allowed to attend the hearing. The sentences today relate to only five charges. They are all charged with a total of 21 charges and face further sentences as their trials continue.

Those sentenced are all prominent members of the 88 Generation Students group, which led the peaceful demonstrations last September.

In a separate hearing held in Insein prison special court, labour activist Su Su Nwe was sentenced to 12 years and 6 months.

Take action. Please send an email to the UN Security Council urging Ban Ki-moon to visit Burma and make the release of political prisoners his top priority.

Only yesterday EU foreign ministers met and called for the release of all political prisoners. The EU promised to increase pressure on the regime if there was no progress to reform, but despite the situation getting worse they have taken no action.

The UN must act. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is due to visit Burma in December, but there are fears he may back out of the visit because of the difficulties in negotiating with the regime. These sentences make it all the more important that Ban Ki-moon goes ahead with his visit. We have had 37 visits to Burma by UN envoys, but things have only got worse. We need his personal engagement on Burma.

Take action.
Send an email to the UN Security Council urging Ban Ki-moon to visit Burma and make the release of political prisoners his top priority. Take action and click here.

Thank you for your support.

Best wishes
Anna Roberts
The Burma Campaign UK

Dear Friends,

One week ago we asked you to boycott Cotton Traders as they were sourcing clothes from Burma. Thousands of you wrote to the company, and just three days after the boycott began Cotton Traders caved in and announced they were pulling out of Burma. Thank you to everyone who pledged to boycott the company, your actions have deprived Burma’s generals of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

HELP US CUT THE GENERAL’S FINANCIAL LIFELINE
Hundreds of companies are still helping to finance the Burmese regime. One of them, Lloyd’s of London, is particularly important to the Burmese regime as Lloyd’s companies insure businesses in Burma – including a regime owned company.

Without insurance no company would be able to invest in Burma. Lloyd’s now refuse to respond to our calls, emails and letters. We need your help to make them listen – we need you to write to the bosses of Lloyd’s directly and tell them why they must stop insuring the companies that fund the Burmese regime : http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/lloydsaction.html

TAKE ACTION NOW
Your email will also be copied to the Lloyd’s companies that we know are actively insuring companies in Burma. The Cotton Traders victory proves that these email actions work. Every single email counts, write now: http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/lloydsaction

The British Government doesn’t want Lloyd’s to be involved with Burma. They wrote to Lloyd’s chairman, Lord Levene, in September telling him that. However our sources inside Lloyd’s tell us that nothing has changed, members of the Lloyd’s market are still allowed to insure companies in Burma.

We need your help to make Lloyd’s listen, please email them now:

Thank you,

Johnny Chatterton and the Burma Campaign UK team

From Burma Campaign website – just to show your emails do have an effect:

On Wednesday October 12th we asked you, our supporters to contact Cotton Traders and tell them why you would be boycotting them until they pulled out of Burma.

Today, Friday October 14th 2008, Cotton Traders contacted the Burma Campaign UK. It looks like they are pulling out of Burma. Over the next few hours and days we will work to confirm this with the company.

Thank you to everyone who contacted the company. Your emails had a huge effect.

I received this today from the Burma Campaign UK:

Dear Friends,

Do you want your money to end up in the pockets of Burma’s Generals?

Today we launch a boycott campaign against Cotton Traders because a Burma Campaign UK investigation has discovered that they are producing clothes in Burma.

Clothing exports are an important source of income for Burma’s brutal military dictatorship. Burmese trade unions have called on companies not to source clothing from Burma, as the clothing exports help to fund the dictatorship. Burma appeals to manufacturers because of its very cheap labour, ban on trade unions and lack of health and safety laws. Cotton Traders thinks it is acceptable to produce clothes in a country where factory wages are as low as 5p an hour and a factory employee working 60 hours a week could earn just £3.

More than 130 major high street clothing retailers, including M&S, Next, ASDA, H&M, Debenhams, House of Fraser and BHS, have policies not to source from Burma. However Cotton Traders are still make clothes in Burma.

BOYCOTT COTTON TRADERS
Support our boycott campaign and write to Cotton Traders now: http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/cottontraders_action.html. Tell them to stop sourcing from Burma and that you will be boycotting them until they stop.

Click on this link and send them a message using our automated form, it will take just 2 minutes of your time: http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/cottontraders_action.html

Thank you

Johnny Chatterton and the Burma Campaign UK team

As many of you know Burma is a country close to my heart but, despite my father being Burmese, I can’t believe I would not be as outraged and upset as I am by such injustice. Please read below and act as you can. It is unbelieveable that someone can be held under arrest for such a long time with her crime being an overwhelming victory in a Burmese general election.This is a woman that has not seen her children for years, could not attend her husbands funeral and, cannot have communication without the outside world … and the world sits by and watches. Add this to the brutality we saw last year towards peaceful unarmed buddhist monks by brutal armed soldiers and I believe it makes a strong case for UN military intervention.

Aung San Suu Kyi to reach 13 years in detention – protest!

On October 24th Aung San Suu Kyi will have spent a total of 13 years in detention.

On the same day leaders of Asian and European countries are having a summit meeting in China.

We want the leaders to back UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in securing the release of ALL political prisoners when he visits Burma in December.

JOIN OUR PROTEST!

Friday, October 24, 2008

Time:
12:00pm – 1:00pm

Location:
Chinese Embassy

Street:
49 Portland Place, near Oxford Circus tube

We’ll be delivering a giant key to the Chinese Embassy, representing the key to freedom that world leaders hold, if they work together to pressure the regime. The key will have the names and pictures of Burma’s 2,130 political prisoners

The number of political prisoners in Burma has almost doubled in the past year, despite calls from the United Nations Security Council for their release. These people have committed no crime. They have been locked up for calling for freedom.

We have never had a UN Secretary General visit Burma to discuss political problems before, and we have never had European and Asian government joining forces to pressure the regime to release prisoners. They all say they want it. We must make them work to make it happen.

For too long the UN has fallen for the lies of the regime. They must secure real change. The release of political prisoners should be the minimum benchmark for progress that Ban Ki-moon aims for in December.

Join the protest! send a message to world leaders than they must turn words into action. Don’t leave Burma’s democracy activists suffering in Burma’s jails.

This protest is organized by a coalition of campaign groups and Burmese community organisations in the UK.

IF YOU ARE NOT IN LONDON – YOU CAN STILL TAKE ACTION

WE ARE HAVING AN IMPACT

Two weeks ago we asked you to email the UN demanding they work for the release of political prisoners. The UN has received thousands of emails, and last week Ban Ki-moon stated that he wanted to see the release of political prisoners as a sign of progress for when he visits Burma in December. It is the first time he has linked his visit with the release of political prisoners. We are getting this issue onto the agenda of world leaders, but we need to keep it there.

If you haven’t taken the action please do here.

Please also ask your friends to support this campaign.

Lord, hear our prayer

Today is the anniversary of the start of the horrible and brutal crackdown in Burma last year. The regime gave assurances to the UN which it never had any intention of keeping and the UN seems unwilling or powerless to do anything – as do most of our countries. If this was happening in Iraq or some other nation where ‘the West’ had invested interest there is no way that such brutality would be allowed to happen unchallenged.

Please read the letter below from the Burma Campaign and take the little bit of time necessary to respond in our attempt to make a difference.

After the uprising the regime promised the UN it would stop arresting people who criticise the regime. Since the uprising the number of political prisoners has doubled to 2,130. These people have committed no crime. They are imprisoned because they believe that Burma should be ruled democratically.

TAKE ACTION – FREE BURMA’S POLITICAL PRISONERS
Ban Ki-moon has said that he will go to Burma later this year, write to him now, tell him why he must secure the release of all of Burma’s political prisoners, email him here.

Political prisoners in Burma subjected to horrific torture, routinely denied medical treatment and survive on rotten food and dirty water. Prisoners like Mya Aye, who has been detained in Insein Prison, Rangoon, since August 2007 without charge. He has been imprisoned for 8 of the last 18 years and is denied medical treatment even though he has heart problems and has already suffered one heart attack.

Email Ban Ki-moon now and help us secure the release of all of Burma’s political prisoners: Your email will be copied to all of the Security Council members, ensuring that the world doesn’t forget Burma’s political prisoners.

Thanks

Johnny Chatterton and the Burma Campaign UK team.

Dear friend

Take Action – Demonstrate!

One year ago thousands of Burmese monks and civilians took to the streets
in nationwide protests to call for human rights and democracy. Burma’s
military dictatorship responded with a brutal crackdown, opening fire on
peaceful protesters and arresting thousands. Many of those demonstrators
are now in prison, held in dreadful conditions, subject to horrific
torture and routinely denied medical treatment.

On the first anniversary of the crackdown on the peaceful protests we will
be holding a demonstration to call for the release of all political
prisoners in Burma.

The demonstration will be outside the Thai Embassy in London. Thailand is
the current chair of The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN),
which Burma is a member of. ASEAN, as the region’s economic and political
forum, should use their influence to push for the release of Burma’s
political prisoners.

When:
2pm on Friday 26th September

Where:
Royal Thai Embassy London
29 – 30 Queen’s Gate
London SW7 5JB

Nearest Tube: Gloucester Road

There are demonstrations happening all over the world. Contact your local
Burma group to find out more: http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/links.html

Thanks for your support

Anna Roberts
The Burma Campaign UK

Was this email forwarded to you by a friend? If you are not already a
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these updates directly, you can subscribe by sending a blank e-mail to:
burmacampaign-subscribe@lists.burmacampaign.org.uk

Clancy Chassay from The Guardian has been inside Burma to interview monks who are getting ready along with many others for another uprising in Burma.

The sad thing from this interview if you listen to it is that they feel they must do it but are under no illusions that this will change the government, nor that they can defeat a malicious and fully armed army.

The people of Burma need help from the rest of the world and yet governments just sit by and watch. Edmund Burke was correct: ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing’.