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Take Action for Burma

Our team at Burma Action Ireland is comprised of dedicated volunteers, advocating for human rights, justice, accountability, democracy, and peace in Burma. From horrific brutality to illegal imprisonment, the military junta are responsible for countless atrocities towards Burma’s civilians. We stand in solidarity with the people of Burma and actively encourage communities in Ireland and international powers like the EU and the UN to support the people of Burma.

Sanction Aviation Fuel!

Burma's military junta is intensifying its use of airstrikes and aerial bombardment on towns and villages across the country, killing and maiming civilians, destroying schools, hospitals and homes and causing hundreds of thousands to flee for their lives.


Without aviation fuel, military aircraft cannot operate, they cannot attack people from the air.

Become a voice for Burma

Use your voice and email Minister Simon Harris to urge the EU to urgently sanction the supply of aviation fuel to Burma's military junta.


Email address: simon.harris@oireachtas.ie, minister@dfa.ie


A draft letter is provided below which you may use, change or add to, just copy and paste into your email and send to the email addresses provided.

Dear Minister Harris,


I am writing to you to request that the European Union urgently brings in a new round of targeted sanctions on the supply of aviation fuel to Burma’s military junta.


The military junta’s relentless aerial bombardment of civilians and vulnerable populations is devastating communities, causing deaths and injuries, and is destroying homes, villages, medical clinics, schools, and places of worship. Air raids and indiscriminate shelling is steadily increasing and has resulted in the displacement of more than 2.6 million people according to the UNOCHA’s most recent report. This is in addition to those populations displaced, prior to the military’s attempted coup, in ethnic regions and neighbouring countries such as Thailand and Bangladesh. Protracted displacement has meant that people cannot grow their crops, thus risking shortage of food supplies for conflict-affected populations. Displaced people have acute needs for shelter, medicines and other essentials. According to UNOCHA, more than 19.9 million people are in need of humanitarian aid.


The junta are increasingly relying on airpower where it cannot defeat the resistance forces during ground battles. Targeted sanctions on the supply of aviation fuel must be a priority as it is the single most effective action that can be taken to stop the human rights violations, the mass displacement, the destruction of property and the escalating humanitarian crisis.


The measures taken by the EU to date in sanctioning leaders of the military junta, their cronies and their families as well as targeting some military-controlled companies are very welcome. However, more needs to be done and needs to be done urgently. In May 2023, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on the EU to “…introduce additional targeted sanctions against the military and its business interests, including sanctions on aviation fuel,… and to rapidly enforce their implementation…”. On 4th April 2024, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on Burma/Myanmar which calls for all states to “refrain, in accordance with applicable national procedures and international norms and standards, from the export, sale or transfer of jet fuel”. G7 Foreign Ministers and the EU High Representative called on States to cease the flow of aviation fuel to Burma.


The military’s aircraft cannot operate without aviation fuel and without fuel, they cannot bomb civilians. The courageous people of Burma continue to resist military rule and are calling for such targeted sanctions on aviation fuel.


This is why I call on Ireland and the EU to urgently sanction any individual or entity involved in the supply of aviation fuel to Burma’s military junta.


Yours,

[Your Name]

Cut the Cash!

Burma military junta's airstrikes and ground assaults on its civilians have caused thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2.6 million people, escalating a human rights and humanitarian crisis.


Over 28,000 people have been arbitrarily detained, many subject to torture.


Cutting the military junta's access to cash will inhibit its capacity to procure arms and aviation fuel. Without arms and aviation fuel, the junta cannot attack Burma's civilians.


Cutting the junta’s access to cash supplies may save lives.

Become a voice for Burma

Call on the Irish Government to urge the EU to urgently sanction the junta's revenue supply.


Email address: simon.harris@oireachtas.ie, minister@dfa.ie


A draft letter is provided below which you may use, change or add to, just copy and paste into your email and send to the email addresses provided.

Dear Minister Harris,


I am writing to you to urge the European Union urgently increase targeted sanctions on Burma military junta’s supply of revenue to end its access to cash.


Over decades of military dictatorship, Burma’s military junta has enriched itself by establishing a complex network of commercial interests involving state-owned entities and private crony-owned companies. In addition, since the attempted coup in February 2021 the military has full control of state-owned economic enterprises. The wealth generated from these businesses was and continues to be used to procure arms, munitions, equipment, and aviation fuel which enable the military to conduct a campaign of terror against the people of Burma.


Airstrikes, indiscriminate shelling and ground offensives by Burma’s military junta have resulted in the loss of thousands of lives, the unjust detention of more than 28,000 people including children. These are conservative figures, the actual toll is likely to be much higher. According to UNOCHA, more than 2.6 million people are internally displaced persons (IDPs), exacerbating the human rights and humanitarian crisis. 


Burma’s military junta depends on revenue from domestic and international business deals to fund its operations and to enable the atrocities it inflicts on civilians. The people of Burma have effectively boycotted products that generate revenue for the military in order to reduce this source of cash flow to the military. The international community must do more to stop their access to cash by urgently imposing additional coordinated targeted sanctions on business entities engaging with military-owned companies and their subsidiaries.


I welcome the targeted sanctions imposed by the European Union to date on leaders of the Burmese military, their business cronies, and their families as well as some military-controlled companies, particularly those aimed at limiting the supply of revenue to the military. However, more needs to be done to ensure the military does not have the resources necessary to perpetuate further attacks on the people of Burma.


I ask you to ensure that the EU urgently introduce additional sanctions on sources of revenue to the Burma’s military junta and to continue identifying new sources of revenue.


Yours,

[YOUR NAME]

Rights for Rohingya in Bangladesh!

Almost a million Rohingya live in overcrowded and unsafe refugee camps in Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh.


Having fled decades of systematic abuses and persecution by Burma's military junta, they are now subjected to restrictions on freedom of movement, education, and livelihoods. They are vulnerable to rights violations in the camps.


The majority of Rohingya refugees are women and children and are facing a hopeless future.

Become a voice for Rohingya refugees

Request the Bangladeshi Government to support the Rohingya refugees through access to education, healthcare, and livelihood opportunities and to prioritise their safety and security.


Email address: attache@bhclondon.org.uk


A draft letter is provided below which you may use, change or add to, just copy and paste into your email and send to the email addresses provided.

Your Excellency,


I am writing to you about the Rohingya refugees who were forced to flee brutal attacks perpetrated by Burma’s military authorities and who are now residing in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh.


Your Excellency, you and the Government of Bangladesh are to be commended for hosting the Rohingya refugees who fled the atrocities in 2016 and 2017 as well as those who previously fled persecution in Burma.


Burma’s nationwide devastating human rights and humanitarian crisis resulting from the military’s 2021 coup as well as the recently intensified fighting between Burma’s military and the Arakan Army in Rakhine State, from where the Rohingya are displaced, means that there is no current prospect of Rohingya being able to return home safely.


Most of the Rohingya refugees are women and children and are survivors of genocide. They have been forced to flee their homes and live in sprawling overcrowded displacement camps, where they are facing restrictions on movement, food and medicine shortages, limited access to education and healthcare, and abuses by criminal groups and security forces. Rohingya are increasingly forced to take to the sea to survive, making 2023 the deadliest year in a decade. 


Your Excellency, I request the Government of Bangladesh to work with international donors and Rohingya leaders in the camps on a longer-term plan for the displaced refugees to ensure they can access strong and sustainable forms of shelter and infrastructure, to enable them to empower and support themselves by having access to formal education and skills development as well as employment opportunities, to allow them freedom of movement and to prioritise the safety and security of the Rohingya by cracking down on criminal, corrupt and armed elements operating in the camps.


Thank you for your time and I look forward to your response.


Yours sincerely,


[YOUR NAME]

Sanction Arms Brokers!

Burma's military junta has unleashed a brutal campaign of terror on the country's civilians since it’s attempted coup in February 2021.


They have massacred civilians and burned their remains.       


They have burned down towns and villages destroying homes and schools.


They have looted property, killed livestock, and destroyed crops.


Sanctioning arms brokers may stop the supply of weapons to the junta and limit their ability to terrorise civilians.

Become a voice against terror in Burma

Write to the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs to call on the EU to sanction arms brokers who are complicit in the junta's atrocities.


Email address: simon.harris@oireachtas.ie, minister@dfa.ie


A draft letter is provided below which you may use, change or add to, just copy and paste into your email and send to the email addresses provided.

Dear Minister Harris,


I am writing to you to request the European Union urgently introduce additional sanctions targeting those brokering arms, parts, and equipment to Burma’s military junta.


Constant heavy shelling, airstrikes and ground offensives by the military junta have caused more than 2.6 million people to flee their homes since the military junta’s attempted coup. Security forces have burned down towns and villages as they continue their scorched earth campaign, destroying homes, medical clinics, schools, and places of worship. They have massacred civilians and burned their remains. They have looted property, killed livestock, and destroyed crops. 


Burma’s military junta and its security forces have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture and harassment, rape and sexual violence. Thousands of people have been killed by the military and the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPPB) has verified that over 28,000 have been arrested and 1,990 killed in detention. The actual toll is likely to be much higher. 


Children bear the brunt of the junta’s attacks; to date at least 714 children have been killed, the AAPPB have verified over 228 have been arbitrarily detained and according to OCHA, 6.3 million children are in need of humanitarian assistance.


For over four years, the people of Burma have made immense sacrifices in resisting the military junta’s attempted coup and they have shown incredible courage and determination in their struggle to obtain freedom, democracy, and peace in their country.


I applaud the targeted sanctions imposed by the European Union to date on leaders of Burma’s military junta, their business cronies and their families as well as some military-controlled companies. The measures are directed at those responsible for grave human rights violations and aimed at limiting the supply of revenue and arms to the military. However, more needs to be done to reduce the ability of the military junta to wage war on civilians and it needs to be done urgently. 


I ask you to ensure that the EU urgently introduces further targeted sanctions on those brokering arms, parts and equipment to Burma’s military junta. 


Yours,

[YOUR NAME]

Free All Political Prisoners!

Since the attempted coup d'état the military have:


  • Arbitrarily detained at least 28,000 people.
  • Arrested over 700 children.
  • Caused the death of several hundred in custody due to torture, summary execution, denial of medical treatment.
  • Sentenced at least 168 people to death.
  • Executed 4 political prisoners.


Who are the political prisoners?

Peaceful protestors. Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) members. Politicians. Activists. Journalists. Teachers. Artists. Human Rights Defenders. Medics.

Be the voice for Burma's political prisoners

Email Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Simon Harris, to request him to demand the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners.


Email address: simon.harris@oireachtas.ie, minister@dfa.ie


A draft letter is provided below which you may use, change or add to, just copy and paste into your email and send to the email addresses provided.

Dear Minister Harris,


I am writing to you regarding the ever-increasing number of activists and civilians being arrested by Burma’s military junta and their appalling treatment while in detention. 


Since February 2021, Burma’s military junta has arrested more than 28,000 people, including at least 594 children and over 5,800 women. Over 21,000 people remain in detention. These are the figures verified by the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (AAPPB), but the actual number of political prisoners is likely to be much higher. It does not include civilians who have been forcibly disappeared or unlawfully detained in remote ethnic areas, where documentation is difficult. Nor does it include Rohingya political prisoners. The Women’s Peace Network (WPN) has recorded the arbitrary detention of at least 3,800 Rohingya over the last three years on charges of travelling illegally from Rakhine State to other parts of the country. It is not known how many of them remain behind bars.


The military junta arbitrarily arrests those suspected of being opposed to military rule but also randomly detains other civilians as part of a campaign to instil fear and exert control over the population. Children are detained as hostages when the military cannot find a targeted family member. Burma’s political prisoners include peaceful protestors and members of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), politicians, human rights defenders, activists, social workers, journalists, artists, academics, doctors, nurses, lawyers, teachers and students.


Torture is endemic in prisons and detention centres. Prisoners are routinely subject to physical violence, psychological torture, rape and sexual assault. They are denied adequate medical treatment for both their injuries and underlying health conditions. Families are not told of their location and not permitted to visit. Burma’s prisons are overcrowded and unsanitary and food is poor.


Trials are not subject to scrutiny by the public or international community and prisoners are denied basic due process rights. Those on trial before military tribunal face almost certain conviction, regardless of the available evidence against them and there is no appeal for such convictions. Several hundred political prisoners have already died in custody and during prison transfer because of torture, summary executions and lack of medical treatment. Military courts have sentenced scores of political prisoners to death, four of whom were executed in July 2022. As AAPPB’s U Tate Naing said, “...political prisoners’ situation is precarious and their chances of survival in imprisonment are faint”.


Minister, Burma’s people are risking their lives to stand up for democracy and freedom. It is important that their sacrifices are not forgotten. I urge you, on behalf of Ireland, to demand the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Burma, and that you raise it at all fora and request all regional governments to pressure Burma’s military junta to release them.


Yours,

[Your Name]

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