Blog: One year after the Myanmar coup, we must do more

The 1st February marks one year since the Myanmar military junta staged another coup in Myanmar, or Burma, as the country is also known. A year of relentless and escalating attacks on courageous, striking workers and civilians across the country. For decades, the military have ruled in one way or another. And each year they leave a trail of violence. So it’s not surprising that since the coup over 1,000 thousand people have been killed, and more than 11,000 people have been arrested. Reflecting on the past year, we’ve played our role keeping Myanmar in the spotlight, with news articles and statements. UNISON, and our branches, have donated money to the international trade union strike fund and to our partners, the Burma Campaign UK. And I’ve written letters to the government asking them to take targeted sanctions. Advocacy does work. To the government and international communities’ credit, the first few months after the coup saw more, and quicker, sanctions than ever before placed on the military junta and those close to them. But it’s not enough. The military are still in power. That is why I wrote to the foreign secretary, Liz Truss MP, last week, asking her to ban the export of aviation fuel, place sanctions on Burmese companies involved in the supply of fuel and arms to the military, step up efforts to impose arms embargoes, and more. Cutting supply of aviation fuel is critical, because the military are using jets to destroy border towns and villages where Myanm...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: General secretary's blog News international Source Type: news