Submit a letter urging the government to support measures to sanction financial channels in ‘Myanmar’

Parliament, Milk tea alliance - Myanmar network submitted a letter to the Security Committee, calling for compliance with the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur to jointly boycott MEB and MOGE to stop their involvement in supporting the coup in Myanmar. Rangsiman Rome, Move Forward Party-list MP and Chairman of the House Committee on State Security, Thai Border Affairs, National Strategy and Reform, received a letter from representatives of the Thai Milk Tea Alliance, along with 240 network organizations, the Myanmar community, and international organizations, calling for a joint boycott of the Myanmar Economic Bank (MEB) and the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), as the junta used funds from the state enterprises to purchase weapons, aviation fuel, and access international financial markets. Representatives of the Thai Milk Tea Alliance and Myanmar Network said the EU sanctions on MOGE on February 21, 2022, cost the junta at least $500 million, while the US only partially sanctioned MOGE, and Thai state-owned fossil fuel conglomerate PTT Group continued to pay tens of millions of dollars per month in gas revenue to MOGE accounts controlled by the junta. The US has just agreed to sanctions on Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB) and Myanmar Investment and Commercial Bank (MICB), but there is still room for the military junta to switch to Myanma Economic Bank (MEB) and Myanma Agriculture Development Bank (MADB). The European Union and the UK have not sanctioned all of the banks, while Canada and Australia have sanctioned only MFTB and MICB. In addition, the continued shipment of weapons and military equipment into Myanmar, as well as the identification of financial institutions that provide procurement services for the military, whose reliance on natural gas revenue has increased many times over, demonstrate two important points: international measures can be effective in disrupting the military dictatorship's supply chain, and the fact that the military's arms stock has indeed declined significantly . In terms of arms sold by Singapore-listed companies, which are financed by Singapore banks, Although ASEAN still adheres to the 5-point consensus and chooses to follow the principle of 'non-interference in internal affairs', Thailand has allowed PTT and Thai banks to be a source of funds for the Myanmar military dictatorship and allowed Thai banks and other companies to provide the military dictatorship with access to weapons and aviation fuel. Therefore, it has submitted 6 demands as follows: The international community is urged to act on the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur, in particular by coordinating sanctions on Myanmar's state-owned bank, natural gas and aviation fuels sectors. The United States must immediately sanction MEB and MADB, and fully sanction MOGE. The UN Security Council and Member States, including the UK and the European Union, should sanction MFTB, MICB, MEB and MADB, and follow through with the EU-led sanctions on MOGE. We urge ASEAN member states to not remain indiffe rent to Thailand's clear policy problems, which allow PTT Group and Thai banks to support the Myanmar military dictatorship behind the scenes. We urge the Thai government to support sanctions that would cut off the Myanmar military junta's access to international financial services and its access to gas revenues, and follow Singapore's lead to ensure that Thai banks do not facilitate the Myanmar military junta's purchases of weapons and aviation fuel. Call on Thai banks to comply with their obligations under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights by ending all transactions that support the Myanmar military dictatorship. Call on PTT to end its involvement in gross human rights violations and block the Myanmar military junta's natural gas revenues, as demanded by Myanmar civil society, the National Unity Government (NUG) and the Move Forward Party. PTT shareholders are urged to follow the lead of the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund and Rebeco and divest from PTT Group due to its involvement in human rights violations in Myanmar. Mr. Rangsiman said that the National Security Committee is trying to follow up and solve this problem. On August 2, the National Security Committee will travel to the Bank of Thailand and at the end of August, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will travel to solve this problem. Source: Thai News Agency