https://www.reporter-ohne-grenzen.de/pressemitteilungen/meldung/deutsche-und-internationale-konzerne-muessen-unterstuetzung-der-militaerjunta-beenden

GERMAN CORPORATIONS IN MYANMAR 

End support for the Military Junta
16.04.2021


Reporters Without Borders is calling on foreign companies still operating in Myanmar to immediately end their economic support for the country's military government. In the two and a half months since the February 1 military coup, the press freedom situation there has steadily deteriorated. In view of this, companies must finally live up to their obligation to uphold human rights everywhere in the world. RSF contacted twelve of them in advance of this press release, including Deutsche Post DHL Group, German commercial vehicle manufacturer MAN, French oil company Total, Swedish communications company Ericsson, French hotel chain Accor, and South Korean steel and energy giant POSCO.

"The fine words of multinational companies with representative offices in Myanmar must now be translated into concrete action," said RSF Managing Director Christian Mihr. "Companies must take responsibility by explicitly speaking out against this illegitimate and bloody regime. We urge the twelve companies contacted by RSF to take real action to end their funding of the military junta in Myanmar, whether directly or indirectly. This is the only way they can avoid being complicit in the all-encompassing censorship the junta seeks to impose."

In the past two months or so, there have been numerous serious violations of press freedom in Myanmar: reporters have been shot at with live ammunition, newsrooms have been raided, and mobile Internet has been shut down completely. The military junta's determination to suppress any independent reporting shows that diplomacy and international sanctions are not enough to stop this development.

RSF has therefore called on twelve multinational companies operating in Myanmar to end all cooperation with the Myanmar armed forces, both in terms of business relations and financial support. RSF has sent letters to this effect to the management of the companies - including two German ones: Deutsche Post DHL as well as MAN.

Deutsche Post DHL is in business with the military junta through a joint venture. An entry in the Myanmar commercial register shows that the Myanmar DHL subcontractor is 51 percent owned by the local postal service. This in turn belongs to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, which fell into the hands of the military in the coup. Myanmar DHL was founded 25 years ago, at a time when the military dictatorship brutally suppressed student protests.

Reports from Myanmar repeatedly show pictures of the military trucks of the Chinese company Sinotruk, which is partly owned by the German truck manufacturer MAN. When MAN bought into Sinotruk in 2009, it was known that China was supporting the Myanmar military and that the company had military trucks on offer. To this day, Sinotruk systematically supports the use of foot soldiers and thus the brutal actions of the military junta. MAN owns 25 percent plus one share - enough to block important decisions by means of a blocking minority.

Unlike Deutsche Post DHL and MAN, the Munich-based banknote printer Giesecke+Devrient suspended all deliveries to Myanmar at the end of March. The company said it was following the escalation "with great concern and regret." Giesecke+Devrient had supplied material for the production of banknotes to the Myanmar Government Printing Office.

Companies have not drawn any credible conclusions
In early February, a number of companies had signed a joint statement initiated by the Myanmar Center for Responsible Business affirming a commitment to human rights in the country. Since then, more than 500 people have been killed and nearly 60 media professionals have been arrested in Myanmar. However, most of these companies have not drawn any credible consequences from this.

Some of the companies are in the telecommunications sector and thus play a key role in access to information, such as the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson, the Norwegian state-owned telecommunications company Telenor, and the French television and film company Canal+.

Others provide significant financial resources to the military government, either by simply paying taxes in Myanmar or by maintaining direct business relationships with the Tatmadaw, the official name of the Myanmar Armed Forces. This is because they also operate two conglomerates with ties into most of the country's economic sectors: Myanmar Economic Holdings Public Company Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation Limited (MEC).

Many international companies are linked to these two conglomerates through joint ventures. RSF has asked hotel chains Accor (France), Okura Nikko Hotel Management (Japan), and Lotte Hotels and Resorts (South Korea) to review their relationships with the Tatmadaw and its business units.

Some of the biggest donors to the Myanmar military.
In the energy sector, an indispensable source of funds for the military regime, RSF is urging companies such as French oil company Total, U.S. energy company Chevron, and South Korean steel and energy giant POSCO to question their continued involvement in the Yadana offshore gas field. In 2019, Total alone paid $230 million to the Myanmar state for gas acquisitions and taxes, making the French company its largest backer. Meanwhile, other energy companies such as Australia's Woodside and Malaysia's Petronas have suspended operations in Myanmar.

Anglo-Dutch food and consumer goods conglomerate Unilever, whose management has also been contacted by RSF, has not yet drawn any conclusions from the military junta's increasingly bloody crackdown. By contrast, its Japanese competitor, the beverage company Kirin, ended its partnership with a local brewery just four days after the Feb. 1 coup.

Myanmar ranks 139th out of 180 countries in the press freedom rankings.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Photo: Militärfahrzeug von Sinotruk in Myanmar © picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS / Uncredited