Irrawaddy-Oct 19
German prosecutors are probing leading exporter ND SatCom for supplying communications equipment to Myanmar’s junta after sanctions were imposed.
ND SatCom GmbH manufactures satellite-based broadband VSAT moderns and broadcast, government and defense communication networks. The criminal investigation follows a complaint filed by Germany Solidarity with Myanmar Democracy with the attorney Holger Rothbauer, based on Justice For Myanmar (JFM) research. ND SatCom has allegedly provided significant support for the military’s satellite communications since 2016, including 5G satellite hardware and software for use in the military’s Meikhtila system, including battlefield networks. JFM provided evidence to German publications ZDF Frontal and Der Spiegel of more than 40 deliveries, including satellite modems and software, which apparently avoided sanctions. The corporation’s satellite modems were sent to the military’s Directorate of Procurement from Vietnam in October 2021 after the coup in February. Terabit Wave Company Limited in Myanmar brokered the equipment in partnership with the Vietnamese firm, OSB Investment and Technology. U Tay Za Tun and Daw Thuzar Khin are the directors of Terabit Wave, a subsidiary of the military-linked A1 Group of Companies. OSB claims to be a leader in defense communications with a research and development program. They both operate a joint venture in Myanmar, Com and Com Company Limited, which provides military and civilian satellite services, including the maintenance of ND SatCom equipment for the military. The rights group welcomed the investigation by the state prosecutor’s office in Ravensburg in southern Germany and called for the authorities to block junta access to German equipment and technology. It said satellite communications are essential for junta command and control, supporting indiscriminate killing, torture, rape, the razing of villages, destruction of food and forced displacement. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/german-firm-faces-legal-probe-over-myanmar-junta-supplies.html
