Irrawaddy-Oct 24
Myanmar activists have launched an online petition campaign to pressure Singapore’s government to block the junta’s access to funds, arms, equipment and jet fuel.
Singapore is the third-largest supplier of arms and equipment to the Myanmar military and also a financial hub for the regime and its generals. The Blood Money Campaign (BMC) says the junta relies on Singapore resources in waging a campaign of terror against civilians featuring daily indiscriminate airstrikes, shelling, murder, torture, arbitrary detention, rape and arson attacks. It calls on Singapore to impose sanctions to stop the direct and indirect transfer of arms, dual-use goods, technology and jet fuel to the Myanmar military. Additionally, it urges the city-state to impose money-laundering and related restrictions to ensure the regime cannot access the Singapore financial system and over US$4.5 billion in funds that belong to the government of Myanmar. The BMC petition also calls on Singapore to expedite and make public ongoing investigations into domestic companies suspected of supplying arms, dual-use goods and technology to the Myanmar military. As of Tuesday, it had collected over 24,400 signatures. The campaigners said the petition will be sent to Singapore’s government on Oct. 29 to mark 1,000 days since the coup.
The UN’s Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar revealed in May that $254 million of supplies were shipped from dozens of entities in Singapore to the Myanmar military from February 2021 to December 2022. Singaporean banks have been used extensively by arms dealers supplying the military. Read more at:
