Statement of EarthRights Executive Director Ka Hsaw Wa
August 5 , 2021, Washington, D.C.– EarthRights International praised a letter sent this week to the Biden Administration by House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters calling for U.S. sanctions to be placed on the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE). MOGE is a key source of revenue for the military regime that seized power in a violent coup d’état that began in February.
The letter calls on U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to implement sanctions in the face of escalating atrocities committed by the regime. At least 847 people have been killed in Myanmar since the coup began. The Myanmar government earns an estimated $1.54 billion per year from offshore oil and gas revenues. MOGE, which is now under the control of the military, is responsible for collecting this revenue. The U.S. government has placed sanctions on other Myanmar state-owned enterprises but so far has not done so on MOGE.
“The shocking human rights situation in Myanmar is getting worse by the day. Oil and gas revenues are continuing to fuel atrocities committed by the military regime against its own people,” said Ka Hsaw Wa, Executive Director of EarthRights and a Burmese activist. “It is well past time for that money to be cut off. We urge the Treasury Department to listen to Chairwoman Waters and act immediately to put sanctions on MOGE.”
Contact:
Kate Fried
EarthRights International
(202) 257.0057
kate.fried@earthrights.org
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