Nearly two hundred foreign civil society organizations requested Singapore to prevent the sale of military equipment to the Myanmar army.
Nearly two hundred foreign civil society organizations have sent an open letter to the Singapore government to prevent the transfer and sale of military-civilian dual-use products, weapons, and technologies, domestic from Singapore-based companies.
Ko Saw El Moo, a member of the Blood Money Cut Movement, said in an interview with RFA that he asked the military council for three things, including transparently identifying and taking action against the companies selling weapons. "The first point is to transparently reveal whether or not Singaporean arms companies are selling weapons to the Myanmar military. The second point is to ask the Singapore government to block the sale of weapons to the Myanmar military and the third point is for the bank accounts of cronies belonging to the Myanmar military in Singapore to be blocked.”
On August 22, nearly two hundred local and foreign civil society groups, including the Anti-Money Laundering Group, sent an open letter to Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Singapore's Foreign Minister Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan. The letter added that many countries, including Singapore, continue to commit acts of terrorism against civilians because they have failed to sanction the Myanmar military council. If we can stop arms exports from Singaporean companies, we hope that we will be able to prevent the Burmese military from attacking civilians and revolutionary groups, including airstrikes.
According to a report released on May 17, 2023, by the United Nations Special Envoy for Human Rights on Myanmar, Tom Andrews, the Myanmar military imported $406 million worth of military equipment from Russia after the coup, $267 million worth of military equipment from China, and $254 million worth of military equipment from Singapore. The Myanmar military is the third largest buyer of weapons through Singapore.
Ko Saw El Moo said that it is important for the Singaporean government to take action against the Myanmar military and that it will continue to demand that Singapore stop selling military equipment and close bank accounts until action is taken.
The open letter was jointly sent by the Anti-Blood Money Campaign, as well as Burma Campaign UK, Progressive Voice, local boycott forces, and ethnic organizations abroad.
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