Human rights groups concerned that US talks to combat online scam camps will legitimize military junta

June 2 Mizzima. Twenty-five international organizations campaigning for Myanmar expressed concern on July 1 over the possibility that the US government is considering law enforcement cooperation with the Myanmar military junta to combat online scam camps. The organizations stated that the news that US officials met with representatives of the Myanmar military government in Tokyo and discussed the possibility of law enforcement cooperation in combating scam camps is extremely worrying. Myra Dahgaypaw, a board member of the U.S. Campaign for Burma, said that scam camps and the military junta have a mutually dependent relationship. She warned that cooperating with the rule of military leader Min Aung Hlaing would be assisting a criminal enterprise that profits from defrauding billions of people in the US and around the world. On June 25, 2026, Michael DeSombre, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that online scam camps in Southeast Asia pose a significant threat to the national security of the United States and its regional allies. According to the statement, over $12.5 billion was stolen from US citizens by these scam operations last year, an increase of 25 percent compared to the previous year. A UN report released in February 2026 also indicated that 300,000 people worldwide have been trafficked to scam camps in Southeast Asia and have experienced severe human rights violations. The statement alleges that in Myanmar, these scam camps are closely linked to the conflict economy that supports the junta's ability to attack civilians, and that the junta, in collaboration with affiliated groups, protects and profits from these scam camps. Assistant Secretary of State DeSombre stated that all options are being considered to combat transnational crimes and scam camps. However, the statement said that this path forward should not be one that legitimizes the Myanmar military junta, which continues to attack civilians across the country. On the other hand, the statement notes that ethnic resistance organizations and local civil society organizations are working to dismantle scam camps, rescue victims of human trafficking, and document the damages caused by these criminal enterprises. The statement mentions that in December 2025, the Karen National Union (KNU) raided the Shunda Park scam camp and freed thousands of people held in servitude within the camp. Naw K’nyaw Paw, chair of the Karen Women’s Organization, also said that to stop online scam camps, the US and other governments should cooperate with forces within the Myanmar democracy movement that are committed to dismantling these camps, rather than with the military junta. Twenty-five organizations signed the statement, including ALTSEAN-Burma, Burma Campaign UK, Burma Human Rights Network, Chin Human Rights Organization, Genocide Watch, Kachin Alliance, Karen Human Rights Group, Karen Peace Support Network, Karen Women’s Organization, Progressive Voice, U.S. Campaign for Burma, and Women’s Peace Network. Edited by Aung Kyaw Phyo The post Human rights groups concerned that US talks to combat online scam camps will legitimize military junta appeared first on BUR.MIZZIMA.COM.