JFM calls on international oil companies to halt operations if payments to junta cannot be suspended

International oil service companies should halt their operations in Myanmar if they cannot suspend payments to the junta from the projects they are involved in, Justice For Myanmar (JFM) announced and demanded today (July 27). This call was made to 11 international oil service companies that were included in Burma Campaign UK's "List of Unethical Businesses" on July 20. The companies are Baker Hughes, China Oilfield Services Limited (COSL), COENS, Destini Berhad, ENRA Group, Halliburton, Hyundai Heavy Industries, PetroVietnam, SED Energy Holdings (parent company of Energy Drilling), SLB (formerly Schlumberger), and Weatherford International. "Justice For Myanmar calls on oil service companies to responsibly halt their operations in Myanmar if they cannot suspend payments to the junta from the projects they are involved in and hold those funds in secure bank accounts," the statement said. Companies listed in Burma Campaign UK's "List of Unethical Businesses" are said to be companies linked to the Myanmar military or involved in human rights abuses and environmental degradation in Myanmar. JFM points out that these oil service companies are providing essential services and equipment to the junta's oil and gas sector, from exploration to maintenance and supply of materials. By doing so, they are helping to ensure that revenue from the oil and gas sector continues to flow to the junta, and they are complicit in the junta's international crimes. "Myanmar's oil and gas sector generates substantial revenue for the illegitimate junta, and the junta is using these revenues to purchase the weapons, jet fuel, and other military supplies needed for the war crimes and crimes against humanity they are committing against the people," JFM said. JFM stated that the inclusion of these companies in the "List of Unethical Businesses" reflects the ongoing scrutiny and identification of companies supporting the junta, and the failure of governments and companies to take action to end their complicity in the junta's international crimes.