NGO calls on British govt to call for release of Philip Blackwood

NGO calls on British govt to call for release of Philip Blackwood
by -
Mizzima

Burma Campaign UK is calling on UK Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire MP to ensure his department stops issuing misleading statements and instead explain why he has not asked the Myanmar government to release British political prisoner Philip Blackwood, according to a press release from the NGO on November 27.

“When called out about abandoning a British political prisoner in a Burmese jail, the response of the British government has been to shoot the messenger,” said Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK. “In defending itself against inaction for Phil Blackwood, the Foreign Office has been more critical of Burma Campaign UK than of the military backed government which locked him up.”

On Monday Burma Campaign UK accused Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire of “abandoning” British political prisoner Philip Blackwood, currently serving two and a half years hard labour in Myanmar’s notorious Insein jail.

Mr Blackwood, who has joint British and New Zealand citizenship, and two Myanmar colleagues, Tun Thurein and Htut Ko Ko Lwin, were given two and a half years hard labour in March 2015 for ‘insulting Buddhism’. A picture of Buddha wearing headphones had been uploaded on the Facebook page of the bar they worked in. Buddhist nationalists protested and the Myanmar government jumped on the case to try to win support from nationalists. The trial and convictions were clearly politically motivated, according to the NGO.

The NGO claims Mr Swire appears unwilling to publicly defend his own actions and decisions. Instead he has hidden behind unnamed spokespeople for the Foreign Office who have accused ‎Burma Campaign UK of making misleading statements. “In fact it is the Foreign Office which is issuing misleading statements. They have been unable to refute a single fact in our media release,” the NGO says.

More news from Mizzima
March 6, 2024
The Karenni State Interim Executive Council (IEC) has handed down prison sentences and fines to...
March 4, 2024
Dr. Nyo Twan Aung, deputy commander-in-chief of the Arakan Army (AA), stated in a press...
February 29, 2024
On February 28th, Myawaddy TV, a channel controlled by the Military Council, declared martial...
February 20, 2024
The Three Brotherhood Alliance declared on February 19th that genuine peace and stability in...