Al-anwar Newspaper English news in Australia
The Australian government has spent more than $2.5 million in taxpayer funds on luxury accommodation linked to Myanmar’s military junta since it overthrew the country’s democratically elected government in a coup last year.
Australia has repeatedly condemned the actions of the junta, which has killed more than 2,273 people and arrested more than 15,500 since the power grab on February 1 last year, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
But in the past 18 months, the government has spent more than $1.5 million on staff accommodation at Shangri-La residences in Yangon, as well as $862,000 at Lotte Hotel, an increase on the $750,000 figure previously reported by the ABC.
The Australian government has also spent $162,000 on short-term accommodation at MGallery in the capital Nay Pyi Taw, which is run by hotel company Accor but owned by Max Myanmar group.
Both Shangri-La and Max Myanmar were named in the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar in a 2019 report urging companies to cut financial ties with the military, also known as the Tatmadaw.
That report called for a criminal investigation into Max Myanmar, after chairperson Zaw Zaw through the Ayeyarwady Foundation donated almost $US1 million in 2017 to the military for the construction of a fence along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.
The funding for the border wall “played an integral part in the inhumane act of preventing Rohingya from accessing their homeland” in northern Rakhine State, “thereby causing great suffering and anguish”, the report found.
It concluded that officials from Max Myanmar “aided, abetted, or otherwise assisted in the crimes against humanity of persecution and other inhumane acts”.
The ABC previously reported the Lotte Hotel is built on land that is leased from the Quartermaster-General’s Office, which has been sanctioned by the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada for supplying artillery to the army.
Shangri-La also holds a lease with the Quartermaster-General’s Office. Activist group Justice For Myanmar said neither Shangri-La nor the Myanmar army have disclosed the amount paid through land leases.
“Lotte and Shangri-La are key business partners of the military, paying rent to the very part of the army that purchases the bombs and bullets used to slaughter the people,” said Yadanar Maung from Justice For Myanmar.
“Max Myanmar was complicit in the genocide against the Rohingya and must be held accountable for that.
“Australia is failing the people of Myanmar. Not only does it consistently refuse to sanction Myanmar war criminals and their businesses, the government even uses taxpayer funds on companies that help the Myanmar military continue committing international crimes.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong disclosed the Australian government’s spending on rental properties linked to the Myanmar military in response to a question on notice from Greens Senator Jordan Steele-John.
In her response, Senator Wong said: “The Australian government’s operations in Myanmar do not directly fund the Myanmar military.”
In relation to Lotte, Chris Sidoti from the UN Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar previously told the ABC that ultimately money does flow back to the military, an assertion echoed by Manny Maung from Human Rights Watch.
“The tentacles of the octopus are very long — we know that the businesses that may be taking money from Australia are then probably paying fees to the landlord. In this case, the landlord happens to be the Myanmar military.”
The disclosure comes as local media reported Australian economist Sean Turnell, who has been detained since February last year, is expected to learn his fate in a secret trial next month.
Citing an unnamed court source, the Irrawaddy said Professor Turnell testified behind closed doors last week, pleading not guilty and saying documents in his possession were not confidential but were his economic recommendations to Aung San Suu Kyi’s government.
Senator Steele-John said removing funding ties to the military should be a priority and “it is the very least we can do to address this crisis in our region”.
“Australia should absolutely not be doing business with companies that have ties to the Myanmar military,” he said.
“I am calling on the Australian government’s words of condemnation of the military in Myanmar to match their actions. Condemning the coup, and then spending a reported $2.5 million that can find its way back to the military junta is hypocritical.”
In her response, Senator Wong added that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) confirmed that list of property providers were not subject to targeted financial sanctions in Australia.
Australia has imposed no new sanctions on Myanmar military since the coup.
In a statement, a DFAT spokesperson said that the “safety and security of our staff in Myanmar is our highest priori ty, there are a limited number of suitably secure accommodation options for Australian staff in the current security context”.
“Our staff accommodation is in line with that used by other embassies, some of which rent through the same companies or providers. We keep accommodation options under review.”
They added the Australian Embassy does not have an “active lease” with MGallery Hotel, which was used by “for the purpose of conducting official business”.
