Myanmar’s luxury jewelery at risk of military violence in Myanmar: Report | War Stories

The anti-corruption watchdog has launched a series of gemstones to determine how to use the human rights funds to Myanmar, claiming that the country’s gemstone market has become an “important source” of money for its military rulers.

Mu a reports released last week, Global Witness reports that the Myanmar military, which overthrew the government on February 1, is now dominating the multibillion-dollar gemstone market.

It said the official data show the sector, which includes trading of ruby, sapphire and other gemstones, was priced from $ 346m to $ 415m per year from 2014 and 2017. The companies would be worth about $ 1.73bn to $ 2.07bn per year over four years.

Since the military leadership in this area, as well international sanctions Regarding Myanmar’s armed forces dealing with the sale of gemstones, Global Witness said “all companies should immediately monitor their earnings, to ensure that they do not provide funding for war, bribery, or government repression in Myanmar”.

The group’s report, based on more than 150 discussions with government officials, community members and industry representatives, stated that all Myanmar mineral resources are currently banned, as all licensed by the local government have expired in 2020, one year. before. seizure of government.

Troops did not issue clear licenses, but since the coup d’état, old mines have “exploded” in the country, Global Witness said, as thousands of workers flocked to the mines in Mogok in central Mandalay, offering bribes. to the military.

The illegal mining is taking place as a result of the “extreme instability” in Myanmar, including in Mogok, the report said, with accused soldiers. civil war crimes, including killing hundreds of anti-terrorists and shooting civilians across the border.

However, jewelry, wholesalers and retailers are still buying and selling rubies and other gemstones in Myanmar, it said.

‘Supporting Cruelty’

Made in Thailand, gemstones from Myanmar are sold to gemstones around the world and “and ultimately to consumers who have no way of knowing if they are contributing to violence”, it said.

Only one of the 20 Global Witness salespeople interviewed in Thailand, Fai Dee, was able to identify a mine from which one of its value sources came.

The same mine, Shwe Pyi Aye, has been controlled since 1995 by Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL), one of the two major divisions. military-controlled groups approved by the United States, United Kingdom, European Union and Canada.

A company spokesman from Fai Dee told Global Witness that “there is no way” to determine the exact time of the ruby, according to reports from Al Jazeera. The representative told a Global Witness researcher, who poses as a customer, that he sells his rubies to well-known American and British companies such as Harry Winston, Graff, Sotheby’s and Christie’s.

An open ruby ​​mine pit appears in Mogkok on February 27, 2014. [File: Soe Zeya Tun/ Reuters]

Asked for an answer, Fai Dee’s lawyer told Al Jazeera that the company had not acquired Shwe Pyi Aye ruby ​​during MEHL’s operation of the mine and the information collected prior to 1995.

The lawyer also claimed that Fai Dee had been working for 100 years and had found gemstones at that time from Myanmar, but that “Fai Dee had not bought any mining or state-owned enterprise in Myanmar” since 2008, when the US ruled. sanctions on military units related to the sale of precious stones.

These sanctions were lifted in 2016 following a change in civilian rule, but were also abolished this year following a coup d’etat.

Fai Dee’s lawyer said the company “did not violate any sanctions against Myanmar, nor did it engage in any human rights violations in the country”.

Some Thai retailers, who openly say they have stopped buying rubies in Myanmar are continuing, according to Global Witness. One company told a Global Witness investigator who pretended to be a customer that he could do this by July this year.

Due diligence

Global Witness also said that it was also connected with 30 international gemstones, real estate retailers and major retailers that sell gemstones, from the US, Europe and Asia.

“We found that many of them did not have the necessary means to ensure that their trading strategies did not cost money. As a result, these companies may have provided financial assistance to Myanmar’s military, one of the world’s most repressive regimes, in order to continue abusing civilians. in Myanmar. ”

Peter Kucik, a US legal expert in Myanmar since 2007 and an expert in exploring the Mogok gemstones, told Al Jazeera that Global Witness’s findings were consistent with his own.

Recognizing that Myanmar has been subject to various sanctions, imposed in 2008, abolished in 2016 and reinstated in February after the ruling, Kucik said in the case of cases, companies only need to be concerned with gemstones released since February. seizure of government.

But he said there is no way to know if ruby ​​was mined in 2017 or 2021.

Man picks ruby ​​at ruby ​​mine in Mogok February 27, 2014 [File: Soe Zeya Tun/ Reuters]

“There is no way to actually do it. “Because of the difficulty or inability to identify legitimate sources, the new unchanging approach seems to be the same as the old one – to stop finding any rubies in Myanmar in an attempt to cut junta costs,” he said.

Kucik said the sanctions were “severe”, meaning that if the US company were to end up with a Myanmar ruby ​​that violated sanctions, it would be a violation, even if the company did not know its origins.

“When I go to Thailand and buy a bag full of rubies and the seller says that 100 percent did not leave Myanmar, but they did leave, I still have a problem, but this can be tested depending on how they can be used. intentionally, “he said.

Global Witness reports that only three companies, Tiffany & Co, Signet Jewelers and Boodles, have publicly announced that they will stop looking for Myanmar gemstones since then. Cartier and Gubelin told the group the same thing, when Harry Winston announced publicly on December 9 that he would no longer find gemstones in Myanmar.

“With its unwavering commitment to fair and just research, the Harry Winston House will no longer offer gemstones from Burmese retailers, regardless of the dates they have commissioned,” it said.

Al Jazeera contacted Sotheby’s and Christie for comment. But there was no response at the time of publication.