The former British ambassador to Myanmar has been detained in the Southeast Asian country, sources told Reuters, as Britain announced new sanctions.
Vicky Bowman, who heads the Myanmar Center for Responsible Business (MCRB), and her husband, Htein Lin, a Burmese artist and former political prisoner, are understood to have been arrested on Wednesday.
The news came shortly before an announcement of new UK sanctions against the Myanmar regime.
The arrest took place in Yangon, formerly known as Rangoon, the largest city in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
It is unclear on what charges they have been arrested, and a spokesman for the Myanmar junta did not return calls for comment.
A Foreign Office spokesman, echoing a statement from the British Embassy in Myanmar, said: “We are concerned about the detention of a British woman in Myanmar. We are in contact with local authorities and are offering consular assistance.”
Myanmar has been going through a period of political and economic chaos since the military overthrew an elected government in early 2021.
The sanctions come as hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees mark the fifth anniversary of their exodus from Myanmar to Bangladesh, after Myanmar’s military launched a crackdown in late 2017 following a rebel attack.
The UK said that:
• Take further action against the Myanmar Armed Forces• Impose new sanctions against companies linked to the military to target the military’s access to weapons and revenue• And confirm its intention to intervene in the Gambia v. Myanmar International Court of Justice to support international justice efforts
In November 2019, Gambia – with the support of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) – submitted a case to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, alleging that Myanmar’s atrocities against the Rohingya ethnic group in Rakhine state constituted a violation of the UN convention on genocide. The case is ongoing.
Britain’s Asia minister Amanda Milling said in a statement: “We stand in solidarity with the Rohingya people and condemn the appalling campaign of ethnic cleansing by the Myanmar Armed Forces.”
Burma Campaign UK, which pushed the British government to join the Gambia v Myanmar case almost three years ago, said it was delighted with the sanctions announcement.
Chief executive Anna Roberts said: “For decades the Burmese military has been allowed to violate international law with impunity, encouraging them to commit genocide and attempt another coup.”
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1:32 Sky News reports on the thousands of Rohingya Muslims trapped on the beaches of Myanmar where they have effectively been left to die.
Who is Vicky Bowman?
Bowman was the British ambassador to Myanmar between 2002 and 2006 and has more than three decades of experience in the country.
A profile on the website of the Institute for Human Rights and Business says she has been the director of the Myanmar Center for Responsible Business (MCRB) since July 2013.
Before that, he says, he worked at Rio Tinto and held a number of senior roles in the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
She was also second secretary at the Myanmar Embassy in the UK from 1990 to 1993 and speaks Burmese.
According to the MCRB’s website, it “aims to provide a trusted and impartial forum for dialogue, seminars and briefings to relevant parties, as well as access to international knowledge and tools.”
It receives funding from the governments of the UK, Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Ireland and Denmark.