သူခိုးလက္ခံ သစၥာေဖာက္မ်ားကို ေဖၚထုတ္ျခင္း

Activists accuse insurers on Burma

By Amy Kazmin in New Delhi
Published: July 29 2008 03:00 Last updated: July 29 2008 03:00

Activists pressing for an end to military rule in Burma have accused global insurance groups of "underwriting" the Burmese junta by directly and indirectly insuring businesses that provide a cash lifeline for the generals.

In a report entitled "Insuring Repression", the Burma Campaign UK urges global insurance companies, including Lloyd's of London and Japan's Tokio Marine, to pledge to stop underwriting policies issued by state-owned Myanma Insurance, the monopoly provider of insurance policies in Burma. The report says global insurers have facilitated businesses such as airlines, natural gas pipelines, and ports and shipping services, which provide cash to the regime.
Johnny Chatterton, the report's author, said the insurance industry's secrecy made it difficult to determine the companies' precise interests in Burma.
The group called on large insurers to clarify their interests and on the European Union to impose sanctions that would prohibit insurance companies in member countries from doing business with Myanma Insurance or insuring entities in Burma.
Already, 11 of the world's top 30 insurance companies are prohibited by US financial sanctions from doing Burma-related business.
Lloyd's said: "A very small amount of reinsurance is written at Lloyd's in Burmese shipping and aviation. We are unaware of any -businesses at Lloyd's defying international sanctions. If we discovered any underwriters breaching sanctions, we would take action immediately."
Tokio Marine said it could not comment on the issue.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/775dc688-5d04-11dd-8d38-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1