11 JAN 2021 A customer picks up a can of Kirin beer at a liquor shop Tokyo, 19 January 19, 2009. Photo: EPA-EFE
Japanese beer giant Kirin said Thursday an investigation into whether money from its joint ventures with the Myanmar military had funded rights abuses was "inconclusive".
"Unfortunately, the
assessment was inconclusive as a result of Deloitte being unable to access
sufficient information required to make a definitive determination," Kirin
said.
It is "wholly unacceptable" for any proceeds from the joint ventures
to be used for military purposes, its statement added.
Myanmar denies committing genocide, justifying the 2017 operations as a means of rooting out the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army armed group.
The military also stands accused of widespread abuses in its operations to stem
insurgencies by various other ethnic minority groups in the country's restive
borderlands.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch urged Kirin Holdings Company, Ltd. to
publish its investigation report on the military-owned Myanmar Economic Holdings
Ltd. (MEHL) and swiftly cut ties with the company.
“Kirin should regain some trust of consumers, investors, and rights groups by
releasing the details of its investigation into the operations of its Myanmar
military business partner,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human
Rights Watch. “Kirin’s business association with MEHL raises serious human
rights concerns that need urgent action, not further obfuscation behind an
investigation whose results are kept secret.”
In its January 7 statement, Kirin said the investigation by Deloitte was
“inconclusive as a result of Deloitte being unable to access sufficient
information required to make a definitive determination.”
Kirin said the investigation aimed to determine the “destination of proceeds
received by” MEHL from Myanmar Brewery Ltd. (MBL) and Mandalay Brewery Ltd.
(MDL), and that it would provide a “further update” on its business activities
in Myanmar by the end of April.
Kirin owns a majority stake in Myanmar Brewery Ltd. and Mandalay Brewery Ltd.
in partnership with the military-owned-and-operated MEHL. In 2015, Kirin bought
55 percent of Myanmar Brewery Ltd., 4 percent of which it later transferred to
the military-owned firm. In 2017, Kirin acquired 51 percent of Mandalay Brewery
Ltd. in a separate joint venture with the firm.
Myanmar Brewery, whose beverages include its flagship and ubiquitous Myanmar
Beer brand, on its own boasts a market share of nearly 80 percent, according to
figures published by Kirin in 2018.
Kirin said Thursday it would uphold a suspension of dividend payments from both
breweries that was originally issued in November.
A United Nations-backed Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar reported in 2018 that
atrocities committed by Myanmar’s armed forces “rise to the level of both war
crimes and crimes against humanity.”
In a September 2019 report, the panel concluded that “any foreign business
activity” involving Myanmar’s military and its conglomerates Myanmar Economic
Holdings Ltd. and Myanmar Economic Corporation pose “a high risk of
contributing to or being linked to, violations of human rights law and
international humanitarian law.”
“It’s been more than a year since the UN Fact-Finding Mission strongly advised
foreign companies to cut their ties with the Myanmar military, yet Kirin is
still dragging its feet with what should be a clear decision,” Robertson said.
“Kirin should realize that the longer their involvement with the Myanmar armed
forces, the greater their risk of complicity in military abuses, further
tarnishing the company’s human rights record,” he added.
Myanmar's military did not answer calls for comment.
No comments:
Post a Comment