The Burmese group Justice for Myanmar (JFM) and the Washington-based Center for Advanced Defence Studies (C4ADS) have called on the well-known German truck manufacturer Traton and its parent company Volkswagen to cut ties with the Chinese state-owned company Sinotruk, which supplies military trucks to the Myanmar junta. This was announced by the Irrawaddy, the underground magazine (in Myanmar) associated with the resistance to the military junta that took power more than three years ago. In a joint statement, the two groups claim that the military junta is relying on a fleet of military trucks assembled from German materials to transport troops and weapons across the country as it continues its campaign of terror against the people of Myanmar.
The two groups claim there is strong evidence that the regime’s army is acquiring and assembling military trucks with the help of Sinotruk. In return, the Chinese company benefits from the investment and cooperation of the German company Traton, they claim in their report. Sinotruk, on the other hand, says it has never done business with the military junta or sold trucks to its armed forces. However, JfM and C4ADS have information from open sources that Sinotruk’s vehicles are widely used by the junta in its military operations and that the company has worked directly with the junta through sales and production support.
“The Burmese junta’s ongoing campaign of terror against the people of Myanmar relies on a fleet of military trucks to transport troops and weapons across the country. There is strong evidence,” writes Justice for Myanmar, “that the army procures and assembles these trucks with the assistance of the Chinese state-owned company Sinotruk, which in turn benefits from the investment and cooperation of the German company Traton SE.” The two groups – which called on Sinotruk to prove its corporate responsibility – also called on the German government and the European Commission to use their powers over Traton and Volkswagen to ensure that their products do not end up in the hands of the junta and that their investments do not support war crimes and crimes against humanity.
FND/TG
On the cover photo, Siegfried Modola (winner of Wars 2023): Karenni resistance fighters take shelter in a drainage ditch during a bombing raid
