BANGKOK — Myanmar’s multi-billion-dollar jade mines risk becoming a “slush fund” for military repression, Global Witness said Tuesday, urging consumers to boycott purchasing any jade and gemstones from the coup-wracked nation.
The country has been in turmoil since the military toppled the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, with more than 880 killed in a junta crackdown on dissent, according to a local monitoring group.
Myanmar is one of the world’s biggest sources of jadeite and the industry is largely driven by insatiable demand for the translucent green gem from neighboring China.
The mines in northern Kachin state are mired in secrecy, but help finance both sides of a decad…
Keep on reading: Myanmar jade industry becoming ‘slush fund’ for junta–report