The Dawei Democracy Movement Strike Committee called on people to boycott Thai energy giant PTT in Launglon Township, Tanintharyi Region, on Wednesday.
The committee said the boycott was a “fight without arms” as PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) and the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) were helping to fund Myanmar’s junta.
It said PTT and PTTEP are working at Yadana, Yetagun, Zawtika and Shwe offshore gas fields with huge investments, giving large sums to the regime.
“The junta is using this money to buy arms and fuel jet fighters and helicopters. It is murdering people every day with this income so we need to boycott its operations,” said a committee member.
PTT pays the junta over US$500 million a year through its projects with the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprises in three of the country’s four major gas fields, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
HRW reported that the company paid $125 million in taxes in 2019 to the junta’s Ministry of Planning, Finance, and Industry, whose minister Win Shein was recently sanctioned by the US.
In March 2022, PTTEP confirmed that it will be taking over from TotalEngergies’ operation of the Yadana gas field after the French major abandoned the project in protest at junta atrocities.
Energy groups, including TotalEnergies, Chevron and Woodside, all announced their retreat from operations in Myanmar in January last year amid pressure from humanitarian groups.
“We explained about the flow of millions of dollars into the hands of the junta so we have organized the people to join the boycott of PTTEP and all its products, including PTT lubricants,” said a strike committee member.
The committee said it will continue the boycott until blood money stops flowing to the junta.