Mizzima News

New Delhi – In order to avoid contributing to the human suffering of Burmese mine workers, a new report urges global consumers, visitors to China, as well as Olympic spectators and athletes, to boycott buying what is called 'blood Jade' from Burma.

Two activist groups – the All Kachin Students and Youths Union (AKSYU) and 8-8-08 for Burma - in a new report describe Burma's Jade as being bathed in the blood of mine workers, whose rights are abused, land is confiscated and who are subject to forced labor.

The new report, entitled 'Blood Jade,' states that Burmese Jadeites are increasing in demand as the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic draws nearer, with the Chinese government reportedly promoting the sale of souvenirs made of Jadeite.

"[M]any if not most of the Jade products on the general market [in China] are from the abuse-ridden Jadeite industry in Burma and profit Burma's brutal military regime," the report expounds.

Burmese Jadeite is a global business predicated on human suffering and the absence of the rule of law, and is controlled with an iron grip by Burma's military regime, says the report, adding that Jadeite exports annually earn the Burmese junta millions of dollars.

The 8-8-08 for Burma group cautions that while Jadeite is beautiful to look at, it costs the lives of many Burmese people, particularly in northern Kachin state, where major Jade mines are located.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But how can Burma's blood Jade retain its beauty in our eyes when we know what has gone into it and that Jade profits are propping up, probably even arming, the junta?," Cristina Moon, executive director of 8-8-08 for Burma asks.

AKSYU, the group that conducted the research for the report, urges people not to buy Jade from Kachin state as it provides millions of dollars in profit to the Burmese military government, while violating the rights of the local population.

Discovery of Jadeite in Kachin state dates from as early as 1788. Originally mined by the local Kachin population, they were later joined by other ethnic groups including the Burman, as well as ethnic Chinese-owned companies in cooperation with the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), an armed resistance organization that actively fought the government until 1994.

But following a ceasefire agreement with the KIO in 1994, Burma's military regime passed what is known as the 'Myanmar Gemstone Law,' which purportedly intended to curb the illegal smuggling of gemstones – rubies, sapphires, emeralds, Jadeite, diamonds, pearls, and other precious gems.

Though there has been a significant impact on smuggling, the real result of the law is that it pushed private mining companies out of the industry as the government made it mandatory to obtain costly permits for mining.

"[S]mall, independently owned companies without ties to the regime and their close associates are effectively barred from obtaining mining permits," the report contends.

According to the report, approximately 30 joint venture companies are currently involved in mining Jadeite, while several local people who had earlier owned private mining companies have become mere laborers.

As the Burmese government's figures on any export related industry are unreliable, it is difficult to obtain accurate figures as to the profit that the ruling generals derive from exporting Jadeite. However, Cristina Moon from the 8-8-08 for Burma group told Mizzima the Jade-trade is one of the regime's largest sources of foreign income.

"We're talking about millions of dollars in hard cash to the junta per year, even up to hundreds of millions," Moon elaborated.

China insists the Jade that it plans to include in its Olympic medals is from Qinghai province in China. However, with Burma's 'Imperial Green' Jade the only source of gem-quality Jade in the world, campaigners believe that a variety of Burmese Jade is being sold as souvenirs in the open market in China.

"We believe there are a variety of souvenirs on the market, such as carvings and statues. Expensive jewelry made of Burmese Jade is also ubiquitous in China," Moon continued.

She added that souvenirs made of Burmese Jade are inseparable from human misery. It is not only a cause of atrocities in and around the mines in Kachin state, but the gem industry also gives the junta a great deal of foreign currency, of which Jade makes up a large part.

"People should boycott Burma's blood Jade just like they have conscientiously chosen not to buy conflict diamonds from places like Sierra Leone, Angola, and the DRC," Moon added.