Denies Myanmar's Military Accusation, Billionaire George Soros Social Foundation Demands Release Of Detained Staff

Aung San Suu Kyi meets George Soros. (Source: gnlm.com.mm)

JAKARTA - The Open Society Foundation, a charity founded by billionaire George Soros, on Tuesday March 16 called for the immediate release of a staff member detained in Myanmar and said allegations of financial misconduct were false.

State media in Myanmar reported that authorities have detained an official from the Myanmar Open Society Foundation and are looking for 11 other employees on suspicion of providing funds to opponents of the February 1 coup by the Myanmar military.

"The Open Society Foundation is deeply concerned about reports that members of the OSM (Open Society Myanmar) staff have been detained in Myanmar," said the Open Society Foundation founded by George Soros in an emailed statement.

"We ask for his immediate release. We are concerned by reports that the authorities are trying to interrogate other staff members, "the statement continued

The Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper, which has been a mouthpiece for the military for years, said OSM transferred funds without seeking permission from the Department of Foreign Exchange Management.

The group then exchanged US $ 1.4 million into Myanmar kyat currency without following the necessary rules and regulations, the newspaper said.

"Claims of financial infringement, including that OSM acted illegally by withdrawing their own local currency funds from SMID banks, are false," argued OSF.

"The claim that OSM is using these funds for illegal purposes is false. These funds are used solely for OSM purposes." continued OSF.

The Global New Light of Myanmar paper said an unidentified non-governmental organization provided cash assistance to the civil disobedience movement (CDM) opposing Myanmar's military regime.

The newspaper said Open Society Myanmar finance officer, Phyu Pa Pa Thaw, had been questioned since last Friday about cash flows into the CDM movement and anti-coup rallies. Authorities are said to be looking for 11 other OSM employees to interrogate them.

"These allegations represent a worrying attempt to attack and discredit those who wish to return to peace and democracy in Myanmar," said the OSF.

For information, OSF is an international grant network that was founded in April 1993, part of the Soros Foundation. Its goal is to help civil society groups around the world financially.

The foundation is active in the fields of justice, education, public health and independent media. In addition, the foundation has branches in 37 countries with headquarters in New York, United States

Myanmar Coup. The VOI editorial team continues to monitor the political situation in one of the ASEAN member countries. Casualties from civilians continue to fall. Readers can follow the news surrounding the Myanmar military coup by tapping on this link.