The New Light of Myanmar, the junta’s mouthpiece newspaper, said thousands of gem merchants from Myanmar and abroad had gathered in the commercial hub Yangon for the sale, which began Wednesday and runs until Nov. 26

A total of 2,093 dealers in precious stones came from China, the paper said, while others came from countries including India, Singapore, Thailand, Italy, Britain, Japan, Australia, the United States and Canada.

“Altogether 3,540 gem merchants at home and abroad attended the Midyear Gem Emporium, and more merchants will arrive here to attend it,” the New Light of Myanmar said, adding that so far 481 lots of jade had been sold.

U.S. First Lady Laura Bush on Friday called for a global boycott of jewels from Myanmar, urging companies to shun the gems show in Yangon after a deadly crackdown on peaceful protests in September.

In a White House statement, she said that every stone “bought, cut, polished, and sold sustains an illegitimate, repressive regime.”

New York-based Human Rights Watch has also urged a boycott of the sale, saying the trade in the precious stones supported human rights abuses including land confiscation and forced labor at the gem mines.

Poverty stricken Myanmar is the source of up to 90 percent of the world’s rubies, and each auction of precious stones rakes in more than US$100 million, making it a key source of revenue for the military regime.

The latest sale comes as Myanmar faces global pressure over its violent clampdown on protests which began in August, with the United States and the European Union tightening sanctions aimed at the ruling generals.

An official from the state-run Myanmar Gems Enterprise last week told AFP that the military government hopes to sell some 5,500 lots of jade, gems and pearls, worth nearly 200 million euros (about US$300 million).

Subscribe to The China Post and save.  Click hereSharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 800 characters max

Receive China Post promos

Respond to this email