Jade from Burma, up for sale during the Beijing Olympic Games, to be inaugurated on August 8, will only help the Burmese military regime to buy more weapons and unleash violence against the people in Burma.

Four days before the Olympic Games, a statement released today by the All Kachin Students and Youth Union (AKSYU) and 8-8-08 for Burma read “ACTIVISTS CALL FOR BOYCOTT OF BURMESE ‘BLOOD JADE’ IN BEIJING”.

In a statement it has urged visitors to China for the 2008 Summer Olympics not to buy souvenirs and jewelry made from Burmese jade to avoid supporting Burma's abuse-ridden jade mining industry that provides the military regime with one of its larges sources of hard cash.

“There is a growing demand for Burmese jade that will only increase due to the promotion of jade in the Olympics. The generals will keep using their jade profits to buy weapons and crush dissent in Burma unless individuals take a stand,” said Cristina Moon of 8-8-08 for Burma.

A new report “BLOOD JADE: Burmese Gemstones & the Beijing Games” released today by the AKSYU and 8-8-08 for Burma said in an executive summary that “Jade production comes at significant cost to the human rights and environmental security of the people living in Kachin State.”

Land confiscation and forced relocation are commonplace and improper mining practices lead to frequent landslides, floods, and other environmental and ecological damage and an HIV/AIDS epidemic, the new report added.

“Our mountains have disappeared and our youth are dying. The generals are letting their cronies mine away our future,” said Naw La of the AKSYU. “We urge people not to buy blood jade from Burma”.

According to the report, China has sold up to US $3 billion in weapons and military equipment to the regime, is among Burma's largest trading partners and foreign investors, and has staunchly defended the military regime from condemnation and sanction in forums such as the United Nations Security Council.