Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they will make to the government of Myanmar regarding the release of the former President of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), Reverend Dr Hkalam Samson, who was reportedly arrested at Mandalay International Airport on 5 December.

The UK is concerned by reports that Reverend Hkalam Samson has been arrested. British Embassy staff in Yangon are monitoring the situation closely.

Although the UK has had no political engagement with the military regime since the coup, it continues to call publicly for the military regime to release all those arbitrarily detained. On 27 July 2022, the UK secured a UN Security Council (UNSC) Press Statement calling for the release of all those in arbitrary detention. On 17 November 2022, the Foreign Secretary stated that all those unjustly imprisoned in Myanmar should be released. We will continue to use all available fora, including the UN Security Council (UNSC), to raise these concerns.