Trump-ally Roger Stone condemned for providing lobbying services to Myanmar’s military junta | Roger Stone
US lobbyist Roger Stone, a long-time friend and ally of Donald Trump, has been condemned for accepting $50,000 a month to “rebuild” relations between Washington and Myanmar’s military-backed government.
Myanmar leaders have been isolated internationally since seizing power in a coup in 2021 and have been repeatedly accused of atrocities that could amount to war crimes. Activists say military rulers who recently held widely condemned “sham” elections are now trying to reassert themselves abroad.
Stone provided “public affairs services” to Myanmar’s information ministry, according to documents filed under the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act.
The applications state that these services are aimed at “rebuilding relations between the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and the United States, focusing on trade, natural resources and humanitarian assistance.”
Stone is listed as a consultant for the firm DCI Group.
Stone, 73, is a longtime political strategist and Trump confidant. He was convicted in 2019 of obstructing a congressional investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. He was sentenced to 40 months in prison but never went to prison. He was granted a pardon by Trump in 2020.
Justice for Myanmar, a civil society group, accused DCI Group and Stone of profiting from “a heavily sanctioned junta that commits war crimes and crimes against humanity with complete impunity.”
DCI Group and Roger Stone have been contacted for comment.
The United States has imposed various sanctions against individuals and businesses affiliated with the Myanmar military in recent years. These were announced in response to both the military’s alleged genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority, which is currently before the International Court of Justice, and the 2021 military coup.
The coup that toppled former leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s government plunged the country into economic turmoil and spiraling civil war. The military has been accused by UN experts and human rights groups of persistent atrocities against civilians as it seeks to suppress opposition movements.
Myanmar Independent Investigative Mechanism, a UN agency established by the UN Human Rights Council, Warned in 2024 There is “substantial evidence” that war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed by the Myanmar military after the coup.
The military has previously defended its operations by saying it targets terrorists aiming to destabilize the country.
Myanmar’s military rulers held staggered elections earlier this year and declared them a return to normalcy. But the vote was widely condemned as a one-sided fraud. Min Aung Hlaing, the military general who led the 2021 coup, was appointed president last month.
Conflicts have continued to intensify in Myanmar for months since then. More than 450 people died in air and drone attacks in March, the highest monthly death toll since the resistance to the 2021 coup began. According to AcledMonitoring conflicts globally.
