Sale of popular North Carolina brewery sparks outrage over human rights issues

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The sale of a popular North Carolina brewery is causing outrage, but not for reasons you might expect.

New Belgium announced its intent to sell the business to Australia-based Lion Little World Beverages.

The United Nations and Amnesty International say that Lion Little’s parent company Kirin financially supports the government of Myanmar, according to our news partner WLOS.

Myanmar’s government is accused of committing genocide against the minority Rohingya population.

In response, the Karen community of North Carolina, which is made up of people from Burma, sent a letter to New Belgium stakeholders saying, "There are extreme human rights abuses taking place in Myanmar against the ethnic Rohingya community, which is a Muslim community and they have been under genocide.”

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Kirin said in a statement they will examine their operations and relationships with Myanmar.

“We take these matters very seriously. At Kirin, respect for human rights is fundamental to all of our business activities. Consistent with Kirin’s ongoing monitoring of the situation, we will now conduct a further examination of our operations and relationships in Myanmar.”

New Belgium plans to go ahead with the same, which could be finalized as soon as Tuesday.

NEW BELGIUM STATEMENT:

"New Belgium is proud to be an ethical organization that is deeply rooted in our communities, and we have a 29-year history of proving that business can be a force for good. New Belgium has had a seat at the table with Lion and Kirin in identifying a path forward that addresses our shared concerns. This will involve a further examination of Kirin’s operations and relationships in Myanmar, under the auspices of Kirin’s International Advisory Board (IAB). Kim Jordan, New Belgium co-founder, has been invited to participate in this process.

We appreciate that our friends and fans are raising concerns around Kirin’s business in Myanmar, this news is certainly unsettling. We believe Kirin shares our commitment to human rights and we will continue to champion humanity and equity within all our relationships. Our view remains that the partnership with Lion Little World Beverages is the right one to take NBB into the future and we have a firm commitment from Kirin that our own commitment to doing the right thing by our co-workers, promoting innovation and excellence in beer, and being a business role model will continue to thrive under this new ownership."