The pending sale of New Belgium Brewing has been meet with resistance and protestors just days before brewery employees are scheduled to vote on the sale Tuesday to Japanese beer conglomerate Kirin Holdings.
It turns out Kirin Holdings owns majority stocks in another beer operation in Myanmar, aka Burma, that financially supports a ruthless regime that forced half a million Muslims to flee the country during an operation against alleged terrorists.
The U.N. called it a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing,” so you can see why New Belgium consumers are shocked and appalled at the pending sale.
KUNC reports New Belgium co-founder Kim Jordan invited protestors on Saturday, which included a Myanmar refuge, to come inside for a little chat.
The protestors didn’t seem happy about the conversation afterwards, KUNC reports, while the company released this mealy mouth statement:
“We were very grateful and humbled to have heard the personal stories of the refugees,” the statement read. “Going forward we will continue conversations with this group and are seeking out additional advisors to be as informed as possible on this important subject matter, especially if we have the opportunity to express our values on a global platform.”
In other words, they intend to go through with the sale, but they will be very informed about human rights abuses in Myanmar.