------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: December 17, 1995 Issue #304 Noted in Passing: If you put up a poster about democracy at Rangoon University you get 15 years in jail, if you hold a meeting to discuss human rights you get 15 years in jail, but you can sell heroin in the college dormitory and nobody will bother you. - student veteran of the 1988 movement (see SAIN: OUT OF CONTROL: THE AIDS EPIDEMIC IN BURMA) HEADINGS: ========= ASSK: LETTER FROM BURMA SAIN: OUT OF CONTROL: THE AIDS EPIDEMIC IN BURMA WASHINGTON TIMES: WHOSE VOICE IS IT? IHT: OP-ED: THE WORLD CAN LEND A HAND TO BURMA'S DEMOCRATS IHT: ACTIVISM THAT HURTS PEOPLE IN NEED IHT: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: BUSINESS IN BURMA NEW STRAITS TIMES: KIT SIANG: SUSPEND RELATIONS WITH NIGERIA WORLD STREET JOURNAL: ACTIVISTS AND EXILES KEEP UP BLOOMBERG: SHAREHOLDERS ASK COMPANIES TO STOP REUTER: U.N. PULLS FILM AFTER BURMA PROTESTS COMMENT BY ZAR NI ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASSK: LETTER FROM BURMA December 10, 1995 LETTER FROM BURMA by Aung San Suu Kyi (This is the third in a yearlong series of letters, the Japanese translation of which appears in the MAINICHI SHIMBUN the same day.) Mainichi Daily News, Sunday, December 10, 1995 THAMANYA: A PLACE OF PEACE AND KINDNESS AT THAMANYA (1) It was noon when we entered the three-mile radius around the hill of Thamanya that comes under the fatherly care of the /Hsayadaw/. The air hung warm and still and groups of monks, women ascetics and little novices were working on the road, the ends of their robes draped over their shaven heads, their faces well-rounded and cheerful. We passed clusters of huts and small bungalows smothered in a tangle of greenery and at last came up through a bazaar to the foot of the hill where there were some brick buildings and a number of cars. It was not too crowded. Soon, after the full moon of /Thidingyut/, the place would be bustling with thousands of pilgrims from all over the country. We had deliberately chosen to come at a time when we could listen quietly to the /Hsayadaw/ and absorb the spirit of this unusual domain of loving kindness and peace founded on the edge of lands where violence had held sway for decades. The /Hsayadaw/ divides his time between two monastic residences, one at the foot of the hill and one near the summit. He received us in the audience chamber of the residence at the foot of the hill. I was about to describe the /Hsaydaw/ as tall and well-built, then my eyes fell on his photograph and it occurred to me that he was not physically as large as the image impressed on my mind, that in fact he was somewhat frail. Perhaps it was the aura of protective strength around him that made him seem bigger than he actually was. There is a Burmese saying: *Ten thousand birds can perch on one good tree.* The /Hsayadaw/ is as a strong, upright tree spreading out stout branches thickly covered with leaves and laden with fruit, offering shelter and sustenance to all who come under his shade. On and around the hill which was barely inhabited little more than a decade ago there now live over 400 monks and between 200 and 300 women ascetics, all cared for by the /Hsayadaw/. In addition everybody who comes to the hill can eat flavorsome vegetarian meals without any payment. Many of the villagers who live within the domain come daily for their food. On holidays when pilgrims flood in, more than 60 sacks of rice have to be cooked and almost a whole drum of oil goes into the curries. The /Hsayadaw/ is very particular about using only peanut oil in the interest of the health of his hordes of visitors. There is a large shed in which 20 men cook rice in giant steamers made of concrete. In the kitchen, appetizing-looking curries bubble and simmer in huge wok-shaped vessels; the spoons, carved out of wood, are larger than shovels and the spatulas used for stirring are as big as rowing boat oars. Not far from the kitchen some people are engaged in making meat substitute from a type of yam. It is not difficult to be a vegetarian at Thamanya: the food, cooked with generosity and care, is both wholesome and delicious. The day or our arrival we had two lunches, one specially prepared for us and one in the pilgrims' dining hall. The second lunch consisted of just a few dishes but these were not inferior in taste to the banquet-like meal we had first eaten and replete as we were, we found it no hardship to do justice to the food of the pilgrims. But food is not primarily what the /Hsayadaw/ provides for those who come within his ken. The first question he asked me after we had made our obeisances was whether I had come to him because I wanted to get rich. No, I replied, I was not interested in getting rich. He went on to explain the greatest treasure to be gained was that of nirvana. How naive I was to have imagined that the /Hsayadaw/ would have been referring to material riches. He spoke in parables to teach us the fundamental principles of Buddhism. But there was nothing affected about him and his deeply spiritual nature did not exclude a sense of humor. The /Hsayadaw/ seldom leaves Thamanya but he displays astonishing knowledge of all that is going on throughout the country. He combines with traditional Buddhist values a forward-looking attitude, prepared to make use of modern technology in the best interests of those who have come under his care. There are a number of strong, useful cars in Thamanya in which the /Hsayadaw/'s active young monk assistants go dashing around the domain checking on the road construction projects. The /Hsayadaw/ himself also goes out everyday (driven in a Pajero donated by one of his devotees, vastly superior to our borrowed vehicle) to encourage the workers and to give them snack, /pan/ (a preparation of betel leaf, lime and areca nuts) and /cheroots/. The sight of his serene face and the tangible proof of his concern for them seems to spur on the workers to greater efforts. Whenever the /Hsayadaw/ goes through his domain people sink down on their knees on the roadside and make obeisance, their faces bright with joy. Young and old alike run out of their homes as soon as they spot his car coming, anxious not to miss the opportunity of receiving his blessing. ****************************************************** SAIN: OUT OF CONTROL: THE AIDS EPIDEMIC IN BURMA December 16, 1995 A report from Rangoon by the Southeast Asian Information Network The last thing the embattled people of Burma (Myanmar) need is more bad news. Seven years after a brutal military crackdown on their mass movement for democracy, and five years after their resounding choice of a democratic system in national elections, they still live under a brutally repressive military regime, and they are still among the poorest people in Asia. But there is bad news indeed in the tables and figures compiled by the country's National AIDS Program in their cramped and dusty offices in Rangoon. Burma, one of Aisa's poorest and most isolated countries, is undergoing a devastating epidemic of HIV/AIDS. There are many talented and dedicated physicians, nurses, and public health workers in Burma, and many are committed to HIV prevention and AIDS care, but resources are scarce, and the political situation and the isolation of their country makes their efforts all the more difficult. HIV was first detected in Burma in the late 1980's. In 1980-90, significant rates were identified in injecting drug users. Just 3 years later, in 199 lta, in towns and villages in the far north, in the deep south, on the Thai border to the East and on the India border to the West. In Kachin State, a remote mountainous province bordering China, 93% of several hundred addicts tested in a 1994 survey wer e HIV infected, the highest rate reported among injecting drugs users in the world. Wandering the battered pavements of Rangoon, of Mandalay, it's hard to imagine that as many as 400,000 of the gracious and long-suffering people one sees are carrying a f atal virus; but they are. And, given the state of Burma's public health system and the political and social realities of life under the countries military dictatorship, the Burmese AIDS epidemic is just getting started. The global HIV/AIDS epidemic has taken a new turn the 1990's. The World Health Organization estimates that the HIV virus is currently spreading faster , with more than 1 and 1/2 million infections, Thailand, with at least 800,000; Burma, with perhaps 400,000; and Cambodia with close to 200,000 of a relatively small population of less than 7 million. While these figures are disturbing, it is not the abs olute numbers of people infected that have caused such concern in the international public health community but the unprecedented speed with which HIV is spreading in these densely populated Asian nations. This is nowhere more evident than in the case of Burma, where backward medical conditions, poverty, the country's ongoing political crisis, mass population movements, and a flood of cheap heroin have led to explosive HIV spread. Of the principal routes of HIV spread (unprotected sexual intercourse, sharing of injection equipment among drug users, transfusion of infected blood a all four. Condoms were illegal until 1992, and they are now used by less than 1% of the population, making virtually all sex unprotected. Prostitution is illegal, and men who patronize sex workers can be charged under laws dating from the 1880's British colonial penal code which equates these acts with rape. Sentences can be harsh; up to ten years in prison, and this drives prostitution deeply underground and, tragically, out of the reach of public health workers who might educate sex workers and clien ts about the HIV problem. Still, there is prositution in the country, and trafficking of Burmese women into other sex markets in the region is a significant problem. Making the blood supply safe has been a priority of the underfunded and understaffed national program, and progess has been made, but the supply is far ; two of Burma's fourteen states and divisions have not yet started HIV testing. Because so many pregnant women are anemic, and prenatal care so limited, transfusions after delivery are much more common than in developed nations, compounding the problem. And of course, there is the war. While many ethnic groups have now signed ceasefire agreements with the SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council) fighting continues in Burma's 40 year civil war even in these areas. Battlefield conditions in thes e rural ethnic areas are ideal for HIV spread through unsafe medical practices. A further problem is that approximately 80% of medical practitioners work in the private sector. Resources are limited, syringes expensive, and re-use of unsterile equipment is thought to be a major problem. Even in government facilities, universal precations to prevent HIV spread in medical procedures are a luxury few hospitals can afford. While sexual transmission and unsafe medical practices are compelling problems, the most significant route of HIV spread in Burma is through sharing of ve long pointed to Burma as one of the major opium growing and heroin exporting countries of the world. Estimates vary, but even the lowest suggest that Burma produces some 40% of the world's heroin. What is T less known is that Burma has also become a he , and carrying syringes can lead to long incarceration. Syringes are also in desperately short supply. As a result, addicts go to "tea stalls," shooting galleries behind shops and tea houses where professional injectors give them their doses. Up to 40 people may be injected with the same needle, efficiently spreading not only HIV but other blood borne infection including Hepatitis B and C, syphilis, and malaria. HIV rates among these addicts in 1994-1995 were over 80% in Rangoon, Mandalay and other c ities and towns were tests were done. Most of these addicts are young men, so sexual spread to other groups, including wives and girlfriends, is likely. Not surprisingly, HIV rates among pregnant women are rising rapidly as well. Burma poses special challenges to HIV researchers, donor agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations and bodies like UNICEF and the WHO, all of which have rma will need international support to attempt to control HIV and to cope with the large number of AIDS patients, it is also clear that working under the generals in charge of Burma's ruling junta is both difficult and ethically problematic. The Burmese junta is notoriously one of the worst human rights abusers in the world. The regime is feared and widely mistrusted by the people, and many of their policies and laws may actually be facilitating the spread of HIV. The best example of such policies is B urma's extensive prison system. All educational materials (indeed all reading materials) are banned in SLORC's jails, making education of prisoner next to impossible. Condoms are not available, ensuring that what sex does occur is unsafe. But more impo rtantly, prisoners are still used for collection of blood unsafe. A refusal on the part of the junta to monitor conditions in these prisons recently caused to the International Committee of the Red Cross to pull out of Burma. Burma activists, meanwhile, fear that AIDS control programs are unlikely to reach the people who need help the most, that accountability of funds is virtually imporrible to assure, and the regime, which craves international recognition, will attempt to use high profile AIDS program s to seek legitimacy. While the U.N., and indeed the U.S. Congress, have condemned the regime and called for the restoration of democracy in Burma, many major corporations, The SLORC have allowed some HIV programs to function, and have sanctioned the National AIDS Program, these steps may mask another, deeper reality of the AIDS situation under the regime. Conversations with health professionals point to 1988 as the year h eroin use became widespread among Burma's youth. Before 1988 there had been scattered addicts, and traditional use of smoked opium was common among some ethnic groups, but no Burmese could remember rampant and widespread use of heroin until 1988-1989. T he heroin epidemic coincides with the suppression of the mass movement of 1988, when millions of Burma's people rose up against years of military misrule and demanded democracy in the non-violent uprising that swept Aung San Suu Kyi to national prominence . Following the violent crackdown by the junta, elections were held under U.N. auspices in 1990, and the Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won an overwhelming victory, but the military refused to step aside. The rise in domestic heroin use in Burm a closely follwed the junta's consolidation of power. In 1995, then control of the country is close to absolute. They have remained in power through a combination of brutal repression, attraction of foreign investment capital, and high levels of militar y spending. The one sector of the economy they deny involvement in is the drug business, though heroin is easily Burma's most lucrative cash crop. Is the military directly involved? One student veteran of the 1988 movement had this to say "If you put u p a poster about democracy at Rangoon University you get 15 years in jail, if you hold a meeting to discuss human rights you get 15 years in jail, but you can sell heroin in the college dormitory and nobody will bother you." The Burmese democracy movement has called for economic sanctions against the junta, and these are currently being debated in the U.S., at the U.N., and ation for democracy. However, should the junta remain in power, the political and social realities of their rule may frustrate any attempts to control HIV, even with donor agency involvement and international participation. Perhaps the position of Archb ishop Desmond Tutu during the apartheid struggle best illustrates where AIDS researchers and organizations eager to help the Burmese people now find themselves. Tutu opposed the immunization programs UNICEF wanted to mount in the old South Africa. UNICE F's position was that "children are above politics." Tutu's position was that it was the apartheid system, not lack of vaccines, at the root of the disproportionate mortality among black children. Since UNICEF's involvement would give legitimacy to the Apartheid government's claims to be "helping" blacks, it had to be resisted. The tragedy of Burma may be that without a political solution to the countries' current crisis, HIV will be impossible to control. But unless the generals step aside soon, Burma will be devastated by AIDS. ********************************************************** WASHINGTON TIMES: WHOSE VOICE IS IT? December 13, 1995 Does this sound like the objective Voice of America describing a military dictator? "In this usual affable way, Gen. Khin Nyunt jokingly told the VOA that he was dubbed a notorious guy by the international media crowd, though there is not an ounce of truth in any of these negative portrayals." Another report quoted the Burmese ruler as saying his government "has not violated any human rights," without mentioning repeated U.N. allegations of widespread human rights abuses. Those are quotes from recent VOA Burmese-language service broadcasts that prompted an angry cable from the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon to Washington and the recall of the head of the VOA service in Burma. VOA says it is investigating the allegations of bias, but doubts any of its reporters are sympathetic to the regime. Douglas Steele, a former reporter in Burma, has exposed the VOA Burmese-language service on the Internet and sparked anxiety within VOA headquaters here. "The U.S. Embassy in Rangoon cabled Washington (last month) to complain about an apparent pro-regime bias in VOA Burmese-language broadcasts," Mr. Steele wrote. "The Embassy is complaining about a series of reports filed by the Burmese-language service chief Myint Zaw Lwin." Ms. Lwin, who was recalled to Washington, broadcast a lenthy interview with the wife of Burma's secret police chief, Gen. Khin Nyunt, and was later photographed making a donation for charity to the general. " American policy is to treat the (Burmese government) as a pariah," Mr. Steele wrote. "The image of an American official donating money to the head of Burma's secret police destroys the efforts of diplomats trying to carry out the American policy." VOA spokesman Joe O'Connell told the Associated Press it is unlikely any of the 12 members of the Burmese-language service, most of whom are based in Washington, are sympathetic to the Burmese governmment. "We regard the content of our broadcast very seriously," he said. "We have a reputation around the world for credibility. It's hard-earned." The United States cut off aid to Burma after the military government violently crushed unarmed pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988. Washington also has refused to name an ambassador to Rangoon. Burma's rulers refused to honor the results of a 1990 election won by the party of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released after six years of house arrest in July. ***************************************************** IHT: OP-ED: THE WORLD CAN LEND A HAND TO BURMA'S DEMOCRATS November 21, 1995 By David Arnott and Josef Silverstein New York -- In the struggle between the Burmese military and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the first round went to the lady. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has since landed several blows in the form of video-taped speeches for the UN Women's Conference in Beijing and a labor conference in Manila, as well as several outspoken press interviews. Then, on Oct 9, her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), made its move and reinstated her as secretary- general. The military responded by a leaked rejection of the reinstatement. The NLD says it will stick to its decision. Burma is a country of vast human and economic potential, but due to more than a generation of mismanagement by the military, the economy is in a state of chaos, and Burma is now classified as one of the poorest countries in the world. A major reason for this impoverishment is that 50 or so per cent of the national budget is allocated to the military, and the main areas of the economy are run by soldiers with no financial or economic expertise. A major reason for the high military spending is to prevent the people from rising again. A major reason for popular unrest is people's increasing poverty. A vicious circle. For six years the current incarnation of military rule, the State Law and Order Restoration Council or SLORC, kept Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest. During this time she rejected SLORC's proposal that she buy her freedom by leaving the country and abandoning Burmese politics. By virtue of the overwhelming victory her party won in the 1990 elections, as well as her personal popularity, she is the only figure who can unify the Burmese people and push through the necessary economic reforms by means other than fear. Her popularity is why she was kept under house arrest. It is also why the generals need her now. On July 10, the head of state, Senior General Than Shwe sent a letter to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi asking her to "help towards achieving peace and stability in the country". This is precisely the task that SLORC set itself seven years ago. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi accepted the offer. Her interest, as it has been all along, is a dialogue between the democratic forces and SLORC that will lead to genuine democracy, financial and economic reform, and a just political settlement of the civil war. The generals hope that by releasing Suu Kyi and entering a "dialogue" with her and her colleagues, they will gain domestic and international approval. They would like eventually to have her and her colleagues as puppets behind whose popularity and legitimacy they continue to exercise the real power. This is where the battle lines are now drawn: a genuine federal democracy vs a unitary military state behind a civilian front. Another reason for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's release is that the economy is in acute crisis and in urgent need of international assistance. The Japanese have repeatedly told SLORC that releasing Suu Kyi is the key to the international (or at least the Japanese and Asian Development Bank) treasure chest. Japan has already begun to renew assistance to Burma. SLORC hopes that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's release will also satisfy the European Union and the United States, and open the doors to further bilateral and multilateral assistance, including World Bank and IMF loans. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi of course is aware of these motives. Since her release she has repeatedly asked foreign governments not to rush to restore trade and other links, and has said that international pressure should continue. These then are some of the reasons behind the generals' release of their great adversary. There is also a logic in the timing: In terms of the civil war and internal military control, SLORC feels at the peak of its power. This might decline from now on for various reasons including, in the rural areas, increasing poverty with attendant malnutrition and health problems; and in the cities, especially Mandalay, growing unrest over Chinese commercial dominance. Also, the old dictator Ne Win is still alive (we assume) and this fact gives a measure of cohesion to the army. The head of military intelligence, Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, has said that the army might split if Daw Aung San Suu Kyi were released. This danger would be increased after the Old Man's death. Another timing factor is that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's release came shortly before the beginning of the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting, where SLORC hoped that the release would win it increased economic and diplomatic support and, ultimately, membership. And indeed, SLORC was allowed to sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation which is a necessary step toward membership. (It may be that the welcome SLORC received at that meeting made some generals feel they could do without the popular support which only an agreement with Aung San Suu Kyi can provide, and that this is behind their wavering stance and the leaked prohibition of her reinstatement as secretary-general.) How can the international community help Burma move toward genuine democracy? First, the UN General Assembly should ask the UN secretary- general to facilitate round-table negotiations between SLORC, the political opposition, and representatives of the different ethnic groups, and impose a time-frame. Second, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her colleagues should be given economic leverage: Though they have the mandate of the people, they lack other forms of power. One way that international actors, including ASEAN countries and Japan, can advance the democratic process is to help correct the imbalance. This can be done by ensuring that all international involvement in Burma (investment, bilateral and multilateral assistance and so on) is subject to the guidelines, approval and monitoring of the representatives of the Burmese people, namely Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, her colleagues and the leaders of the different ethnic groups. Such an approach could increase the bargaining power of the democratic forces in their dialogue with SLORC, and assist the building of a genuine rather than a symbolic democracy in Burma. _________________ Mr Arnott is secretary of the Burma Peace Foundation. Mr Silverstein is a Rutgers University professor and the author of several books on Burma. They contributed this comment to the Herald Tribune. *********************************************************** IHT: ACTIVISM THAT HURTS PEOPLE IN NEED December 12, 1995 by Joe Pang ( The writer is managing director of Victoria Garment Manufacturing Company in Hong Kong, which has four factories in Burma. He contributed this comment to the International Herald Tribune .) Rangoon _ Should human rights activists in Western nations, in their campaign for democratic reform in Burma, take away the right to work of thousands of Burmese with jobs in garment factories? In 1989, as Burma began its open-door economic reforms after nearly three decades of socialist isolation, I visited Rangoon to explore the feasibility of a setting up a garment factory. I was shocked to discover that unemployment was 60 percent and that many young people in their mid-20s with high school or even college eduaction had never had an opportunity to work. Practically the only jobs avialable were in the civil service or small scale shops and restaurants. After several months of negotiations, we opened our first joint venture factory with Myanmar Textile Industries, a division of the Ministry of Industry. I still remember the day we began recruiting. Despite heavy monsoon rains, more than 2,000 young Burmese came for the 400 jobs. Many were malnourished, and those who were unsuccessful at first refused to leave when we announced that the positions had been filled. Those hired were trained by our technicians for three months. Then we began shipping top quality garments to customers in the United States including well known labels such as Liz Claiborne, Eddie Bauer and R.H. Macy. Customer reaction was so positive that our group now has four factories in Burma employing 3,300 workers. Other foreign investors followed our example, and today there are eleven joint venture garment plants in Rangoon employing some 15,000 Burmese. An experienced garment worker can earn between $30 and $40 a month - nearly double the salary of a director in a state enterprise or government body. Business in supporting industries has also grown, and the trickle-down economic effect has been significant, as shown by the shops that have opened near the factories. However, since last year many of our U.S. customers have been under pressure from various human rights groups, including the New York based Coalition for Corporate Withdrawal from Burma. These activists threaten to picket any stores selling Burmese-made goods. They also threaten to buy shares of any publicly listed company importing such goods, to voice their views at annual stockholders' meetings. Initially the activists' threats were ignored. However, under continuous pressure, including picketing, some of our customers finally caved in. Garment exports to the United States from my group of companies in Burma reached $32 million in 1994. This year we expect the figure to fall below $10 million. Workers' average pay, which is mainly calculated by piece-rate, has fallen to $12 dollars a month. In the next few months we expect to have to lay off up to half of our workforce because of the slump in American demand. American human rights activists assert that the Burmese government violates human rights and represses democracy. But do they consider the rights of workers in Burma? Their misguided actions will hurt the very people they purport to help. ********************************************************** IHT: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: BUSINESS IN BURMA December 14, 1995 Joe Pang (''Activism That Hurts People in Need,'' Opinion, Dec. 12) justifies his company's business in Burma because it provides employment to 3,300 workers. Moreover, he adds, the ''trickle-down economic effect has been significant.'' Of course Burmese workers flocked to his jobs that pay a pittance. It is beyond heroic for a slave to starve himself when a crumb is offered. And it is beyond belief that Mr. Pang claims noble purpose when he preys on people desperate enough to work for next to nothing. Businessmen like Joe Pang simply hire the slaves that the military regime in Burma conveniently provides. His interest is in keeping wages low, so he cooperates with the regime. Abraham Lincoln no doubt heard plantation owners in the Confederacy brag about how much they did for their black slaves, and how they would worry about the slaves' fate if they wound up with no white boss to feed them. President Lincoln didn't buy such arguments then and the world shouldn't buy them now. GARY GENTRY. Jakarta. ******************************************************* NEW STRAITS TIMES: KIT SIANG: SUSPEND RELATIONS WITH NIGERIA December 13 Excerpt on Burma (Malaysia's) opposition leader Lim Kit Siang....On Myanmar, Lim said the Malaysia and Asean countries should review its constructive engagement policy with the country's military government as they had failed to improve human rights despite the release of the leader of the main opposition party, Aung San Suu Kyi. He said the Myanmar leaders should not have been invited as observers to the Asean Heads of Government summit in Bangkok this week. "Malaysia and Asean should send a clear message to the military junta," he said during the debate on the Foreign Ministry's allocation at the committee stage. *********************************************************** WORLD STREET JOURNAL: ACTIVISTS AND EXILES KEEP UP PRESSURE ON SLORC IN THE WEST December 11, 1995 By Eduardo Lachica Most prospective American investors are likely to wait 'until they see an improvement in the political situation' in Burma, says Mark Mason, a professor at Yale University. Burma Bashing Washington - A loose but effective network of human-rights activists and Burmese exiles is almost all that stands between Rangoon's military junta and international respectability. While the Association of South East Asian Nations is expected this week to take another step toward eventually admitting Burma as a full member, activists and exiles are making it hard for Burma's State Law Order Restoration Council to attract foreign aid and investment from Western governments and investors. The latest product of these tireless anti-Slorc efforts is a United Nations General Assembly resolution that knocks the junta for failing to live up to its promise to restore civil liberties in Burma. Human Rights Watch/Asia, a U.S. advocacy group group at the heart of this movement, expects the resolution to be approved early this week. The timing is awkward for Burma's generals. The resolution will hardly help Rangoon make its case for admission to Asean at the regional group's annual summit in Bangkok later this week. But experts say neither is it likely to stop Asean's move toward admitting Burma into the fold. " Asean shouldn't accept Burma too quickly because that regime isn't accountable to anyone," says Sein Win, head of a group of Burmese exiles and anti-Slorc activists that calls itself the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma. Mr. Win, a nephew of postwar leader General Aung San and a first cousin of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, is the closest thing that the Burmese diaspora has to a leader. He fled Burma in 1990 after Slorc repudiated the National League for Democracy's landslide electoral victory and threw protesting citizens, students and Buddhist monks in jail. But before departing for self-exile, the German-trained mathematician was named prime minister of a "provisional" Union of Burma government by a coalition made up of the NLD, the largest democracy party, and groups representing the Karenni, Arakan, Chin and Shan minorities. Its claim to speak for such a union isn't recognized by any country, although the organization indirectly gets financial support from some Western governments. Working out of a low-rent, two-room office in downtown Washington, Mr. Win helps keep the cause of Burmese democracy alive among a number of friends in the Clinton administration and Congress. The most vocal of them, Sen. Mitch McConnell, keeps in his desk the draft of a bill that would restrict U.S. business dealings with Burma so long as political repression continues. The Kentucky Republican hasn't introduced the bill, but the mere threat that he will gives a number of prospective investors pause. Mr. Win leaves much of the public advocacy to Mike Jendrzejczyk, Human Rights Watch/Asia's Washington director. The HRW/A office also runs the Burma Roundtable, which draws other special-interest groups such as those concerned with refugees and the rights of indigenous people into the mix. There doesn't appear to be any central direction in what's arguably one of the most productive, low-budget lobbying efforts on behalf of a developing country. "We're just a loosely knit, information-sharing operation," says Mr. Jendrzejczyk, some events, such as the picketing of U.S. companies with interests in Burma by Greenpeace and the Rain Forest Action Network, are just "spontaneous" actions taken at those groups' own initiative, he says. It isn't just words that U.S. groups are throwing at this cause. This year the congressionally funded National Endowment for Democracy will spend some $350,000 in taxpayers' money on a Burmese-language "alternative" newspaper distributed inside Burma; on the Democratic Voice of Burma radio program, which is taped in Bangkok and broadcast by shortwave from Oslo, Norway; and on several other anti-Slorc activities. Mr. Win says his government-in exile also gets support from the U.S. fund as well as from similar funds in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the European Union. Mr. Win acknowledges that the world isn't prepared to punish Slorc-ruled Burma as harshly as it did South Africa for that country's apartheid plicy. But even the half-measures applied by the U.S. and other Western countries - neither encouraging nor discouraging business dealings with Burma - are having some effect, he says. Although there has been a resurgence of foreign investment in Burma - a cummulative $2.65 billion since 1989 by Rangoon's count - much of it is in energy projects that won't start generating significant income for many years. Unocal corp., for instance, is aware of strong anti-Slorc sentiment in the U.S. and has structured its Burmese venture accordingly. There won't be any "instant reward" to the Burmese government for Unocal's $1 billion joint project with Total SA to pipe natural gas from the Andaman Sea to consumers in Thailand and Burma, a Unocal spokesman says. Unocal and its French partner have paid Rangoon only $20 million in cash for the gas concession, Unocal Chairman Roger Beach told the U.S. Senate at a hearing earlier this year. Royalties to Rangoon for gas production will be paid in kind as gas that the government can use for power generation or to produce fertilizers, Unocal says. Texaco Inc. has yet to determine whether its offshore gas find 420 kilometers south of Rangoon is commercially viable. But it, too, is making some accommodations to the anti-Slorc campaign. "Should we expand our activities in Myanmar ( Slorc's name for Burma ), we believe that our presence could help build economic conditions that encourage human-rights advancement," the New Yoprk company says. Texaco also intends to be a "positive influence" there by "respecting the rights of individuals and by conducting our operations in an ethical manner." Mark Mason, a professor at Yale University's management school who closely watches the Burmese investment scene doesn't see much U.S. and European money going into nonenergy ventures. By other accounts, most nonoil investment is coming from other Asian countries - notably Thailand and Singapore - that have a higher comfort level with the current regime. But most prospective American investors are likely to wait "until they see an improvement in the political situation," Mr. Mason says. Even Japan, has the closest ties to Rangoon among the industrialized countries, isn't totally immune to the anti-Slorc campaign. Since Ms. Suu Kyi's unconditional release from house arrest in July, there has been a resumption of Japanese aid but not enough to materially improve the government's fortunes, Japanese diplomats say. The regime is getting two grants - $16 million for the construction of a nursing school and $50 million to reduce Burma's Japanese debt. But assistance for higher-visibility projects such as the renovation of Rangoon's airport is still awaiting a go-ahead from Tokyo. Tokyo says it provides aid to Burma on a "case-by-case" basis. A rough translation of this diplomatese is that further business with Slorc will depend on the reopening of political discourse with the Burmese people. ******************************************************* BLOOMBERG: SHAREHOLDERS ASK COMPANIES TO STOP DOING BUSINESS IN BURMA December 14, 1995 From: simon_billenness@cybercom.net New York, Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Burma's release this summer of its most famous dissident isn't deterring shareholders from demanding that PepsiCo Inc., Texaco Inc. and Unocal Corp. stop doing business in the Southeast Asian country. Their complaint: The Burmese military junta is still violating human rights. ``Even though they released Aung San Suu Kyi, nothing else has changed,'' said Simon Billenness, analyst at Franklin Research & Development Corp., a socially-responsible investment firm in Boston. The Burmese military junta, which chose its own name for the country -- Myanmar, has refused to relinquish power to the democratic opposition that won 82 percent of the vote in 1990 elections. Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Price laureate and head of the party that won Burma's 1990 election, was held under house arrest for almost six years before she was released this July. Human rights groups have reported that the government, called the State Law and Order Restoration Council -- or SLORC --has murdered, raped and tortured Burmese and minorities, driving hundreds of thousands of refugees into Bangladesh and Thailand. A United Nations report released earlier this month said the SLORC has used forced labor to spruce up the country as it mounts a campaign to boost tourism and attract desperately-needed foreign currency. ``Aung San Suu Kyi has said that foreign investment in Burma is inappropriate at this time,'' said David Schilling of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. Members of this shareholder umbrella group, which represents 275 religious organizations that together have $50 billion assets under management, have filed these resolutions. They've also filed resolutions at PepsiCo, Texaco and Unocal, as well as Atlantic Richfield Co. and Halliburton Co. asking them to review and develop guidelines that would stop them from doing business in any country where there is ongoing violations of human rights. A number of U.S. companies, including Levi Strauss Associates Inc., Federated Department Stores Inc.'s Macy's, Liz Claiborne Inc., Spiegel Inc.'s Eddie Bauer unit and Amoco Corp. have stopped doing business in Burma. Barry Lane, a spokesman for Unocal, said the oil company was still reviewing the shareholder proposals. In a statement, Texaco said that it conducts offshore oil exploration in Burma and if it does expand its business there, its ``presence could help build economic conditions that encourage human rights advancement.'' Executives from the other companies could not be immediately reached for comment. Religious groups aren't the only shareholders who want companies to get out of Burma. TIAA-CREF, the world largest pension fund, Harvard University and Williams College all have backed anti-Burma proposals in the past few years, according to the Investor Responsibility Research Center, which tracks proxy voting. Pressure on these companies is coming from other sources as well. Santa Monica voted earlier this month to boycott all companies doing business in Burma. Similar resolutions have been passed by Berkeley, California and Madison, Wisconsin. And in Congress, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) plans to introduce legislation that would ban U.S. investment and trade with Burma, and suspend our bilateral and multilateral assistance to countries, his press aide said. ************************************************************* REUTER: U.N. PULLS FILM AFTER BURMA PROTESTS December 15, 1995 From: "Moe K. T." UNITED NATIONS -- Bowing to a protest from Burma, the United Nations canceled the screening of a movie critical of the southeast Asian nation's military government. "Beyond Rangoon" had been scheduled for a Wednesday showing in the U.N. staff union. The movie was pulled when Burma's government protested, U.N. spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said Thursday. The Burmese government said the film "was deliberately misleading about the situation in Burma," Fawzi said. "If a presentation offends a member state, it cannot be shown in this house," he said. "We are not in the business of offending member states." U.N. staffers are free to show the film outside the United Nations, he said. Earlier this month, a Yugoslav film portraying a romance between a Serb and a Croat was pulled at Croatia's insistence. The Croatian mission claimed that the film "Vukovar" was biased, insensitive and inaccurate. COMMENT BY ZAR NI From: zar ni This type of reasoning is completely lame. Why should an international body like the UN comply with an objection by a member state, which has as yet to heed the UN resolutions (one after another) concerning human rights violations, blatant rejection of elections results, and barbarity of its unscrupulous rulers? (Issuing resolutions, one after another every year, seems to have become a collective past time or the most it can do, as it does not have capabilities to enforce any.) It's tragic that UN careerists have consistently failed to ask "who voices are heared in the disguise of a state." Words are cheap. They would do well if they listen to what Rev. Desmond Tutu has to say: International pressure can change the situation in Burma. Tough sanctions, not constructive engagement, finally brought the release of Nelson Mandela and the dawn of a new era in my country. This is the language that must be spoken with tyrants__ for, sadly, it is the only language they understand. ***********************************************************