The BurmaNet News: April 26, 1996 Issue #393 Noted in Passing: We are very encouraged by this international campaign for Burma. That is why we decided to act locally in Burma - a Burmese student in Mandalay (see ABSDF (DAWN GWIN): ANTI-PEPSI CAMPAIGN SOARS INSIDE BURMA) HEADLINES: ========== ABSDF (DAWN GWIN): ANTI-PEPSI CAMPAIGN SOARS INSIDE BURMA FBC: PRESS RELEASE - PEPSI "BURMA PULL-OUT" CALLED A SHAM THE STRAIT TIMES: DON'T SLAP SANCTIONS ON MYANMAR, AWSJ: U.S. COS. WARY OF BURMA AS PEPSI CANCELS PROJECT ABSL: HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN NAGA HILLS S.H.A.N : SLORC PLANS TO DISARM CEASEFIRE GROUPS THE NATION: UN HUMAN RIGHTS BODY RELEASE 'HARSHEST' RES. THE NATION: US TOLD TO BE PRAGMATIC ON BURMA THE NATION: KHUN SA 'PAYING OFF' POLITICIANS BKK POST: US CITIES PASS TOUGH NEW LAWS AGAINST BURMA ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABSDF (DAWN GWIN): ANTI-PEPSI CAMPAIGN SOARS INSIDE BURMA April 25, 1996 from Burmese people especially youth in the Burmese cities started to launch Boycott Pepsi campaign, according to the sources from inside Burma. The campaign first began in Mandalay, second city in Burma amongst the youth. We realize how the Pepsi and other foreign investments are collaborating with the military regime in suppressing our struggle for democracy and human rights, said one high school student from Mandalay who arrived in Thailand recently. Foreign investment companies including PepsiCo and some giant oil companies are being accused regionally and internationally for their dealings with the Slorc who ignores the will of the people in 1990 elections and continues the human rights violations against its people. "Slorc extensively uses slave labor on its economic projects. This includes commercial farming projects that may be he source of the farm products that PepsiCo exports from Burma. PepsiCo must rely on such exports to earn hard currency to finance its operation there." according to Zarni, coordinator of Free Burma campaign, a coordinating body for groups around the world working for freedom and democracy in Burma. This coalition is inspired by and modeled after South Africas anti-apartheid movement. Currently, there are more than 75 colleges and universities in the US working in the coalition. "We are very encouraged by this international campaign for Burma. That is why we decided to act locally in Burma," student from Mandalay continued. "The campaign and boycott activities would be risky and dangerous for the students inside Burma. However, we have to take very careful plans," he said. The Boycott Pepsi campaign would be intensified when the high school and colleges are reopen in this coming May, according to him. The campaign for boycotting Pepsi has spread into Moulmein in Mon State and Pa-an in Karen State. ************************************************************* FBC: PRESS RELEASE - PEPSI "BURMA PULL-OUT" CALLED A SHAM ANGRY ACTIVISTS ANNOUNCE HUNGER STRIKE PLANS APRIL 25, 1996 From: "W. Kesavatana-Dohrs" Madison, WI: Supporters of Burma's democracy movement have lashed out at PepsiCo's claim to have exited Burma, calling it a cynical public relations exercise that intentionally misrepresents the facts. "We refuse to swallow Pepsi's lies about its Burma operation and its ties to the military junta" says Free Burma Coalition (FBC) organizer Zar Ni. "They claim they're leaving Burma, but they're not. This is nothing more than some paper shuffling. The situation on the ground in Burma is absolutely unchanged. There's a lot of anger out here." In response, the FBC has announced an international hunger strike aimed at Pepsi and the small number of multinational companies, including UNOCAL, Texaco, Arco and Heineken, that prop up the military regime. The hunger strike will begin on October 4 on campuses and in cities worldwide. Other actions will target Pepsi's annual shareholder meeting, scheduled for May 1 at PepsiCo's headquarters in Purchase, New York, where sharp questions from disgruntled stockholders are expected. Pepsi has been criticized by a network of 100 college and high school campus groups, and 40 independent organizations from 15 countries, as well as Burma's democratic leaders in exile. Student activists at Harvard recently got a $1 million Pepsi contract scuttled, due to Pepsi's unwillingness to address questions about ties to forced labor in Burma. Also, 2000 Stanford students blocked a proposed (Pepsi-owned) Taco Bell restaurant from their campus. "I urge the international media not to accept Pepsi's public relations claims at face value, but to look at the facts of their presence in Burma" says exiled Burmese Prime Minister Dr. Sein Win of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB). He was elected as a representitive of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), whose landslide victory in Burma=D5s 1990 elections the military has refused to honor. "Pepsi's presence strengthens the Burmese military junta and undermines the democracy movement." Pepsi claims that its Burmese partner, Mr. Thein Tun, is a "private entrepreneur." In fact he is chairman of a joint venture with the military called JV3, and was chosen by Pepsi because of his close military connections. Pepsi claims that it "compete(s) with the government" in the soft drink business. In fact, the military, which controls all aspects of business and the economy, has essentially granted Pepsi a monopoly in the Burmese market, where Pepsi now has a 90% market share. In return, Pepsi sponsors international trade fairs where the junta woos other foreign investors, and Pepsi funds youth and sports activities organized by the military. Pepsi's support of the military regime has been consistent and steadfast. Pepsi is a major contributor to the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), the junta-sponsored "patriotic organization." Nobel Peace Prize winning Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose NLD has been subject to rising violence and intimidation, this week compared USDA thugs to "Hitler's brown shirts," saying "I want the whole world to know that the USDA is being used to crush the democratic movement." Pepsi also purchases agricultural products in Burma to sell abroad, as a method of repatriating its profits. With forced labor pervasive in the agricultural sector, activists are concerned that Pepsi's purchases are connected to forced labor. Pepsi has resisted 18 months of requests for details of its agricultural transactions. "Pepsi's hypocrisy regarding Burma is positively sickening" says Burma specialist Larry Dohrs. "They say they don't support tyranny, when that is exactly what they are doing in Burma. They don't fool anyone in Burma, and they shouldn't be allowed to fool the rest of the world" he said, noting that students within Burma have initiated a Pepsi boycott of their own. Recent reports from the United Nations say "forced labor, torture and arbitrary killing are all still widespread" in Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD have repeatedly asked foreign companies to stay out of Burma until there is progress towards democratization and respect for human dignity. The Free Burma Coalition supports this position. Six US cities, including San Francisco and Oakland have passed laws banning contracts with companies active in Burma, including Pepsi. Similar laws are pending in other cities, and a Burma sanctions bill has been introduced with bipartisan support in both the US House and Senate. Contact: Zar Ni, Free Burma Coalition 608-256-6572 Dr. Sein Win, NCGUB 202-393-7342 Larry Dohrs, Seattle Campaign for a Free Burma 206-784-5742 ********************************************************* THE STRAIT TIMES: DON'T SLAP SANCTIONS ON MYANMAR, SAYS US CHAMBER (Singapore) April 26, 1996 From: "Moe K. T." BANGKOK -- The American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand has urged the United States government to refrain from sanctions against Myanmar, amid moves in the US to sever business links with the country. Executive Director Tom Seale said on Wednesday that the chamber had sent a paper to Washington urging a policy of promoting active business relations with Myanmar. "Restrictive policies or "sanctions' should not be adopted because they will limit contacts and positive influences of US business, government and individuals in the development of Myanmar and the welfare of its general population," the paper said. "No other nation has adopted or will support such measures. Such policies would directly benefit foreign investors from Singapore, Japan, China and other countries." The chamber's position paper said US business could benefit from positive American government policy towards Myanmar. It said technology improvements, narcotics control and improved labour and economic improvements could all be the results of increased US investment in Myanmar. Some politicians and pressure groups in the US favour imposing trade sanctions on Myanmar to try and force the ruling military government to introduce democratic reform and respect human rights. -- AFP, Reuter. ***************************************************** AWSJ: U.S. COS. WARY OF BURMA AS PEPSI CANCELS PROJECT April 25, 1996 (Asian Wall Street Journal) From: Imre Der By Fara Warner HONG KONG (AP-Dow Jones)--PepsiCo Inc.'s decision to sell its 40% stake in a joint venture in Burma isn't likely to affect the handful of U.S. companies already doing business in the country, say U.S. company executives and foreign observers. But its decision, along with legislation now being considered by local, state and federal governments in the U.S., could keep U.S. companies from new investment in Burma, reports Thursday's Asian Wall Street Journal. PepsiCo officials confirmed Wednesday that the company would sell its stake in Pepsi-Cola Products Myanmar Ltd. and move to a franchise arrangement, most likely with PepsiCo's joint-venture partner, Burmese entrepreneur Thein Tun. The move follows protests on college campuses against PepsiCo's investment in Burma. 'Pepsi's move is significant because it's the first time a U.S. company with direct investment has decided to liquidate its holding, as opposed to an importer deciding not to source out of Burma,' said a foreign observer in Burma. Other companies are likely to weigh the political risk that faced PepsiCo before they consider investing in Burma, he added. By contrast, executives at Unocal Corp., the biggest U.S. investor in Burma, said the Los Angeles-based company has no intention of pulling out of the once-isolated country; they said economic investment can only help the country move forward. Unocal is one of four companies investing in a natural-gas pipeline being built by Total, a French petroleum company. 'Unilateral sanctions won't have an impact,' because other companies and countries will continue to invest, said Carol Scott, director of corporate communications at Unocal's offices in Singapore. 'Economic development helps the country. Attempting to re-isolate the country by pulling out does no good.' Despite Unocal's corporate position, the company has been pressured by activist shareholders to rethink its overall business code of ethics, including its Burma investments. But Scott said Unocal doesn't feel it needs to do that. She added that Unocal has been setting up schools along the pipeline and is involved in a malaria research project as well. Even before protests against investing in Burma gained momentum in the U.S., investment by U.S. companies had been dwindling. According to World Bank statistics, direct foreign investment from U.S. companies has dropped from a high of $83 million in the year ended March 30, 1992, to just $16 million for the year through March 1995. Singapore, France and the U.K. are the top investors in the country, followed by the U.S. and Thailand, according to the World Bank statistics. Mineral exploration companies have been the biggest investors in the country, with petroleum companies mainly exploring offshore fields. PepsiCo was one of the few globally recognized consumer-goods companies that had invested in manufacturing in the country, says the foreign observer. But following protests by students and a push to boycott PepsiCo products publicized on the Internet, PepsiCo bowed to the pressure. 'We are divesting in Burma due to business considerations and public sentiment (against the Burmese government) in the United States,' said Keith Hughes, a PepsiCo spokesman based at the company's headquarters in Purchase, New York. He didn't disclose the financial terms of the sale and said the sale is pending. PepsiCo has been operating in Burma since 1991 under a joint venture with Thein Tun. Thein Tun is expected to become the sole franchiser in Burma if the sale of PepsiCo's equity stake goes through. 'Then we will have no assets or employees in Burma,' Hughes said. PepsiCo will supply syrup to the franchiser as well as allow use of the Pepsi trademarks in Burma, which means PepsiCo products will still be sold in the country. Legislative moves could lead to tighter controls on U.S. investment in Burma. Four municipalities already have local ordinances that prevent them from buying products from companies that invest in Burma. Five other cities and the state of Massachusetts are considering similar legislation. The U.S. Congress is also considering draft legislation that would severely restrict travel on U.S. passports in Burma, investments in the country and the import of products from Burma. However, foreign observers in Burma say that none of the legislative actions restrict companies from exporting their products to Burma. -------------------------------------------- On April 24, 1996,REUTER (PEPSICO HAS SOLD ITS SHARE IN BURMA) added: Burmese Minister for National Planning and Economic Development Brigadier General David Abel told a Bangkok-based newspaper that any Pepsi sale would not hurt Burma's economy. "This is a brand only -- a popular brand, but I think that if Pepsi goes down it won't affect the Myanmar (Burma) economy at all," he told the Asia Times newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday. "It will only affect the people who are working there. And the Japanese are willing to come in," he added. Pepsi controls 85 percent of the Burmese soft drink market share and its initial capitalisation for the venture, Pepsi Cola Products Myanmar, was about $4 million, Thein Tun said. "Under the exclusive bottling agreement we will have the right to keep on producing the four existing Pepsi products, namely Pepsi Cola, Mirinda, 7-Up and Mirinda Club Soda, under the same brand name for the next five years," he said. "We don't know what will happen after that (the five years)," he added. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (BurmaNet Editor's Note: Over the past 3 days, numerous articles have appeared in the United States and international press on Pepsi's partial pullout from Burma. There was also a 90 second piece on the Pepsi Boycott on CNN and there will be a big story in USA Today on Monday.) ************************************************************* ABSL: HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN NAGA HILLS April 25, 1996 From: tom!absl@unv.ernet.in March, 1996. The local tribes, namely, Naga, Shan and Kuki from32 villages tracts of Nyaungbinthar in Lashi township are being pressed to gang labours in the construction of Khami-lahel road. The villagers had to crush and carry stones and earth at the construction site. Any household that failed to perform this duty had to pay 1565 Kyats as a fine to No(2) regional-based battalion. The other was issued by regional commander Col. Kyaw Myint. Actually, the khamti-lahel road is being constructed for the smooth transportation of military trucks. Human rights violation Forced labour in Tamu township. ------------------------------------------------------ March, 1996. The irresposible speech of the SLORC's minister for the border development, Maung Thint made the local public busy with the extension of roads in Tamu. When Maung Thint visited Tamu, he said in his speech to the regional authorities to extend the roads as they were not wide enough for trucks. Later local authorities issued a public order that said roads in Tamu township would be extended 30 feet each to both sides and those buildings or fences which were within this measurement must be demolished by owners within one week. Whoever failed to do so would be prosecuted. In fear of the dire consequences, the local public had to shoulder these unnecessary burdens dropped by the authorities. In fact, in democratic countries these kind of work have to be performed by municipal workers since public are paying tax to the authorities. Futhermore, government must pay compensation to the owners for demolishing. Insted, public were forced to demolish their own buildings at their own expenses. Again, another public order was issued by major Min Swe, the chairman of Tamu township Law and Order Restoration Council (TLORC). It said every household must provide one bamboo pole each or (20) Kyats to the Tamu based No(89) light infantary regiment. In fact, at present, people are already under the burden of soaring prices which are direct side effect of SLORC initiated market economy. SLORC'S INSULT OF THE RELIGIOUS BELIEF OF KUKI ETHNIC TRIBES. The Christian Kuki tirbes from Manmaw and Htanta Pin villages were ordered to provide (20) bullock cart loads of sand which was to be used in the construction of the Pagoda. This order was issued by the signature of Capt. Zaw Min of No (89) Infantary Regiment based in Tamu. Kuki villagers had to carry sand from Yu creek, which was (20) miles distance from their villages. It is totally inconsistent with their motto of "national unity" loudly raised by the SLORC. Basides, it was a deliberate insult of the military authorities to the religious belief of the Christian Kuki tribes. SLORC'S ARBITARARY ACTIONS AGAINST CIVILIANS -------------------------------------------- >From 24 to 26 March, (4) Europeans escorted by armed military personnels came on a visit to jade mine by private motor boats. Later local jade diggers were given order to stop their work and were warned that whoever were found digging jade would be shot dead. This order was also issued by the regional commander, Col. Kyaw Myint. As a result, local jade diggers lost their income and faced with daily ploblems. In the last week of March, three SLORC's soldiers in KIA uniform came to the area between Homelin and Khamti and looted about 11/2 kg of gold dust collected by villagers. In order to get such amount of gold dust, villagers had to sieve in the chilly river for several days. But their fortune were grabbed away within minutes by miscreants. The private owned plots measuring one thousand feet from the both sides of the Kale-Tamu road,which were located near the compound of No(89) Infantary regiment were confiscated by the military authorities. The Christians, Muslims and Buddhist cemetries as well as (70) houmseholds and their farms on these plots were to remove from the site without any compensation. By order of Lt.Gen Khin Nyunt, the local authorities are making arrangement in the Kabaw valley for some (1000) Hindu families from Pyinmanar and Zeyawadi townships. They were forced to relocate their native place where they had been living for decades. Though they did not agree to move to this unfamiliar place they dared not refuse the order. Similarly, in the last year some Burmese families from Pakaukku, Monywa and Chaun Oo townships were forced to move to the new villages in Kabaw valley. Later the authorities announced that non-Buddhist people would not allow to live in these newly-built villages. This order hurt the majority of the inhabitants Kuki tribes, who follow the Christianity. Moreover it could create racial or religious conflict between two communities. Regarding this, the Kuki students democratic Front (KSDF) sent a letter to the Tamu township authorities. The letter said that KSDF condemned the military authorities for praticising racial and religious discrimination against Kuki tribes. KSDF demanded the authorities to stop thier discriminatory policy immediately. Source : All Burma Students League Northeasten Regional Office, Imphal, Manipur. ******************************************************* S.H.A.N : SLORC PLANS TO DISARM CEASEFIRE GROUPS April 7, 1996 From: "SHAN In early March, SLORC Eastern Military Commander Maj. Gen. Tin Thut (who came to meet Khun Sa at Ho Murng during the MTA surrender on January 7, 1996 ) met with SSA top officers Zao zai Nong and Zao Pang Fah in Taunggyi. He told them to prepare to give up their policy of armed struggle ( in other words to surrender unconditionally ). Each of the officers, from captains upwards, would be given a plot of land to build on ( in newly expanded quarters which were formerly fields confiscated by the SLORC ) and one million kyats in cash. The SLORC are using all kinds of strategies and temptations to make all the ceasefire groups eventually lay down their arms. ******************************************************* THE NATION: UN HUMAN RIGHTS BODY RELEASE 'HARSHEST' RESOLUTION YET ON BURMA April 25, 1996 Yindee Lertcharoenchoke, The Nation THE UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva has adopted a strongly - worded resolution on Burma which human rights campaigners noted is "probably the harshest" any UN body has issued on the situation in the Southeast Asian country. But while it is stronger than previous resolutions on civil and political rights, the text also called weak on economic, social and cultural rights. A Western activist in Geneva noted it does not refer to the impoverishment of the people in rural areas due to the Burmese army's policies of living off villages, looting, forced labour, extortion, multiple and arbitrary taxation, or other similar issues. The six-page resolution, while in creasing its support for UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's "good offices" mission and criticising the Burmese junta's lack of co- operation with his representative, failed to support recommendations made by UN Special Human Rights Rapporteur Yozo Yokota, added the activist. In his final report on the human right situation in Burma submitted to the Human Rights Commission on April 16, Yokota recommended that the UN panel place "a team of human rights field officers in such location as would facilitate improved information flow and assessment and would help in the independent verification of reports" on the human right situation in the country. The resolution expressed particular concern that despite the electoral process initiated in the form of general elections in May 1990, the Burmese junta "has not implemented its commitments to take all necessary steps towards democracy." It expressed grave concern at human right abuses "which remain extremely serious, in particular the pratice of torture, summary and arbitrary execution, forced labour, including forced portering for the military, abuse of women, politically-motivated arrests and detention, and forced displacement of the population". The document, which was sponsored by 36 countries, mainly from the West, also expressed grave concern over the continued fighting with ethnic and other political groups, including the Karenni National Progressive Party, despite ceasefire agreements the ruling Slorc has struck with those forces. The Statement also deeply regretted that while a number of political prisoners were released in the past year, many political leaders continue to be deprived of their freedom and fundamental rights. While it welcome the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from six years of house arrest, it urged the Slorc "to allow her freedom of movement ad to open immediately a substantial political dialogue" with her and other political leaders, including representatives of ethnic groups. "as the best means to arrive at national reconciliation and the complete and rapid installation of democracy." (TN) **************** THE NATION: US TOLD TO BE PRAGMATIC ON BURMA April 25, 1996 Reuter BANGKOK - The US should be more benevolent and pragmatic in its financial dealings with Burma, a senior Burmese official said yesterday. Burma Minister for National Planning and Economic Development, Brigadier General David Abel, said he was still holding talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over loans to help devaluation of the local currency. 'The US is the only super power in the world and I think the leadership of the only superpower should be more pragmatic and more benevolent," he said. Impoverished Burma has been isolated from much Western aid and investment after its ruling generals crushed a pro- democracy uprising in 1988. Japan resumed limited aid after the release of Aung San Suu Kyi last year. Washington welcomed her release but said at the time it wanted to see 'a genuine effort to try to improve the political situation in Burma". Abel said the American business community wanted to invest in Burma, which the country encouraged 'with open arms". Japanese and Association of Southeast Asian Nations investors were already involved in Burma, he said. (TN) ****************************************************** THE NATION: KHUN SA 'PAYING OFF' POLITICIANS Western diplomats implicated April 25, 1996 Yindee Lertcharoenchok OPIUM warlord Khun Sa, wanted by the US on 10 drug trafficking counts, has undergone debriefing at a safe house in Rangoon since early March and has claimed that five prominent Thai politicians were on his regular payroll, according to a highly-placed source. The source said Khun Sa, who struck an undisclosed peace deal with the Burmese junta in January after a series of secret negotiations beginning last October, also named two Western diplomats posted to a neighbouring capital as being on his payroll. The source could not confirm the identities of the seven, nor whether the diplomats are still working in the region. A colonel in the Directorate of the Defence Services Intelligence, recently promoted to brigadier general, was in charge of debriefing Khun Sa at a safe house in the Burmese capital, the source said on condition of anonymity. The source believed Khun Sa had agreed to the debriefing as part of a secret deal so that he would not be extradited to stand trial in the US nor be prosecuted for his alleged crimes in Burma. Several sources confirmed this week that Khun Sa and his chief-staff, Chang Shu-chuan - known as Sao Fahlang in the Shan language - still remain at a safe location in Rangoon under tight security. While some sources said the two men are staying at a house on Inya Lake, others said they are living in a house in the same compound as Burmese junta leaders and top military officers. The Slorc sent a helicopter to pick up Khun Sa in early march, his third trip to Rangoon since he surrendered his well-equipped Mong Tai Army and his Ho mong headquarters to the Slorc in early January, the sources said. His first trip took place in January, while his second was in February. Chang Shu-chuan left for Rangoon during the third week of march, the sources said. Khun Sa's uncle, Khun Seng, who shuttled back and forth as one of the mediators between Rangoon and the 62-year-old drug warlord, has remained in rangoon since late last year, where he is said to have opened a number of businesses. The sources said Khun Sa has appointed his second son, Sarm Hurng, to look after the Ho Mong and daily administration during his absence. Although Washington insisted on Khun Sa's extradition and placed a US$2 million price tag on his head after Rangoon flatly rejected its extradition call, it has not attempted to apprehend the man it accuses of being responsible for more than 60 per cent of heroin flow into the US. Several sources expressed surprised that the US has not pursued Khun Sa's extradition and said Washington might become trapped by its own policy on dealing with the situation. (TN) ***************************************************** BKK POST: US CITIES PASS TOUGH NEW LAWS AGAINST BURMA April 25, 1996 Washington, AFP TWO more US cities have banned or restricted contracts with companies that do business in military-ruled Burma to protests human rights abuses there, activists said yesterday. Oakland and San Francisco, both in northern California and the largest cities yet to pass such legislation, join four other US cities with 'selective purchasing" laws targeting firms that operate in Burma. Oakland's new law 'is the most stringent to date," said Simon Billenness, senior analyst at Boston-based Franklin Research and Development Corp., which is pressing multinationals to pull out of Burma. "This raises the ante," Billenness said by telephone from Boston, adding: "These are by far the two largest cities yet" to pass such laws. Passage of both ordinances was widely expected and follows a decision by PepsiCo Inc this week to sell off its 40 per cent stake in a joint venture in Burma under public pressure to pull out of the military-ruled country. Pepsi is the largest US corporation to date to pull out of Burma in response to pressure from students and civic groups aiming to make the Southeast Asian country 'the South Africa of the 90s." In Rangoon, Pepsi's Burmese franchise, Pepsi Cola products Myanmar, said yesterday it had agreed to buy out the US soft drink company's interests in Burma. San Francisco passed its ordinance restricting contracts with firms operating in Burma on Monday, California-based activists said in statement received here. Oakland followed suit with a tougher ordinance on Tuesday barring the deposit, investment, or use of municipal funds with banks or financial institutions that do business with the Burmese junta or private sector. Other cities with similar laws now on the books are Madison, Wisconsin; Berkeley and Santa Monica, California; and Ann Arbor, Michigan. 'Those are mostly collage towns," Billenness said, noting that such legislation was easier to brush aide when it came from small-town bastions of liberalism such as Ann Arbor and Madison. New York City is expected to pass similar legislation soon, and federal sanctions legislation will be the subject of a US Senate hearing in the next several weeks. The White House opposes the sanctions legislation. Several large US companies have recently pulled out Burma as a result of that pressure, including garment retailers Eddide Bauer, Liz Claiborne, and Federated Department Stores. Activists aiming to make Burma 'the South Africa of the 90s"have meanwhile set their sights on multinational oil companies with a substantial presence there, including Unocal, Total, and Texaco. Their aim is to pressure the Slorc, to hand over power to elected leaders. The Slorc has so far refused to negotiate with the opposition. Students in particular have mobilized against multinational corporations in Burma, and they credit easy global communications through the Internet for the speed of their success. Harvard University this month scrapped a million-dollar deal under which its dining halls were to switch from Coca-Cola to Pepsi after students objected to the scheme. Some 2,000 Stanford University students also signed a petition urging their university to prohibit Pepsi subsidiary Taco Bell from opening a restaurant. (BP) ---------------------------------------------------------- BURMANET SUBJECT-MATTER RESOURCE LIST BurmaNet regularly receives enquiries on a number of different topics related to Burma. If you have questions on any of the following subjects, please direct email to the following volunteer coordinators, who will either answer your question or try to put you in contact with someone who can: Campus activism: zni@students.wisc.edu Boycott campaigns: [Pepsi] ai268@freenet.carleton.ca Buddhism: Buddhist Relief Mission: brelief@gol.com Chin history/culture: [volunteer temporarily away] Fonts: tom@cs.colgate.edu History of Burma: zni@students.wisc.edu International Affairs: Julien Moe: JulienMoe@aol.com Kachin history/culture: 74750.1267@compuserve.com Karen history/culture: Karen Historical Society: 102113.2571@Compuserve.com Mon history/culture: [volunteer needed] Naga history/culture: Wungram Shishak: z954001@oats.farm.niu.edu Burma-India border [volunteer needed] Pali literature: "Palmleaf": c/o burmanet@igc.apc.org Rohingya culture volunteer needed Shan history/culture: Sao Hpa Han: burma@ix.netcom.com Shareholder activism: simon_billenness@mail.cybercom.net Total/Pipeline Dawn Star: cd@utopia.EUnet.fr Tourism campaigns: bagp@gn.apc.org "Attn. S.Sutcliffe" World Wide Web: FreeBurma@POBox.com Volunteer Coordinator: [volunteer needed] [Feel free to suggest more areas of coverage] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News is an electronic newspaper covering Burma. Articles from newspapers, magazines, newsletters, the wire services and the Internet as well as original material are published. It is produced with the support of the Burma Information Group (B.I.G) and the Research Department of the ABSDF {MTZ} The BurmaNet News is e-mailed directly to subscribers and is also distributed via the soc.culture.burma and seasia-l mailing lists. For a free subscription to the BurmaNet News, send an e-mail message to: majordomo@igc.apc.org For the BurmaNet News only: in the body of the message, type "subscribe burmanews-l" (without quotation marks). 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