URGENT ACTION /Eddie Bauer Clothin

[dburgett@xxxxxxxxxxx]

                URGENT  URGENT  URGENT  URGENT  URGENT
                                June 16, 1994
Fellow Activist:
We have just learned that Unocal, Texaco and Pepsico are not the only North
American companies doing business in Burma ["Myanmar"].  High-end clothing
manufacturer Eddie Bauer also has a presence in Burma, but is said to be
re-evaluating its presence there.  Successful grassroots efforts have moved
Petro-Canada, Amoco, and Levi Strauss & Co. to withdraw.  Your voice is
needed immediately, and the phone call is free.
Background
Burma's illegal junta, the State Law & Order Restoration Council (SLORC),
continues to benefit from the presence of U.S.-based companies.  SLORC uses
the foreign capital to purchase weapons from China to suppress the Burmese
people, who have been fighting for democracy for four years following a
landslide electoral victory for the National League for Democracy.  SLORC
has held NLD leader and Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi under house
arrest for five years, and many elected members of parliament have been
jailed, tortured and killed.  Human rights groups and Greenpeace report
that as many as 35,000 slave laborers have been conscripted recently to
build roads and strengthen a railway to bring SLORC troops and Unocal
pipeline equipment to the Thai-Burma border area.
SLORC has received the strongest condemnations from the U.S. Department of
State, the entire Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the European
Community, the United Nations, ten Nobel Laureates, Amnesty International
and Asia Watch.  "Burma Issues" magazine stated in March, "All...
foreign investments have brought higher expectations to the people, but
have provided little if any increased income for them.  In fact, foreign
companies...coming into the country simply cause prices to skyrocket."
At this time, we do not have every kernel of information about Eddie Bauer
Clothing's business in Burma or their relationship to the SLORC.  But the
issue is being decided at Eddie Bauer even as you read this.  With your
help, Eddie Bauer Clothing will receive enough phone calls now to move
them to pull out and allow us to continue our focus on Unocal, Texaco and
Pepsico.  Unlike Unocal and Texaco, Eddie Bauer is probably not in a joint
venture partnership with the SLORC; however, SLORC benefits by any foreign
company doing business in Burma in two ways:  1) The introduction of
foreign capital directly benefits the SLORC; and 2) SLORC uses the
presence of U.S.-based companies to legitimize its existence and draw more
foreign investment.
What You Can Do:
Another clothing company, Levi Strauss & Co., withdrew from Burma in 1992
with the following statement:
        "It is not possible to do business in Myanmar [Burma] without
        directly supporting the military government and its pervasive
        violations of human rights."
CALL EDDIE BAUER CLOTHING NOW.  If you represent a group or organization,
tell them so.  Tell them that until Eddie Bauer states definitively that
it has no presence in Burma, you'll wear Levi's instead.
Customer Service:       1-800-426-6253
Catalog Sales:          1-800-426-8020
Once you've called Eddie Bauer courtesy of Eddie Bauer, you may also wish
to call them directly.  John Thomas, VP of "Sourcing", can be reached via
Dana Harrison at 206 882-6361.  Eddie Bauer's Public Relations contact is
Karen Peck, who is at 206 882-6754.  Or write:
                        Eddie Bauer Clothing
                        P.O. Box 3700
                        Seattle, WA 98124
Thanks for your help!
David Wolfberg
Los Angeles Rainforest Action Project