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Burma Net News May 16, 1996
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Date: Thu, 16 May 1996 07:29:01 -0700 (PDT)
------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: May 16, 1996
Issue #409
Noted in Passing:
There is no evidence that Texaco's behind the scenes approach
has made any difference. Texaco's very presence lends a kind of
international legitimacy to an illegal government.
- Sister Denise Ann Clifford
(see REUTER: TEXACO PROTEST)
HEADLINES:
==========
REUTER : FOREIGN COMPANIES SAY NO TO HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERN
REUTER: TEXACO PROTEST (not sure if this is correct title)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REUTER : FOREIGN COMPANIES SAY NO TO HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERN
May 15, 1996
LONDON, May 15 - Foreign investors said on Wednesday allegations
of human rights abuses would not put them off investing in Burma, arguing
that contact, not isolation, would help bring about change.
But most said they would not like to be publicly associated with the
military-ruled country, and said allegations of slavery and child labour
would slow down capital inflows.
``We take the view when judging a political situation, you would
definitely back away from any market where that sort of activity is rife,''
said Kevin Smith, fund manager and a director of the Asia desk at Foreign and
Colonial.
``It would certainly slow down flows of money into the country.''
Most foreign fund managers say Burma, the subject of a hard-hitting
television documentary broadcast in Britain on Tuesday, does not figure very
highly in their list of pre-emerging economies.
Daiwa Securities Co has been negotiating with the Burmese government to
set up a stock market in Rangoon, but until that is established most
investment will be either direct or via joint ventures with local companies.
But fund managers say they are keeping watch on the country as
potentially the next high growth area, following in the footsteps of
Thailand, Taiwan and Korea.
The TV programme, made by award-winning film-maker John Pilger, showed
footage of the 1988 military crack-down on pro-democracy protesters and
examples of child labour.
Asia fund managers said association with Burma would be bad publicity for
most foreign investors. ``An association with Burma is not desirable for any
fund manager,'' said one, who declined to be named.
He said the country had great development potential, but added his fund
had no immediate intention of investing money there. ``We have to look at it
from an investment point of view on behalf of our clients,'' he said.
Kerry Investment Management, however, set up the Burma-dedicated Myanmar
Fund in October 1994, attracting interest from global institutional
investors.
It currently has $47 million invested in the pre-emerging economy,
chiefly in hotels, industry, paper and property.
Fund manager Richard Neville said involvement was the best way to
encourage change. ``If you're trading and investing with a country you have
much more leverage,'' he said in a telephone interview from Hong Kong.
``Whether it's the tourist dollar or foreign investment or trade, the
rapport would be more substantial and your opinion would be considered more
substantially (if you are involved),'' he said.
Burma's Asian neighbours have largely followed a policy of
non-interference. But Bangkok Bank, Thailand's largest, said on Wednesday
that investment there was worth considering.
``Although investing in Myanmar (Burma) has its risks, it is still a
place of considerable interest,'' it said.
But it echoed foreign fund managers in describing political risk as
having a negative effect on investor confidence.
Sean Kelly, Asia fund manager at Gartmore Investment Ltd which has some
2.0 billion pounds ($3.03 billion) invested across Asia, said other
pre-emerging economies provided more immediate prospects for investment.
``Vietnam is probably in front of the queue,'' he said.
Foreign and Colonial's Smith said Burma had to effect considerable change
before investors would really move in.
``It has got to change substantially in terms of market forces,
democracy, and opening up the economy,'' he said. REUTER
***********************************************************
REUTER: TEXACO PROTEST (not sure if this is correct title)
May 14, 1996. (abridged)
pwellner@xxxxxxxxxxx
By James Pierpoint
HOUSTON, May 14 (Reuter) - A clutch of
activists protested outside the Texaco Inc <TX.N> shareholder
meeting in Houston on Tuesday to publicize concerns about the
international oil company's environmental record and activities in
Burma, where human rights violations continue to be documented.
But shareholders at the meeting roundly voted down a proposal
to end Texaco's operations in Burma, and rejected proxies
soliciting increased shareholder oversight of operations in
countries with proven records of human rights violations.
Texaco was one of four U.S. oil companies targeted by human
rights activists for its operations in Myanmar, better known as
Burma. Unocal Corp <UCL.N>, Atlantic Richfield Co <ARC.N> and
Halliburton Co <HAL.N> also have operations there, and soft-drink
maker PepsiCo Inc <PEP.N> recently withdrew from the country.
A military regime in power in Burma since 1988 has been
accused of using forced labor in military campaigns, arresting
political dissidents and bulldozing villages in the path of
Texaco, Unocal and Total SA <TOTF.PA> pipelines being cut through
southern Burma to Thailand.
"It is the outrageous abuse of human rights in that country
which makes it unsuitable in our view for Texaco to do business
there," said Sister Denise Ann Clifford of Houston, criticizing
Texaco's policy of "constructive engagement" in working with what
she called an oppressive military regime.
"There is no evidence that Texaco's behind the scenes approach
has made any difference." said Clifford, a nun with the Sisters of
Loretto order. "Texaco's very presence lends a kind of
international legitimacy to an illegal government."
Tight security kept activists from entering a packed ballroom
where DeCrane was leading his final meeting at the helm of Texaco.
Before retiring on July 1, he will hand over the chairman's office
to Vice Chairman Peter Bijur.
******************************************************
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@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Boycott campaigns: [Pepsi] ai268@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Buddhism: Buddhist Relief Mission: brelief@xxxxxxx
Chin history/culture: [volunteer temporarily away]
Fonts: tom@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
High School Activism: nculwell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
History of Burma: zni@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
International Affairs: Julien Moe: JulienMoe@xxxxxxx
Kachin history/culture: 74750.1267@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Karen history/culture: Karen Historical Society: 102113.2571@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Mon history/culture: [volunteer needed]
Naga history/culture: Wungram Shishak: z954001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Burma-India border [volunteer needed]
Pali literature: "Palmleaf": c/o burmanet@xxxxxxxxxxx
Resettlement info: an400642@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Rohingya culture volunteer needed
Shan history/culture: Sao Hpa Han: burma@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Shareholder activism: simon_billenness@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Total/Pipeline Dawn Star: cd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Tourism campaigns: bagp@xxxxxxxxxx "Attn. S.Sutcliffe"
volunteering: an400642@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
World Wide Web: FreeBurma@xxxxxxxxx
[Feel free to suggest more areas of coverage]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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issues, type "subscribe burmanet-l"
Letters to the editor, comments or contributions of articles should be
sent to the edlitary crack-down on pro-democracy protesters and examples of child labour.
Asia fund managers said association with Burma would be bad publicity for most foreign investors. ``An association with Burma is not desirable for any fund manager,'' said one, who declined to be named.
He said the country had great development potential, but added his fund had no immediate intention of investing money there. ``We have to look at it from an investment point of view on behalf of our clients,'' he said.
Kerry Investment Management, however, set up the Burma-dedicated Myanmar Fund in October 1994, attracting interest from global institutional investors.
It currently has $47 million invested in the pre-emerging economy,
chiefly in hotels, industry, paper and property.
Fund manager Richard Neville said involvement was the best way to
encourage change. ``If you're trading and investing with a country you have much more leverage,'' he said in a telephone interview from Hong Kong.
``Whether it's the tourist dollar or foreign investment or trade, the
rapport would be more substantial and your opinion would be considered more substantially (if you are involved),'' he said.
Burma's Asian neighbours have largely followed a policy of
non-interference. But Bangkok Bank, Thailand's largest, said on Wednesday that investment there was worth considering.
``Although investing in Myanmar (Burma) has its risks, it is still a
place of considerable interest,'' it said.
But it echoed foreign fund managers in describing political risk as
having a negative effect on investor confidence.
*******************************************************
REUTER: OIL COMPANIES BRUSH ASIDE CONCERNS OVER BURMA
May 15, 1996
LONDON, May 15 (Reuter) - Oil companies building a major gas pipeline in Burma on Wednesday brushed aside renewed concerns about the country's human rights record and said they would complete the project.
France's Total SA <TOTF.PA> and United States-based Unocal Corp <UCL.N> reiterated their commitment to ``political neutrality'', claiming their investment would benefit rather than harm the Burmese population.
``Total must stick to the fundamental principle of not interfering with
local-national political affairs in the countries where the company is
involved,'' Total vice president for public affairs Joseph Daniel said in a
statement to Reuters.
``We will not insert ourselves into the internal politics of any country
in which we operate,'' Unocal spokesman David Garcia said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles.
Both companies also denied any involvement in the construction of an extension to Burma's notorious ``death railway'', which claimed the lives of thousands of prisoners of the Japanese and Burmese civilians during the Second World War.
The existence of the new railway was revealed in a hard-hitting broadcast on British television on Tuesday.
The programme showed footage of the 1988 crackdown on pro-democracy protestors and examples of forced and child labour, including on the railway which has already claimed 300 lives, according to the programme makers.
``Our project has absolutely nothing to do with the railway of Ye-Tavoy, which is perpendicular to the future pipeline,'' Daniel said.
Total and Unocal, which own 31.24 and 28.26 percent of the billion-dollar pipeline project, also insisted they would not be using the railway to deliver construction equipment.
``All supplies will be imported by sea by barges via Singapore,'' Garcia told Reuters.
The other partners in the project are the Petroleum Authority of Thailand with 25.5 percent and the Myanmar national oil company (MOGE) with 15 percent.
The 60-kilometre pipeline will transport gas from the Yadana field in the Andaman Sea, 70 kilometres off the Burmese coast, where production is due tobegin in 1998. Most of the gas will be exported to Thailand to supply electric power plants northwest
of Bangkok.
About 20 percent will serve the Burmese domestic market, according toTotal.
The French company said it hoped its investment would encourage other international investors.
``Total has decided to participate in the economical development of this country for the benefit of a people that has been isolated for the past 33 years and is in need of energy and hope to shape its future,'' Daniel said.
On Tuesday, demonstrators gathered outside Texaco Inc's <TX.N>
shareholder meeting in Houston to raise concerns about the company's
environmental record and activities in Burma.
Shareholders voted down a proposal for the company, which is not involved in the pipeline project, to withdraw from Burma.
*******************************************************
REUTER: TEXACO PROTEST (not sure if this is correct title)
May 14, 1996. (abridged)
pwellner@xxxxxxxxxxx
By James Pierpoint
HOUSTON, May 14 (Reuter) - A clutch of
activists protested outside the Texaco Inc <TX.N> shareholder
meeting in Houston on Tuesday to publicize concerns about the
international oil company's environmental record and activities in
Burma, where human rights violations continue to be documented.
But shareholders at the meeting roundly voted down a proposal
to end Texaco's operations in Burma, and rejected proxies
soliciting increased shareholder oversight of operations in
countries with proven records of human rights violations.
Texaco was one of four U.S. oil companies targeted by human
rights activists for its operations in Myanmar, better known as
Burma. Unocal Corp <UCL.N>, Atlantic Richfield Co <ARC.N> and
Halliburton Co <HAL.N> also have operations there, and soft-drink
maker PepsiCo Inc <PEP.N> recently withdrew from the country.
A military regime in power in Burma since 1988 has been
accused of using forced labor in military campaigns, arresting
political dissidents and bulldozing villages in the path of
Texaco, Unocal and Total SA <TOTF.PA> pipelines being cut through
southern Burma to Thailand.
"It is the outrageous abuse of human rights in that country
which makes it unsuitable in our view for Texaco to do business
there," said Sister Denise Ann Clifford of Houston, criticizing
Texaco's policy of "constructive engagement" in working with what
she called an oppressive military regime.
"There is no evidence that Texaco's behind the scenes approach
has made any difference." said Clifford, a nun with the Sisters of
Loretto order. "Texaco's very presence lends a kind of
international legitimacy to an illegal government."
Tight security kept activists from entering a packed ballroom
where DeCrane was leading his final meeting at the helm of Texaco.
Before retiring on July 1, he will hand over the chairman's office
to Vice Chairman Peter Bijur.
******************************************************
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT: 1996 MYANMAR GOES TOURIST
May 20, 1996
simon_billenness@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Simon Billenness)
The people are warm, the sights spectacular. But be thankful
you're not a dissenting citizen
Someone neglected to tell the soldiers in Yangon's
Mingladon Airport that 1996 is "Visit Myanmar Year."
Their penchant for inspecting luggage with the barrel of
a semiautomatic rifle, or detaining travelers in a locked room,
hardly constitutes a warm welcome. And the soldiers grin with a
ferocity that for five decades has terrified millions of
citizens, buttressed a repressive military regime and kept
foreigners at bay. Of course, these soldiers can't take all the
credit for xenophobia in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
Dictators, drug lords and antigovernment insurgents have done
their share.
Eight years after government soldiers massacred 3,000
pro-democracy demonstrators in Yangon (then Rangoon), the
military regime continues to suppress free speech. The United
Nations recently denounced Myanmar for ongoing human-rights
violations, and PepsiCo plans to join the growing number of
American companies that have severed business ties there. Yet
this country, one of the most hermetic nations on Earth, has
decided that it wants more visitors. The government's "Visit
Myanmar" campaign is breathing new life into the Southeast Asia
travel circuit. Travelers still watch crocodile wrestling in
Bangkok and sample dim sum at Singapore's hawker stalls--but many
are saving Myanmar for the main course.
Like its Laos and Vietnam neighbors, Myanmar hopes tourism can
jump-start its woeful economy. The annual per capita income of
$230 is one of the lowest in booming Southeast Asia. And
human-rights-inspired boycotts continue to hobble exports--legal
ones, that is. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials
believe Myanmar exports 60 percent of the heroin on America's
streets.
Rather than tackling the export ban, the government is promoting
four-week tourist visas, and a relative stampede has ensued. The
state-owned Myanmar Travels & Tours is predicting half a million
visitors during 1996 alone.
Newly open doors notwithstanding, why is this rogue nation the
hottest destination in Asia? In a region dominated by high-tech
megacities like Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur, Myanmar is
the peculiar recluse, the crotchety neighbor whose house piques
your interest. Having spent the better half of this century in
isolation, Myanmar retains the exotic flavors of old Asia. The
country holds some of the world's most inspiring religious sites,
the Burmese people are fervently courteous to foreigners, and $75
a day easily will cover food, transportation and first-rate
lodgings. And theft in Myanmar, a devout Theravada Buddhist
country, is virtually nonexistent.
[Image]
Myanmar's modest charm looms the moment you step into
the streets of its capital. Yangon is remarkably laid
back--a dusty, dilapidated labyrinth of wide streets, open-air
markets and curvaceous temples. There are no high-rises, no
billboards, no traffic jams. Buddhist pagodas dot the city, with
one rising above all others: Shwedagon. Built 2,500 years ago to
enshrine eight hairs of the Buddha's head, the pagoda stands
taller than a football field and is swathed in more than $100
million worth of gold.
Shwedagon's base is a shrine of perpetual worship. Ocher-robed
monks encircle the pagoda, begging alms and mumbling sutras, or
Buddhist scripture. Children bow to a garish statue of the
Buddha, who has a halo of flickering disco lights sprouting from
his head. Vendors sell floral garlands to pilgrims, who move from
temple to temple, leaving offerings of flowers, rice and prayer
beads. At dusk, Shwedagon sheds its glittering visage for a more
serene appearance. By nightfall, after worshipers have gone, its
golden dome glows alone and austere.
A $20 overnight train, followed by a nine-hour, white-knuckle
Jeep ride along eroding mountain roads, brings you to Yawnghwe,
on the shores of Inle Lake. This is tribal territory, as far east
as a foreign traveler can go. The surrounding hills are
off-limits, but a visit to the twice-weekly market offers
glimpses of the ethnic hill minorities. Turbaned Shans smoking
truncated cigars squat next to their goods--purple and white
wildflowers. Black-robed Karens haggle with local Inthas for
bushels of apples and avocados. Necks, wrists and ankles
encircled by brass coils, Padaung women step awkwardly from stall
to stall, peddling pans of dried, salted lake fish.
Just $5 hires a boat to cross Inle Lake to the town of Ywama, a
floating world of Venice-like canals surrounded by stilt homes
and aquatic gardens. At dusk, dozens of Intha fishermen slowly
rake the water's surface with reed nets. Their catch can be
sampled at any number of lakeside restaurants. One local dish,
"surprise soup," is an oversize bowl of glass noodles in a
aromatic broth. The surprise: a water snake at the bottom, peeled
white and coiled like sausage.
[Image]
The famed road to Mandalay--"Where the flyin' fishes
play," wrote Kipling--is a 10-hour bone breaker over
roads so potholed they might be a battery range. And Mandalay is
not a romantic town but just a jumping-off point for the
so-called deserted cities nearby. Cycle rickshaws take visitors
to the Irrawaddy riverbank, where they can catch a ferry to
Mingun, the most famous of the towns. The Irrawaddy is a
thriving, 1,000-mile artery carrying bamboo rafts, chugging
diesel ferries and thousands of tons of goods between upper and
lower Myanmar. Plying upstream, the ferry to Mingun takes an hour
and costs $3. When it docks, a gaggle of barefoot monks greet
travelers with a chorus of "Hello" and "What country?" The monks
are eager to guide visitors to the well-known sites next to their
monastery. It is considered proper to drop a 200-kyat
note--around $2--into each monk's begging bowl.
Mingun is home to the world's largest uncracked bell; the pagoda
next to it was less fortunate. An 1838 earthquake nearly split it
in two, leaving a cartoonish crack down the middle. The pagoda's
creator, King Bodawpaya, planned to make it the world's largest.
But when he died, the thousands of slaves imported for
construction fled to Bengal, and none of the king's 122 children
resumed the work.
On first approach, the pagoda seems more like the set of an
Indiana Jones film than a place of worship. Its girth is
daunting--460 feet across at its widest point. After guiding a
hike to the summit, the monks escort guests back to the ferry and
run along the riverbank as the boat pulls away.
From Mandalay, it takes nine hours and three bus rides to reach
the most fascinating site in Myanmar--perhaps all of Southeast
Asia. Nearly a thousand years ago on this dry and dusty plain, 11
successive kings built 13,000 pagodas to honor the Buddha. Called
Pagan (pronounced pah-GAHN), for three centuries its profusion of
temples made it the most remarkable religious city in the world.
But in 1287, Kublai Khan and his Tatar hordes conquered Pagan and
much of Burma. Though more than 2,000 pagodas survived his
rampage, they remain virtually unknown to the outside world.
Geographic isolation and four decades of strict visitation
policies have left Pagan largely free of tourists. Except for the
occasional farmer hauling an oxcart-load of millet and sesame,
the pagoda-studded plain is deserted.
Dollar-a-day bike rentals, available in nearby
Nyaung-Oo, are a popular way to explore Pagan. Most
travelers spend at least five days here, cycling traffic-free
roads, climbing dozens of temples and gazing at 1,000-year-old
paintings depicting the moment Siddhartha obtained enlightenment
and became the Buddha. Like an open-air museum, Pagan offers an
intimate learning experience. A climb to the top of Thatbyinnyu,
Pagan's highest temple, brings the entire dramatic landscape into
view. Temples in every architectural style, from Mon to
Sinhalese, jut from the earth like fairy-tale castles. And the
quiltlike fields of millet look as green as billiard tables.
Local monks guide visitors through the interior tunnels of nearby
Dhammayangyi--a massive, Mayan-like temple with dozens of
hidden passageways. Crawling, literally, through a 2-by-2-foot tunnel
to see ancient inscriptions may not be everyone's idea of a good
time. But it's a small price to pay to emerge at a temple-top
window as Dhammayangyi throws its shadow across the plain.
Pagan is a fitting climax to any journey through Myanmar. From
there, oxcarts are available to Nyaung-Oo, where Myanma Airways
offers twice-weekly flights to Yangon. My oxcart driver furtively
passed me a small, laminated photo of Aung San Suu Kyi--the
charismatic head of Myanmar's National League for Democracy
(NLD). Cabbies, coolies and oxcart drivers everywhere carry
stashes of such photos, handing them out to tourists while
regaling their captive audience with stories of their heroine.
In 1989, a year after the Yangon massacre, Suu Kyi and other NLD
leaders were placed under house arrest. In prison, she won the
Nobel Peace Prize, and international pressure to set her free
slowly mounted against Myanmar's State Law-and-Order Restoration
Council (SLORC). Last July, SLORC finally released Suu Kyi,
who quickly resumed her post as head of the NLD. "She is the
next president of Burma," the oxcart driver whispered with utter
confidence. His sentiment is pervasive, even among members of
Myanmar's military regime.
Back at the airport in Yangon, the same government
soldier roots through your bag on departure, but his
expression can't reclaim its original influence. In a country on
the eve of a new life, the soldier's leer seems desperate and out
of place--a crude mask worn by a man whose time has come and
gone.
*******************************************************
BKK POST: BURMA'S ECONOMIC REFORMS PROMPT FOREIGN INVESTORS TO LOOK AGAIN
May 16,1996
Burma Investment
Investing in Burma has its risks, but projections of continued
steady growth make it a country well worth exploring, according to
the Research Department of Bangkok Bank.
The Burmese economy is in the final stage of its short four-year
development plan, covering the fiscal years 1993-96. It is
expected that average annual growth over the period will be 7.7%,
high enough to conclude that the Burmese government has been
successful in this stage of developing the country.
Since fiscal 1989 the government has implemented an important
economic reform plan: making use of market mechanisms, encouraging
private business, lifting price controls, accepting foreign
investment, restructuring and liberalising the financial system,
accepting foreign banks, restructuring taxes and promoting
exports. The effects of these reforms have ensured that as of
September 1995, investment in 159 projects amounted to US$3.05 billion.
Burma is rich in resources, and has inexpensive labour. However,
its undemocratic political system and poor human rights record
have left the country with very few friends.
Nevertheless, the new constitution has been criticised as ensures
too much power for the military, while the people seriously
question whether fair elections are feasible.
This gives rise to worrying problems; for example, how the
opposition will handle the current situation and whether
disturbances will take place, and also whether the Government will
be ostracised by the would community.
These concerns could have a negative effect on foreign assistance
projects, and on the confidence of investors. The latter are
particularly concerned about the official exchange rate which is
far too high at six kyat to one US dollar. Even though the
Government has foreign exchange certificates (FEC) that it is
willing for the private sector to hold as cash, liquidity is lacking.
Thai investors may be concerned that their investment in Burma
could be affected by skirmishes along the Thai-Burma border.
However, in the overall situation, it is thought that these
conflicts do not have a serious effect on investment and that
Burma has good investment opportunities.
The Rangoon government is accepting diversified investment. Local
monthly wages range from US$20-100. Investment may be in three
forms: wholly-owned ventures, production-sharing or profit-sharing.
Large expanses of land are suitable for agriculture. Requests can
be made to use the land for 30 years, the tenure of which can be
extended. Rent may be waived for two to eight years, and tax on
income may be exempt for three years. There are 14 types of
products permitted for export: rice, maize, five kinds of beans,
sesame, rubber, cashew nuts, castor beans, coffee, vegetables and fruit.
The government allows the import of 10 types of farm implements:
ploughing implements, fertiliser, cement, water pumps, hydraulic
digging machinery, steel bars, seeds manual earth-crushing
implements, dumper loaders, and tools.
Investors may be interested in agro-industry and agricultural
processing, such as production of agricultural machinery, sugar,
seeds, insecticide, canned food, animal feed, cold storage and
others. Or they may be interested in animal husbandry and aquaculture.
The government allows concessions in forestry and joint ventures
in the fishing industry. Many Thai businesspeople are interested
in both of these fields, but problems exist due to
misunderstandings and conflicts of interests.
In mining, there are various minerals of real interest: gold,
copper, lead, building stone, limestone, nickel and precious
stones. The government may grant concessions on a bloc basis. Some
areas are designated for government activity in which it is
looking for interested partners to coinvest in order to introduce
modern mining technology.
There are six energy-related companies investing on a production-
sharing basis. Companies that have found natural gas include a
joint venture between Total and Unocal at their Yadana well, where
reserves are estimated at 5.7 trillion cubic feet. A contract to
sell gas to Thailand starts in 1998.
Another company is a joint venture involving Premier/Texaco/Nippon
Oil, with the Yetagun well with reserves estimated at 1.2 trillion
cubic feet. This group has a refinery at Thanlyin. The government
plans to allow the private sector to purchase oil from this
refinery, and to import oil freely.
Other interesting industries are the petrochemical, carbon dioxide
and methanol industries. Another industry waiting for co-investors
is electricity generating, using either hydro or gas.
Thai investors who want to invest in labour-intensive industries
in Burma should study the successes and problems of existing
businesses. Currently there are 26 factories in the
textile/clothing sector, 20 in the food sector, 12 in the medicine
and chemical sector, 15 factories in ceramics, 11 in paper, and 10
in other sectors.
Contacting banks in Burma is still not as convenient as it should
be. The government operates four specialised banks and 15 private
banks. Only four banks authorised to undertake foreign exchange
business. Foreign banks operate a total of 25 representative offices.
A report from the Burma Foreign Investment Commission dated June
30, 1995, states that 20 Thai companies are operating in Burma.
Six are wholly-owned and the rest are joint venture companies.
According to another report from Burma, at the end of September
1995, there were 28 Thai-invested projects worth US$420.12
million. This makes Thai investors the fourth largest group in
Burma, after the United Kingdom, Singapore and France respectively.
*******************************************************
BAG: MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
May 14, 1996
Yvette Mahon Burma Action Group Collins Studios Collins Yard
Islington Green London N1 2XU
Tel: 44 171 359 7679 Fax: 44 171 354 3987 E-mail: bagp@xxxxxxxxxx
The Burma Action Group (BAG) will be holding a demonstration
outside the London headquarters of Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
Ltd, Sea Containers House, 20 Upper Ground, London SE1 between 12
and 2pm on Thursday 16 May.
This well-known company, almost a British institution, is one of
the largest foreign tour operators in Burma. It refutes all
evidence from Burma's democracy movement and from human rights
organisations, that Burma's people are suffering as a result of
tourism development under the military regime, the State Law and
Order Restoration Council (SLORC) that ruthlessly controls the
country. The SLORC has deemed 1996 "Visit Myanmar Year" in order
to further legitimise their dictatorship of the country and to
draw in the hard currency it needs to survive. The Orient Express
Group operate the "Road to Mandalay" cruise liner, offering luxury
"champagne-style" cruises along Burma's Irrawaddy River. They
have already earned approximately US$2.5million in advance
bookings.
*SLAVE LABOUR Meanwhile the people of Burma pay the price. A
massive programme of development is being carried out across Burma
to prepare the country for tourists. The actual road to Mandalay
is more chillingly referred to as the "road of no return" by the
civilian slave labourers forced to upgrade the road to ease
tourist travel. An estimated two million people including children
as young as eight years old have been forced into slave labour.
Thousands of people have died under the harshest of conditions.
Holiday makers will be using facilities built using forced labour
and visiting sites from which local people have been forcibly
removed.
*FORCED RELOCATION The brochure of the "Road to Mandalay" cruise refers, without a trace of irony, to the virtues of the historic
town of Pagan- "Nothing can prepare you for this sight, Bagan a
ghost city". An estimated three million people country-wide,
including the people of Pagan, have been forced from their homes
to 'clean-up' tourist sites or make way for new developments.
Burma's democracy movement has asked tourists to stay out of Burma
for as long as the illegal regime continues to wage a war against
its own people. Nobel Peace Prize Winner and leader of the
democratically elected National League for Democracy (NLD), Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi, has urged tourists and the tourism industry not
to lend support to the military's "Visit Year". "Those foreign
businessmen... need to be reminded that this is one of the most
brutal military regimes in the world and putting money into the
country now is simply supporting a system that is severely harmful
to the people of Burma."
* THE TOUR OPERATORS' ROLE A small number of British tour
operators have written to Burma's Minister for Hotels & Tourism,
explaining that they will not be operating tours to Burma until
they are confident that forced labour and forced relocation - both
a by-product of tourism in Burma - have ceased. Even tour
operators currently going to Burma decided at a meeting organized
by Tourism Concern to send a letter to Burma's Minister of Hotels
& Tourism expressing their concern at human rghts abuses connected
to tourism. The letter was sent last week. The Orient-Express
Group is not amongst them and has yet to demonstrate any concern
or interest in the well documented evidence of wide scale human
rights abuses connected to tourism.
The Burma Action Group, which has been active in its efforts to
discourage tourism under the present regime, last month launched
its critical report on tourism in Burma - "Burma: The Alternative
Guide". Yvette Mahon, Coordinator, said " Of course we see why
people might like to visit Burma, and why companies such as
Orient Express are keen to pave the way. However the use of forced
labour and the summary relocation of entire communities are
extremely serious human rights abuses. These ought not to be
sidelined by any responsible person or company in the search for
an exotic holiday destination. The country will always be there,
and tourists will be warmly welcomed under a democratic
government. The SLORC is literally making a killing from tourism,
we urge tourists and the tourism industry not to lend this cruel
and greedy dictatorship the financial support and legitimacy it
seeks. "
The Burma Action Group believe John Pilger's powerful
documentary,"Inside Burma: Land of Fear" shown on Carlton on
Tuesday 14 May will raise public consciousness of the true
situation in Burma today. The film makes explicit the murderous
connection between human rights abuses and tourism development in
Burma, and is itself critical of the Orient Express Group's
involvement and abdication of responsibility.
For further information contact Yvette Mahon at the Burma Action
Group on 0171 359 7679.
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ANNOUNCEMENT: SCHOLARSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT FROM NFB FOR BURMESE STUDENTS!
May 15, 1996
Scholarship Announcement to whom it may interest
NFB would like to help students from BURMA (NOT Myanmar) who are interested in participating any of the further study grammes in NL.
The participant must be (1) Burmese (ie. all ethnic groups of Burma)
(2) holder of any university degree (3) having no work under the present military government.
For the further information please write to "Netherlands Friends of Burma".
Contact address
Mrs. Andria Overbeeke
Netherlands Friends of Burma
Ahornstraat 57
2565 ZV The Hague, The Netherlands
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ANNOUNCEMENT: CORRECTION- NEW BURMA FTP SITE
May 15, 1996
This message is most meaningful to those who have FTP access, but no WWW access. (Those with WWW access may find this confusing,
inconsequential, or both.)
----------------------
There is an "anonymous" or "public" FTP area associated with the Free
Burma website. The old Free Burma FTP path was changed and beyond my control. The new location is as follows, and has been updated with new content.
The files available via FTP are on SUNSITE.UNC.EDU under
/pub/academic/political-science/freeburma/
Included is an archive of the BurmaNet News (which is usually not much more than a week behind), and the monthly Burma Alert.
They are up to date, and in ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/academic/political-science/freeburma/bnn and
ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/academic/political-science/freeburma/ba
respectively.
There are also many scanned photos in
ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/academic/political-science/freeburma/photos
They are just as accessible as they ever were to people with web access,
who can use the old or new URL
"ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/academic/political-science/freeburma/";.
However, the files are ALSO accessible via FTP. They are not now
accessible via gopher, but this will be done if it is ever again available.
The old URLs for BurmaNet News homepage and Burma Alert homepage will remain functional though the location of the archives has changed.
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