UPI: Is There Better Alternative fo

[ktint@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: UPI: Is There Better Alternative for Burma  Ban?

Is There Better Alternative for Burma  Ban?

By CHRISTINE MACDONALD
   BOSTON (UPI) -- Burma's opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has had
little success persuading military rulers to come to the negotiating table
to talk about moving toward democracy, but human rights activists in the
United States have made significant inroads this year in convincing the U.S
government and corporations to shun the repressive regime.
   Massachusetts recently became the first state to pass a law prohibiting
state agencies from doing business with companies that operate in the
Southeast Asian country, which is slightly smaller than the state of Texas.
San Francisco and seven other U.S. have passed similar "selective
purchasing" laws. The Massachusetts law will go into effect in September.
   And before the August recess, Congress is expected to vote on even
tougher federal sanctions included in the Senate's Foreign Operations
Appropriations Bill.
   The proposed federal sanctions would prohibit U.S. investments, ban
foreign aid and require U.S. officials to vote against international
lending to Burma and to deny entry visas to members of the military junta
and their families.
   That will likely affect more than 100 multinational companies with
investments, product distribution or employees in the country, which also
goes by the name Myanmar.
   The list includes Pepsi, Texaco and Apple computers, according to the
Investors Responsibility Research Center in Washington.
   Some companies, notably Levi Strauss, Liz Claiborne and Federated
Department Stores, have already ceased operations in Burma. Pepsi this
spring announced plans to sell its share of a bottling plant in the
country. However, it will continue to sell its basic syrup and license the
use of its trademark there.
   The U.S. divestment campaign has the support of Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel
Peace Prize laureate, who has repeatedly called on foreigners to put off
investment until after a democratic transition.
   Yet critics say economically isolating Burma's government will only
stymie dialogue that could lead to liberalization. They point to Suu Kyi's
release and moves to attract foreign investment as signs of change in the
country.
   "For reasons of our national interest and theirs, it is better to have
more trade and more American investment in Burma," said Thomas Vallely of
the Harvard Institute for International Development, who supports a more
conciliatory approach.
   Burma's role as the world's principal supplier of illegal opium and of
international concern. Vallely said drug lords have been threatening "to
establish a shadow government" and sanctions might push Burma into their
hands, and they would be even less democratic than the military. There is
also the role played by China, which controls trade along a common border
and is a key arms supplier to the Burmese military.
   Also, Vallely said, sanctions would not have as much effect on Burma as
they had on South Africa because of its size. Burma has 45 million people,
about the same number as South Africa, but crowded into half the space.
Burma's $613.4 million in exports -- $67 million to the United States -- is
just a fraction of South Africa's. Burma's gross domestic product of $41
billion is far short of South Africa's $171 billion.
   "If our pressure on Burma succeeds in slowing growth in coming decades,
the result...could over time condemn millions to poverty and ignorance on a
scale far worse than anything yet seen in South Africa," Vallely said.
   The situation in Burma gained worldwide notice when the military
government ignored the opposition's 1990 election victory, banned political
parties and public gatherings, and arrested hundreds of activists.
   Those rights violations, and efforts by the National League for
Democracy to end military rule, makes the Free Burma campaign one many
Americans can embrace, said Massachusetts state Rep. Byron Rushing, who
sponsored the new law.
   "In Burma you have a very organized, pro-democracy movement operating in
a way Americans can understand," Rushing said.
   Some restrictions have been eased in Burma, but opinions differ whether
it is because of attention being focused on Suu Kyi, or because Burma wants
to increase its foreign trade.
   Suu Kyi, the daughter of a national hero slain by a previous military
dictatorship, has renewed some pro-democracy activities since her release
last July from six years of house arrest.
   The military has tried to stifle support for the National Democracy
League, and arrested 238 opposition leaders, although some have now been
released. Yet protesters continue to defy the ban on public gatherings,
assembling in Rangoon by the thousands to hear Suu Kyi's weekly address to
the nation.
   Most U.S members of the Free Burma Movement never have been to the
country, known for its Buddhist temples, tropical forests and poppy fields.
They organize primarily on the Internet, where Burmese nationalists
orchestrate the movement from a terminal at the University of Wisconsin at
Madison, one of the cities to pass sanctions this year.
   "This fight is testimony that grassroots action really works,' said
Julia Carpenter, issues director for Citizens for Participation in
Political Action. The Boston lobby coordinates the efforts of human rights
activists, students, church groups and investors concerned with Burma's
dismal human rights record.

\End
===========
Follow up Note from UPI

  By United Press International
   The issue: Massachusetts has become the first state to pass a law
prohibiting state agencies from doing business with Burma's military
regime. But opponents say such sanction would send millions into poverty,
and do little to help the transition toward democracy.
   For sanctions: Citizens for Participation in Political Action; the Free
Burma Movement; state Rep. Byron Rushing.
   Against: Thomas Vallely of Harvard Institute for International Development.
   Next scheduled development: Congress vote on federal sanctions.
 
   (Editor's Note: If you wish to contact some of the people mentioned in
the story, here are their numbers: Rep. Byron Rushing, 617-722-2220; Julia
Carpenter of Citizens for Participation in Political Action, 617- 426-3040;
Thomas Vallely, Harvard, 617-495-1134.
   Please do not publish this list.)
   
   
   
   
 
KT
ISBDA