Foreign Investors Vs. Democracy, Sp

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Subject: Foreign Investors Vs. Democracy, Speech at American University

 Foreign Investors Vs. Democratization in Burma

An anti-democracy regime self-named State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC) has been ruling Burma since 1988 by the seasons of fear, power, and
money, in which, the most important objective, narrowly opening its economy
so-called "free market economy" will gain the regime legitimacy, which the
SLORC came up with self-conclusion that 1988-pro-democracy-uprising was
erupted by lack of an economic development under Ne Win?s regime.  Since the
SLORC came to power, it has opened up foreign investors and drug warlords to
do businesses in Burma. But long-term stability of Burma?s economy,
politics, and human rights conditions under the SLORC are jeopardized; U.S.
President Clinton last year in Thailand said that the role of drugs in
Burma?s economic and political life and the regime refusal to honor its
pledge to move to multi-party democracy are really two sides of the same
coin.  To solve these problems?democratic government in power, cooperation
with world body of drug enforcement agencies, liberation of state
enterprises and free trade areas, improving world standard educational
system, technology, and social and living standard in terms of a developing
nation?just support democratic forces, led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. In other
words, most practical ways of a quick change in Burma, foreign companies
voluntarily or involuntarily withdrawing, and democratic states and United
Nations (UN) imposing economic sanctions and arm embargo are physically and
spiritually straightening the democracy forces. At the same time, forming a
consensus body under the banner of UN, Canadian government called a contact
group, which will enforce 1997-Burma-UNGA resolutions; in other words, the
UN contact group is able to call for representatives from SLORC and National
League for Democracy (NLD) and ethnic leaders to enter meaningful dialogues
to establish national reconciliation and democratization, another way to
direct a peaceful transition of forming a democracatic government. In
general, the basic idea that putting more pressures on the SLORC is to make
the regime to realize that friends in international community support
democracy movements in Burma?the regime is unable to carry out its
"democracy-genocide" campaigns, drubbing members of National League for
Democracy party, which won 82 % of parliamentary seats in 1990 national
elections, but the regime bluffed?and to make the democratic forces to
become stronger, in which the forces, particularly NLD party, will carry out
"people?s mandatory" of forming a government whenever chances prevail. The
NLD party, pro-democracy students, workers, farmers, monks, and ethnic
minorities in Burma are still remaining in strong position to take the
chances. In addition, in modeling 1990s South Africa model, initiated by
Free Burma Coalition (FBC), external forces in terms of democracy supporters
throughout the world, should put more pressure on the foreign companies to
pull out from Burma through non-violent actions in terms of extending
grassroots movements in Asia, Europe, and North America.
Drugs: U.S. Embassy in Rangoon reported that investors continue to build
hotels is not clear where the investors? money come from.  Some hotels are
being built with funds from individuals and organizations that have had
close ties to opiate-growing or opiate-exporting organizations. One of Khun
Sa?s sons, Sam Seun, leases 18 hectares of land in Tachilek, near the Golden
Triangle, to built a 200-room hotel, casino and entertainment complex,
according to The Ottawa Citizen paper. In October 1996, Australia Special
Broadcasting Service (SBS) telecasted that Government of Singapore
Investment Corporation (GIC) linked with Myanmar Fund owned by Burmese drug
lord, Lo Hsing Han, and his son, Steven Law, in which the Singapore
government acknowledges holding a 21.5 per cent stake worth $10 million.
The SBS said that the Myanmar Fund was launched in 1994, and its investment
manager, Steven Law , owned by the Hong-Kong based Kerry Financial Services
Ltd. connected to the Robert Kuok group. Another company owned by Lo Hsing
Han, one of the Asia?s leading drug traffickers, named Asia World does
businesses with Singapore-based Tiger Breweries and Shungri-La Hotels, as
well as the United Distillers group, according to Journal of Commerce. The
Asia World has invested $200 million in construction projects around
Rangoon, according to The Nation. Bangkok Post and Nations of Thailand
indicated that Khung Sa also won transportation businesses that run buses
from Shan State to Rangoon, and his company named Khung Sa and Groups also
set up gems industries. According to the Nation Magazine published in last
December, Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), which holds15% with Unocal
and Total oil giants, was the main channel for laundering the revenues of
heroin produced and exported under the control of Burmese army.
Khung Sa, "who surrendered" last year, was indicted in a U.S. federal court
in December 1989 on charges of smuggling more than $350 million worth of
heroin into the United States between 1986 and 1988?a U.S. government offer
of $2 million reward to extradite Khung Sa to stand trial in the U.S., but
the SLORC refused to hand over Khung Sa. 
The Ottawa Citizen said that U.S. Satellite surveillance has shown about
64,000 hectares of land ready for growing with opium poppies, double size of
the area in 10 years. The paper said the Unites States is particularly
concerned, since 70 per cent of the 2,500 tones of Burma?s opium produced
each year ends up as heroin on U.S. cities? streets. According to the The
Nation, San Francisco Police Sergeant John Murphy said that buying heroin in
his city is as easy as buying a pack of cigarettes.
Robert Gelbard, the U.S. Assistance Secretary of State for International
Narcotics and Law Enforcement told the Ottawa Citizen that the SLORC has
been part of the problem, not the solution. 
Economy: Prospects for Burma?s economic growth are uncertain because the
SLORC refuses to adopt economic and political reforms.  The long-term
sustainability of economic growth is still more questionable, due to
persistence of macroeconomic instability, political uncertainty,  human
right abuses, and grossly inadequate human infrastructure development,
especially in the field of basic education. These problems are intimately
related to the high costs of governing by force.  Burma?s defense agencies
spending amounted to at least half total central government expenditures.
The defense appears to be one of the Burma?s fastest-growing sectors.  The
number of active duty personnel in armed forces has grown from 175,000 in
1988 to 500,000 in 1996, according to U.S. Embassy in Rangoon.  The SLORC
has bought jet fighters, helicopters, heavy arms,  and military technologies
from China and Russia, spending in billion dollars.
Burma?s economic growth will depend on international and domestic popular
support and maintenance of civil order.  Increasing interest among American
public and government about human rights abuse and narcotics trafficking in
Burma propounds political risks for U.S companies importing from and
investing in Burma.  State of Massachusetts and other ten cities passed
selected purchasing laws. Companies that already had left Burma are:
Motorola, Philips, Apple Computer, Wente Vineyards, Carlsbreg, Heineken, and
etc. Some resisting companies, including Texaco and Unocal Crop. of U.S. and
Total SA of France, oil companies are under pressure.
A condition economic sanction bill passed in both Senate and Congress in
September 1996 that will ban new U.S investments in Burma if the SLORC
harms, re-arrests, forces to exile Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and represses mass
democracy activists.  President Clinton also signed a ban of visa for the
SLORC?s members and its beneficiaries entering into U.S..  The U.S
government also resists financial assistance to Burma believing in narcotics
exports, which Government of Burma?s external debts and arrears have
increased greatly even though the SLORC has lost access to financial
assistance from international financial organizations. The U.S government is
obliged to vote against any financial assistance to Burma by the World Bank
and Asian Development Bank. 
Similarly, European Union, EU, passed a law of banning visa for the SLORC?s
members entering to European countries. Last December, European Commission
intended to suspend Burma?s trade privileges because of systematic use of
forced labor.  Burma?s exports to the EU are worth $ 75 million, according
to the press release of International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
(ICFTU), two third of which were eligible for substantial tariffs reductions
that Burma would lose.  
Many businesses in Burma are owned by the SLORC, especially the Ministry of
Defense, is composed of twelve distinct "defense industries" that make
products ranging from weapons to sports balls.  The Directorate Defense
Industries Procurement (DDP) procures imports of finished goods for the
military, including most weapons other than small arms.  DDP controls and
owns 40 percent of Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings, Ltd. (UMEH), a joint
venture partner for many foreign investors. 
The foreign companies investing in Burma are barely escaped from military
owned corporations. But, until now, according to Burmese official figures in
August 31, 1996 and Burma?s Business Directory, 1325 companies from 29
countries with $4,310.99 million have been investing in Burma in the areas
of oil and gas, mining, real estate, hotel and tourism industry, bank,
transport, communications, manufacture, forestry, live stroke, agriculture,
and fishery. 
Dividing three regions investing in Burma are Asia, Europe, and North
America that show how many companies and how much money containing of. 800
companies from Asia countries with $2,180.17$, 45 companies from North
America with $267.71 million, and 135 companies from Europe with $1,726.17
million, a financial figure of Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Spin,
Czech Republic, and Ireland are not accessible. If these billion dollars
were cut off, the SLORC would be faced financial difficulties. When Ne Win?s
regime ruled Burma for three decades, financed by donor countries,
especially Japan and Germany, and etc. to maintain its power. After the
United Nations declared Burma one of the world least developing countries
(LDC), millions of Burmese angered and realized the failure of Ne Win?s
regime. As a result, the Burmese people came out to the streets and called
for democracy in 1988.
In short, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said, "Yes, very much so! Consumer power. And
it's good to know that the people of different countries are really
concerned and involved in the movement to bring democracy to Burma. I think
in some ways it's better to have the "people" of the world on our people
side, rather than the governments of the world, even if the governments can
be more effective in certain directions."  And the democratic forces will
achieve state power if the black dollars do not go to the regime. 
Thank You Very Much.

02.02.97
Nyi Nyi Lwin
Tel/Fax. (301)984-6271
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