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Letter from Massachusetts Congressm



Subject: Letter from Massachusetts Congressmen to P.M. Hashimoto

News Release from Barney Frank
Congressman, 4th District, Massachusetts

Washington Office 2210 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C 20515
(202) 225-5931

February 6, 1997

For Immediate Release

Unanimous House Delegation Supports Massachusetts Against Japanese Complaint

Reacting tot he Japanese government's recent criticism of a Massachusetts
law denying state contracts to those companies doing business in Myanmar
(Burma), Congressman Barney Frank today released a letter, signed by all the
members of the Massachusetts delegation, to Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro
Hashimoto urging the Japanese government to end its opposition tot he law
and abandon any attempt to challenge it in the World Trade Organization.
"If the Japanese government chooses to place dollars ahead of human rights,
it has that sovereign right," Frank writes, "but Japan should not attempt to
intimidate Massachusetts into changing the standards it has established for
doing business with the state government."  Frank said that if more states
were willing to place as high a value on democracy and human rights as
Massachusetts, undemocratic regimes-- such as the military government in
Myanmar-- would quickly disappear.

The U.S. Department of State Annual Human Rights Report describes the
military government in Myanmar, known as the State Law and Order Restoration
Council (SLORC), as responsible for, "severe repression of human rights,"
raping female members of ethnic minorities, and subjecting civilians into
forced labor.

A copy of the letter is attached.



Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
February 3, 1997

His Excellency 
Ryutaro Hashimoto
Prime Minister of Japan
Tokyo, Japan

Dear Prime Minister Hashimoto,

As members of the U.S. Congress from the State of Massachusetts, we are
extremely disappointed by the Japanese government's recent comments
regarding the States's new law which denies state contracts to companies
doing business in Myanmar--a country that flagrantly continues to violate
the most basic human rights of its citizens.

We are wholly supportive of fostering good relations between Japan and the
United States, and we believe a strong relationship is critical to the
futures of both nations.  However, we do not believe it is appropriate for
the government of Japan to involve itself in the internal affairs of
Massachusetts.  If the Japanese government chooses to place dollars ahead of
human rights, it has that sovereign right, but Japan should not attempt to
intimidate Massachusetts into changing the standards it has established for
doing business with the state government.  Therefore, we strongly urge the
government of Japan to end its opposition to this law and drop any challenge
of it in the World Trade Organization.

We appreciate your immediate attention to this matter.

(Signed)
Congressman Barney Frank
Congressman John Joseph Moakley
Congressman Richard Neal
Congressman Edward Markey
Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy, II
Congressman John Olver
Congressman Martin Meehan
Congressman James P. McGovern
Congressman William Delahunt
Congressman John Tierney



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