The US selective purchasing law sho

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Subject: The US selective purchasing law shows telling effect on investment in Burma.

The US-Massachusetts law shows a telling effect on German's 
investment attitude in Burma.

Even though the Germany foreign policy is supposed to be transparent, 
it is always noteworthy to have a glimpse behind the German economic 
scenes. Very recently, the SLORC minister of trade soldier Tun Kyi said 
to a leading German economic newspaper ' Handelsblatt ' (Feb.7/8,'97):
" So long as the US pressure maintains consistently, we have to calculate 
with a narrow flow of western capital investment." But the SLORC seems 
to make empty hope that the lack of every investment dollar from US and 
Europe would be substituted by that of the Asian firms, such as from 
Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand that are now on the top list of the 
investment. The SLORC seems to forget the point that these Asian 
economic tigers are quick in entering into a business loop, but even faster 
in pulling out of it. They rather have more profit interest than moral
obligation.

Since the SLORC minister of planning soldier David Abel visited Hamburg 
last year, a group of simply famished German businessmen equipped 
themselves with a strategic theory of " Wandel durch Handel " ( change 
through trade ) in order to gain a sure-footing in the SLORC-miseryland of 
no hope. Eight business firms, namely, 1) the Asea Brown Boveri ( ABB, 
Mannhein ), 2) the Asia Environmental Development Co. ( ENV, Graeben ), 
3) the Berliner Bank, 4) the Dresdner Bank, 5) the German Telecoms, 6) 
the Joh. Schuback & Sons (a trading co. in Hamburg), 7) the Mueller & 
Partner Spedition forwarding agency (Fulda) and 8) the Wilhelm Ispert 
Textile Co. (Cologne)  are collectively opening a German contact office in 
Rangoon in January this year, which is being coordinated by a Hamburg-
based OAV (Ostasiatisches Verein = German Asia-Pacific Business Association).
Regional manager of the OAV Wolfgang Niedermark said that he was aware of 
political tension in Burma and international concern over human rights, but
said:
" We are really business oriented and we don't have any political ambitions." 
Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi condemned this attitude, especially 
because it came from Germans and said:" With Germany's history and 
experience I think it's shocking that any German should say that we're only 
interested in economics, we have nothing to do with politics. The fact that 
Germany was involved in the 2nd. world war was due to political errors, not 
economic errors. We are not in favour of investment in Burma at this particular 
moment, because money that gets into the country does not get to the people 
that need it most...investment would only enrich an already very rich elite."
The German firms Siemens, Deutsche Bank, clothing multinational Triumph 
and some tourist agencies have already their representative offices in Rangoon.

But the US-selective purchasing law, which denies state contracts to companies 
doing business in Burma, adopted by several other US-cities and counties, does 
show a telling effect on German investment attitude. When more than 30 Japanese 
companies, including Sony Corps. and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi are on the
list 
of firms to which contracts ( amount to billions of US-dollars yearly ) cannot
be given 
by the State of Massachusetts, the Japanese government has complained to the 
US State Department and even to the Clinton administration. The German ABB has 
been shaken by the news, since the company is also running on the US market. 
Such companies are now worrying that other US-States could pass similar laws, 
which have an unbelievable effect. Even the German Telecoms giant hesitated to 
send its representative to the opening of the German contact office in Rangoon, 
when the national leader Aung San Suu Kyi showed her displeasure to the opening.
The remaining companies are supposed to have their guts.

Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi reaffirmed her stand on foreign investment

in Burma, when she talked with the German Handelsblatt that the foreign
investment 
and opening of tourism to Burma would not bring benefit to the Burmese general
public, 
but only enrich an already wealthy elite. " We are actually not suffering from a
lack of 
investment and capital," she said, " but from a lack of a good government and a
rule 
of law in Burma." Aung San Suu Kyi believed very strongly in consumer power as a

power of the powerless. She rather prefers to have people of the world on her
side 
than the governments of the world, even though the governments can be more
effective 
in certain directions. She is very much delighted and grateful that there are
such US-
States like Massachusetts that have chosen to have sovereign purchasing laws.

We, the Burmese comunity in Germany welcome the Massachusetts' unique initiative

and have the honour to express our heartfelt thanks and appreciations to
Governor 
William Weld of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for having signed the
significant 
law. We do also welcome and fully support the sensible response of the
honourable 
members of the US Congress from the Massachusetts State to the recent comment of

the Japanese government and the EU regarding the selective purchasing law. Such 
comment from Japan and EU do not represent our opinion at all and we deplore so 
much to have unfortunately heard such comments especially from highly civilized 
world nations like Japan and the EU. Dollars, yens, euros ( new European
currency ) 
should not and never be placed ahead of or parallel to the basic human rights
and dignity. 

The Massachusetts' law of selective purchasing is just a partial form of
economic sanctions. 
It is believing that more US-cities and counties and in Canada and in Europe as
well would 
follow the good example soon, so that if more states were willing to place as a
high value 
on democracy and human rights as Massachusetts, undemocratic regimes in the
world, 
such as the military junta in Burma would quickly disappear. This line of action
can be 
significantly favoured by the new Clinton administration. We strongly urge the
new Clinton 
administration not to waste crucial time anymore by permitting the Burmese
military SLORC 
to do whatever it wanted, for permitting crimes is afterall a form of
participating in them. 
The time is absolutely right and ripe now to impose full economic sanctions on
the Burmese 
military SLORC, which should be initiated by President Bill Clinton.

Please use your liberty, Mr. President, to promote that of our Burmese people in
the 
shadowlands of lost rights.

With sincerity and myitta,



Nwe Aung
for Burma Bureau Germany, a coordination of Burmese community and friends of
Burma.
Fahlerweg 08
D-40764 Langenfeld
Germany

Fax: +49 2173 907334