Mitsubishi demo in San Francisco

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RAINFOREST ACTION NETWORK

Media Advisory: March 6, 1997
Press contact J.C. Callender - boycottmc@xxxxxxx

DEMONSTRATION SUPPORTING
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION & BURMA ORDINANCE
SLATED FOR SAME TIME AS COURT APPEAL

What:
Superior court justice William Cahill rules Friday, March 7 whether to
uphold his rejection of Mitsubishi's bid to build a people-mover at 
SFO.
Human rights and environmental activists will bring signs and banners
supporting San Francisco's bold human rights initiatives.

When:
TOMORROW!, March 7, 9:30 AM.

Where:
San Francisco Superior Court, Dept. 8 - 633 Folsom Street, room #300.

Why:
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is helping to build a pipeline for a joint
project of Unocal, Total Petroleum, and Burma's State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC).  SLORC is holding power through military
terror, and routinely uses forced labor to work on infrastructure 
projects.
By supporting Mitsubishi, SFO is helping to keep SLORC in power.


SAN FRANCISCO -  Human rights and environmental activists will hold a
demonstration tomorrow in support of the Superior Court ruling that 
denied
human-rights-pariah Mitsubishi the contract to build a light rail 
system at
SFO.  The demonstration - Tuesday March 7, outside room 300, Superior 
Court
Bldg, 633 Folsom St. -  will urge the Superior Court to uphold the
authority of San Francisco's Human Rights Commission (HRC), and will 
call
attention to Mitsubishi's support of Burma's repressive military 
regime.

S.F. City Attorney Louise Renne and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 
appealed
the Superior Court's ruling that threw out Mitsubishi's contract to 
build a
light rail system at San Francisco International Airport on the 
grounds
that the HRC has ultimate power to decide whether a city contractor 
fits
human rights guidelines.  HRC recommended against awarding Mitsubishi 
Heavy
Industries of America (MHIA) the $137-million contract.

The San Francisco Airport Commission voted December 23, 1996 to accept
MHIA's low-ball bid, in face of HRC opposition, and objections from 
area
human rights and environmental organizations.  Besides ignoring the 
HRC
recommendation, Commission president Henry Berman said he believed the
people-mover project is exempt from The City's Burma 
selective-purchasing
ordinance due to a technicality of wording.  The Burma ordinance 
prevents
The City from contracting with corporations that do business with 
Burma's
military regime.

Rainforest Action Network works to protect the Earth's rainforests and
support the rights of their inhabitants through education, grassroots
organizing, and non-violent direct action.

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