[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

Teak Week of Action



			R A I N F O R E S T    R E L I E F ' S
				  INTERNATIONAL
			T E A K   W E E K   O F   A C T I O N
				July 1 - July 7, 1997

Protesting the continuing oppression of the Burmese people and 
the destruction of their rainforests by the SLORC.
Burma is the source of the majority of internationally traded teak. 

			BURMA'S REIGN OF TERROR

			     "TEAK IS TORTURE"

A military coup in Burma in 1962 began a reign of terror and oppression that 
continues to this day. In 1988, after tens of thousands of Burmese rallied for 
democracy, the military junta formed the SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration 
Council) to "keep order", composed of numerous high-level generals, and then 
gunned down thousands of demonstrators. In the following years continued 
protests brought about general elections. The democratic party won over 80% of 
the Parliamentary seats. However, the military declared the elections null and 
void and refused to yield power. The SLORC generals use forced labor, rape, 
torture, forced relocation and intimidation to control the people of Burma.

Until recently, large areas of southern and eastern Burma had remained 
relatively free from military rule due to resistance of numerous indigenous 
ethnic groups such as the Mon, Karen and Karenni. However, with massive inputs 
of new capital, largely from selling natural gas concessions offshore, a 
"cleansing" operation has ensued. Much of this capital has come from the 
American energy giants, Unocal and Texaco; the French energy giant, Total and a 
Thai company, PTT. The "cleansing" involves burning villages, raping and 
torturing villagers, forced labor and forced relocation. Another prize: the 
intact hardwood forests of the south.

Cases of forced labor have been documented by the SLORC in logging operations.

			LIQUIDATING FORESTS

Burma is home to the world's last primary teak forests and some of the largest 
virgin rainforests remaining in mainland Asia -- which are now being liquidated 
to fund the SLORC's rule. Many of these forests are home to rare species such as
the Asian Rhino, Asian Elephant and others.

The SLORC is now once again increasing hardwood logging. Teak and hardwood 
harvest increased dramatically in the early 1990, then fell when the borders 
with Thailand were closed and is now again on the rise. State-run total hardwood
extraction in 1991-92 was over one million cubic tons. The SLORC-controlled 
Minister for Forestry, Lieutenant General Chit Shwe, recently stated that teak 
forests will be logged to increase economic development, calling for full 
support of the private sector in the development of "forestry". The SLORC is 
providing assistance to private companies for expansion and investment, having 
exempted forestry products exports from commercial tax since May, 1996.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy, calls 
this kind of economic "development" "crony capitalism". The generals and their 
friends get rich, while the Burmese populace starves.

Taking advantage of the tax holiday, Sunwood Industries Plc's holding company, 
the Sunti Forestry group, is building high-tech teak processing factories in 
Burma which will provide a steady flow of teak furniture parts for Sun, 
Thailand's largest exporter of teak furniture.

Sunti Forestry Group is one of the world's largest exporters of teak furniture, 
mostly to markets in the United States, Europe and Japan.

			THE IMPORTER'S ROLE

IN the US, teak is used for indoor and outdoor furniture, interior trim, boat 
trim & decking and small consumer items like spice racks, salad bowls and napkin
holders.

Some of the largest buyers in Europe are the Scandinavian furniture 
manufacturers which supply Scandinavian furniture stores in the US and Europe 
such as Scandinavian Design, Happy Viking, Scan Design, Dania, etc. Most of 
these individually operated stores carry similar inventories, buying from the 
same suppliers. They claim, of course, that selling teak helps the people of 
"Myanmar" achieve economic "development" and gives them jobs but fail to 
mention that the SLORC is using the money from the sale of teak to buy more 
weapons to use against the very people the companies say they are benefitting.

With the full support of the Burmese democratic government-in-exile, Rainforest
Relief has called for an international boycott of teak from Burma. Since most
of the teak exported from Thailand, Singapore and Taiwan is Burmese in origin,
this includes teak from those countries until they can prove it is not from 
Burma.

Rainforest Relief is against the logging, export. import or purchase of tropical
rainforest woods unless they originate from an operation that has been
certified by an idependent organization accredited by the Forest Stewardship
Council.

			What You Can Do:

We can pressure Burmese teak logging by pressuring consumers in the US, 
Europe and Japan to stop buying teak furniture and other teak products from 
Burmese teak.

Organize a demonstration at the Scandinavian furniture retailer nearest you 
(you can find them in the phone book under Furniture -- Retail. Look for 
"Scandinavian designs" or "teak" in the ads).

Go in and ask them where the wood comes from (they will probably have some 
propaganda to hand you about sustainable production and plantations). 

Write to the heads of these stores asking them to cease selling teak (and 
mahogany) unless it is independently certified. Let them know you are planning 
to demonstrate in July, and give them a reasonable date by which to respond to 
your letter. They will either not respond, or they'll tell you to take a hike 
(which you should do anyway, in a forest near you).

Organize rallies in front of these stores between July 1st and 7th. Signs can 
read: "Leave Burma's Teak Forests Alone", "[Store Name] Out of the Rainforests",
"Stop Funding Human Rights Abuses in Burma", "When You Buy Teak, 
You Pay For Rape and Torture of the Burmese People", "No Teak For Guns", 
"This Furniture is Stained With the Blood of Innocent Burmese", etc.

Contact Rainforest Relief for flyer originals and further information.

Get your town to pass a tropical timber resolution barring the use of tropical 
hardwoods unless they are independently certified (call, write or email us for 
sample ordinances). 

Get your school or workplace to pass a resolution to do the same.
Let's leave Burma's forests for the Burmese, the Rhinos and the Elephants.

=========================
				RAINFOREST RELIEF
			       WHY NOT TO BUY TEAK

When you buy a teak wood product you are funding the destruction of tropical 
forests and the illegal military regime of Burma. The demand for teak is fueling
massive deforestation in Burma, having been responsible for the loss of entire 
forests in many other countries. The repressive illegal regime of Burma is 
selling off its teak and other hardwoods to pay for the purchase of arms to 
quell the democracy movement.

			TROPICAL FORESTS AT RISK

Teak (Tectona grandis) is native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia and 
India. Teak logging began in earnest in the area during the British colonial 
period. British demand for teak ships eliminated most teak in India and 
eventually Thailand. Thailand and more recently Cambodia, have had to institute 
bans on the export of unprocessed logs in an attempt to slow deforestation that 
has led to massive flooding and drought in those countries. Current teak 
production now comes almost entirely from Burma. 

Teak logging, like most tropical logging, causes extreme degradation to the 
tropical forest. Since teak trees are sporadically dispersed throughout the 
forest, loggers travel further into the primary forest creating miles of roads 
to haul logs to mills. Logging roads play a fundamental role in allowing further
deforestation of primary forests in Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand.

In addition, Burmese and Thai loggers use elephants to move logs around, 
drugging the animals with large amounts of amphetamines, to which they can 
become addicted. Many elephants get sick and die because of overwork due 
to the pressure to log teak at ever faster rates. 

				BURMA

In 1988, the Burmese military government gunned down thousands of 
pro-democracy demonstrators. Forced to have general elections in 1990, the 
military declared the elections null and void when the democracy party, the 
NLD, won over 80% of the Parliamentary seats. Since then, the military regime 
in Burma renaming themselves the State Law and Order Restoration Council 
(SLORC) has ruled the country using repression, torture, imprisonment, rape 
and murder to hod on to power. 

Additionally, it's estimated that half of the government's income is from 
trafficking in heroin, as Burma is the source for an estimated 60% of the world 
trade.

Teak is the second largest legal money-maker for the SORC. In 1992-93, Burma 
extracted nearly one million cubic tons of teak logs with state owned or 
contracted operations, up from 700,000 in 1983. 

Claims that teak production helps the Burmese people are false, since the 
democratically elected government has never been allowed to take office, and 
funds generated from teak and heroin sales are not going any further then the 
pockets of the generals and their rich friends. 

				THE IMPORTER'S ROLE

China is the largest importer of teak logs from Burma, with Thailand the second 
largest. Much of this teak is processed for re-export as furniture and small 
consumer items. The United States and Europe are the final destinations of large
amounts of teak, either lumber or finished products. Much of the teak lumber 
imports are used in construction of yachts and boats, a luxury the Burmese can 
ill afford. 

				What You Should Do

By buying Burmese teak you are threatening the largest remaining pristine 
tropical rainforests in Southeast Asia. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize 
laureate, has asked that other nations stop investing in Burma until democracy 
can be restored.

Do not buy (or, if you are an architect or interior designer, do not specify) 
teak or other tropical hardwoods unless they are certified as coming from an 
ecologically sound operation (less than 1% of production). If you have questions
about these claims, call Rainforest Relief for verification. We can also supply 
you with information on sources of certified tropical woods.

Boycott stores that sell teak that is not certified. Common outlets include 
"Scandinavian" furniture stores. You probably have one in your area. Call 
Rainforest Relief to coordinate demonstrations and other actions at these 
stores.