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Unocal says no pullout
- Subject: Unocal says no pullout
- From: ausgeo@xxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 24 Apr 1997 19:49:00
US-Burma-Unocal : US oil company chief slams US sanctions on Burma, says no
pullout
TIWI, Philippines, April 24 (AFP) - Union Oil of California (Unocal) chairman
Roger Beach on Thursday criticized US economic sanctions on Burma and insisted
the energy giant will not pull out its investments there.
"Despite the sanctions, we will continue with our projects in Myanmar
(Burma)," said Beach, who was visiting a geothermal plant operated by Unocal's
local subsidiary in this eastern town.
He also described the sanctions, announced by US Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright in Washington on Tuesday, as "unfortunate" and a "bad policy."
"It does not dampen our ... commitment in Southeast Asia," said Beach, who is
Unocal's board chairman and chief executive officer.
US interests in Burma are led by oil giant Unocal, which is a partner in a 1.2
billion dollar natural gas project along with French-owned Total.
The United States on Tuesday slapped a ban on new investment in Burma,
blasting the military regime in Rangoon for engineering a "state of
large-scale repression."
In announcing the ban, Albright faulted the ruling junta for "severely"
restricting Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi's ability to address her
supporters and cited cases of arrests and harassment of opposition activists.
Unocal said in a statement on Tuesday "we do not expect that the
administration's directive against new investments in Myanmar will have a
material affect on our current involvement in the Yadana natural gas project."