Teak Retailer Letter (r)

[Jeffrey.Lockwood@xxxxxxxx]

     Tim, will you be sending out copies of this letter signed to all of 
     us?  Thanks a lot for doing this extra bit of work, it will be handy.
     
     (No need to include Edith if I get it, just wanted her to know)
     
     Pam, if you want a copy please let Tim know your address if he doesn't 
     have it.  Have you identified any teak dealers in your area?
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Teak Retailer Letter
Author:  burma1un@xxxxxxxxxxx at EXTERNAL 
Date:    6/25/97 7:00 PM
     
     
6/16/97
     
To: All Teak Re-sellers
     
     
Dear Owner/Manager,
     
As Representative for UN Affairs of the National Coalition Government 
of the Union of Burma and Executive Director of Rainforest Relief, we 
are requesting that you cease selling Teak that has originated in Burma 
since 1962 in any and all of your stores, unless that Teak carries the 
label of an independent certifier accredited by the Forest Stewardship 
Council.
Since 1962, when a military coup supplanted the democratically elected 
government of Burma, illegitimate leaders have been oppressing the 
people of Burma and committing large-scale human rights abuses as well 
as selling off the natural heritage of the country.
     
General elections were held by the current regime in 1990. The 
National League for Democracy (NLD) party, led by Nobel Peace Prize 
laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, won 82% of the parliamentary seats. 
However, the military refused to yield power, nullified the elections 
and proceeded to arrest many of the NLD leaders, some of whom are 
still in prison today.
     
Logging of Teak in Burma has accelerated dramatically since the 
military takeover, especially since 1988 when a new set of generals 
took power.
     
There is no enforcement of sustainable forest management and Burma 
has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the region.
     
Additionally, all the income from the sale of Teak and other hardwoods 
goes directly to the government which uses this money to buy more 
weapons to further oppress the people. Especially oppressed are the 
ethnic minorities, some of whom are currently at the receiving end
of a military offensive designed to wipe out their quest for democracy 
and self-determination.
     
Since Thailand instituted a ban on logging within its borders and 
Cambodia followed, Teak being sold by Thailand, Singapore, China
and India is almost assuredly originating in Burma. Hundreds of trucks 
of hardwood logs stream out of Burma destined for processing in 
Thailand, China or Singapore. Much of this ends up as furniture in
the U.S. and Europe.
     
The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (the 
democratically elected government in exile) and Rainforest Relief 
consider that all Teak logged from public lands within Burma by the 
illegitimate military government as having been stolen from the 
people of Burma.
     
We respectfully request that you immediately cease your sale of any 
Teak that has originated from Burma since 1962. If you cannot cease 
your sales of this material immediately, please let us know within 
the next two weeks of a date by which you intend to do so, since we 
have targeted Teak re-sellers for further actions should we not hear 
from them within that time.
     
Thank you for your consideration of this highly important matter.
     
Sincerely,
     
     
     
Dr. Thuang Htun, Representative for UN Affairs
National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB)
     
     
Tim Keating, Executive Director
Rainforest Relief