"Situation in Burma is ready to ign

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"Situation in Burma is ready to ignite"

Page two of the economic section of the same NRC HANDELSBLAD -


Member of the European Parliament Hanja Maij-Weggen is stunned that a Dutch
company would invest in Burma, where the political tension is rising.
"Decent companies no longer invest in Burma."

By our editor Remmelt Otten - 
"I am stunned that a Dutch company would strike deal in Burma," says Hanja
Maij-Weggen, chair of the Dutch Christian Democrats in the European
Parliament and spokesperson on Human Rights for the EVP. "And that on this
unhappy moment I strongly advise the company to stop this. A decent
business would not invest in Burma."
Maij was reacting from Strassbourg (France) on the contract from IHC Caland
earlier this week.
IHC is going to deliver, for several hundreds millions of guilders, a
floating oil storage tank of the coast of Burma. The company is
subcontractor to the British oilcompany Premier Oil, that is exploiting the
gasfield together with Burma's and other Asian oilcompanies.
The European Parliament is debatting Thursday on Burma. Maij will again
push for further measures against Burma. The only reason that investments
in this country have not been forbidden is a blockade by France. "The large
mayority of the Council of Ministers of the EU is in favor of tough
measures against Burma. France is blocking this. It is bought by the
economic interests of Total."

According to Maij, who is following the situation in Burma closely for the
past years and has plans to visit the country in August, is Burma one of
the most repressively ruled countries in the world. The opposition, lead by
Aung San Suu Kyi, won the elections in 1990 with a landslide victory. She
was arrested and is in housarrest.
"The situation in Burma is escalating on this moment. The opposition is
busy preparing a break through. And the military rulers are more an more
isolated, even within Asia. Especially because the support from Indonesia
has fallen away. We expect that the situation will ignite within six till
eight weeks, like in Indonesia. On the 8th of August it will be ten years
ago that in Burma an uprising was supressed by the junta, killing
thousands. That date will be commemmorated."
Last year the European Union put into action a first form of economic
sanctions. "The same measures as were directed against Nigeria," says Maij.
The General Trade Preferences were withdrawn, development aid has ceased
and diplomatic relations have been kept to a minimum. "For tougher measures
there is unanimous support in the European Union. Also in the Netherlands
have the largest political parties rallied for more economic measures, and
called on companies not to invest in Burma."
In the US there is a law, laying in wait, to forbid all investments in
Burma. "The US is waiting for the EU to join 

Type Bits/KeyID    Date       User ID
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