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FBC calls for release of colleagues



"When the regime perceives a simple message of compassion as a crime and a
threat to stability, then you know their grip on power is getting weak."

		Jeremy Woodrum, Free Burma Coalition

F R E E   B U R M A   C O A L I T I O N 
225 N. Mills St., Madison, WI  53706, Tel (608) 827-7734, Fax (608)
263-9992
zni@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, http://freeburma.org, http://wicip.org/fbc

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

FREE BURMA COALITION CALLS FOR RELEASE OF COLLEAGUES

18 ACTIVISTS HELD BY MILITARY JUNTA

Washington, DC -- August 11, 1998 --  Six American and two Filipino peace
activists, members of the international Free Burma Coalition (FBC), are
being held in Rangoon by the Burmese military.  They are among 18
foreigners the junta charges  with "incitement to riot with street
violence (and) bloodshed."  In fact, they had only handed out cards saying
"We have not forgotten you.  We support your hopes for human rights and
democracy."

Of the six Americans held, four are from American University in
Washington, DC and one from Yale Law School.  Four are women and two are
men.

Foreign diplomats have had trouble gaining access to their citizens being
held.  "We are deeply concerned by the government's unwillingness to
follow normal consular procedure," said the US State Department on Monday.

Activists and diplomats are shocked that the junta apparently plans to put
the detainees on trial.  "We want to see them released.  They should not
have been arrested.  Their message is one of friendship and peace.  We are
concerned that they may be mistreated," says Jeremy Woodrum of the FBC.
"The Burmese military 'justice' system is recognized internationally as a
farce," he adds. 

Activists vowed to raise the pressure on the few remaining corporate
partners of the Burmese junta, especially Arco, Unocal, Total, Mitsubishi
and  Ericsson.  "These companies pretend not to notice the appalling
behavior of their military partners.  But their silence implies consent,
and that must change, starting now," says Dan Orzech, a corporate campaign
leader at the FBC.  

The FBC has successfully boycotted Texaco, PepsiCo, Heineken, Amoco, Eddie
Bauer and Macy's over their Burma ties.  In the biggest such effort since
the anti-apartheid campaign of the 1980s, "Free Burma" selective
purchasing laws have been enacted in recent years in nearly two dozen
American cities, counties or states, including New York City, San
Francisco, Portland, Oregon, and Massachusetts.  During the past week,
thousands of supporters of Burmese democracy have staged rallies, fasts
and sit-ins in dozens cities around the globe.

Tension is high in Burma, where they junta is on the verge of economic and
political collapse.  AIDS has become rampant, the public health system is
in shambles, and heroin exports continue to surge.

"When the regime perceives a simple message of compassion as a crime and a
threat to stability, then you know their grip on power is getting weak,"
says Woodrum.  "American people are outraged over this."
END

Contact:  Jeremy Woodrum, Free Burma Coalition, 202-885-3333
                 Dan Orzech, Free Burma Coalition, 610-650-7755
		Larry Dohrs, Free Burma Coalition, 206-784-5742