Fw: L.A. Free Burma Law Passes in U

[bfla@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: Fw: L.A. Free Burma Law Passes in Unanimous Vote!!!



>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                 December 15, 1998
>Contact: Kevin Rudiger, Burma Forum, Los Angeles, 310-399-0703, pager:
>310-588-3404. Simon Billeness, FRDC, 617-423-6655; Tommy McDonald,
>Communication Works, 415-255-1946
>
>Supporters Hail the Decision by L.A. City Council to Pass Free Burma Law
>
>Ordinance, which Passed by a Unanimous Vote, Recognizes Sovereignty of
>State and Local Governments to Make Procurement Decisions
>
>
>LOS ANGELES - In what is being labeled a huge victory for advocates of
>selective purchasing laws, the Los Angeles City Council voted on Tuesday to
>adopt the Free Burma ordinance, which will prohibit the city from
>contracting with companies doing business with Burma.
>
>The victory for supporters of democracy in Burma comes at a time when
>selective purchasing agreement opponents looked to gain momentum after the
>National Foreign Trade Council, a corporate lobby group, sued the state of
>Massachusetts to force it to revoke its Burma Law. A federal judge ruled
>that the state's selective purchasing law targeting Burma violated the
>federal government's exclusive rule over foreign affairs. The decision is
>being appealed.
>
>"Without a doubt, this ordinance will rejuvenate advocates of selective
>purchasing in Massachusetts and across the country to use these laws as a
>tool to promote democracy abroad, " said Simon Billeness, Senior Analyst
>for Franklin Research and Development Corporation and an expert on socially
>responsible investing. " We have the country's two largest cities - New
>York and now Los Angeles - saying that we will not give contracts to
>companies that do business in Burma as long as the brutal junta is in
>charge."
>
>The newly-passed ordinance is similar to South Africa laws which were
>instrumental in bringing down the apartheid regime in the late 1980's.
>Twenty-two other cities and counties have selective purchasing laws that
>target Burma. Shockwaves from Tuesday's vote are reverberating across the
>country.
>
>"The city of Los Angeles will not be intimidated. We praise the city
>council for having the courage and the compassion to pass this ordinance,"
>said Kevin Rudiger of the LA Burma Forum. "The interests of a few
>corporations will not supersede the human rights of the Burmese people and
>the sovereignty of states and local governments to make purchasing
>decisions."
>
>Former council member Richard Alarcón (7th District), who introduced the
>ordinance, said Tuesday's success is not only a victory for Burma
>activists, but for the Burmese people as well.
>
>"Coming from the largest city on the Pacific Rim, this ordinance should
>send a strong message to the Burmese junta - no democracy, no foreign
>investment," said Alarcón, a newly-elected state senator. "The people of
>Los Angeles will not have their tax dollars going to support a repressive
>military regime."
>
>###
>
>
>
>