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[burmanet2-l] BURMA/BOYCOTT
Well said DAVID WOLFBERG, and its good to see you raise your wonderful
voice, always championing FREE BURMA!
ds
Julien Moe wrote:
>
> Los Angeles Times
> 11th March 99
>
>
> Thursday, March 11, 1999
> READERS RESPOND
> Does Santa Monica's Myanmar boycott work?
>
> was disappointed by your article on the effectiveness of selective
> contracting policies on Burma ("Myanmar boycott divides experts," Feb. 28).
> In his book "In Sight of Surrender", Les de Villiers concluded, after
> reviewing 46 years of U.S. policy toward apartheid, that sanctions work.
> Bear in mind that Burma has voted for a parliament. Though not allowed
> to formally convene and still subjected to military harassment, those
> parliamentarians have called on the world community to block investment
> until there has been real progress toward democratization. We can debate
> until we are blue in the face, but it would be arrogant not to support those
> who were elected to office.
> The fact is, few companies are "perfectly willing" to replace those who
> have abandoned the Burmese military regime. Pepsi got out of Burma, and Coke
> stayed out.
> DAVID WOLFBERG
> Venice *
> In the last year, I've protested Santa Monica's foreign policy,
> especially our sanctions against Myanmar -- or "Burma", in the old ethnical
> convention of the British Empire. Unfortunately, the "divide" your article
> portrays is only that between the supporters of economic sanctions and those
> that think them ineffective -- who'd presumably favor a more warlike stance.
> I've also carried the protest to the Los Angeles City Council. On the
> day that city passed its policy on dealing with Myanmar, I was the only
> speaker who opposed the legislation. Having seen Los Angeles' documentation
> from the Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, I can tell you that
> nongovernmental organizations involved may note be as "unsided" as they say.
> BRIAN HUTCHINGS
> Santa Monica
>
>