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NEWS - US State Seeks to Have Myanm
- Subject: NEWS - US State Seeks to Have Myanm
- From: Rangoonp@xxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 21:46:00
Subject: NEWS - US State Seeks to Have Myanmar Law Reinstated
US State Seeks to Have Myanmar Law Reinstated
Reuters
12-JUL-99
BOSTON (Reuters) - The Massachusetts state attorney
general said Monday he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to
reinstate a state law that restricts purchases from
companies
that do business with Myanmar.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit in Boston
struck
down the law on constitutional grounds in June.
The Burma law, as it is known, was enacted in 1996 in
response to charges that the Myanmar military government
was guilty of widespread human rights abuses.
The law directs state officials to publish a list of
companies
doing business with Myanmar and restricts the ability of
those firms to sell goods and services to Massachusetts.
"The law is about working for basic human rights and it's
about a state's right to chose who it does business
with,"
Massachusetts Attorney General Thom Reilly said in a
statement. "We believe the Constitution allows the state
to
apply a broad and principled standard to buying goods and
services."
New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco are among 20
municipalities that have similar laws.
The appeals court decision was issued in a lawsuit filed
by
the National Foreign Trade Council, a Washington,
DC-based lobbying group that represents U.S. businesses.
The measure has also been the subject of debate by the
European Commission and Japan which have threatened
World Trade Organization action.
Labor unions, nine other U.S. states and some 26 members
of Congress have all supported the Massachusetts law in
previous court actions.