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NEWS - US State Seeks to Have Myanm



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.