R A I N F O R E S T R E L I E F ' S INTERNATIONAL

T E A K W E E K O F A C T I O N

July 1 - July 7, 1997

For full details, link here to Rainforest Relief's website: http://www.envirolink.org/orgs/rainrelief/

Protesting the continuing oppression of the Burmese people and the destruction of their rainforests by the SLORC. Burma is the source of the majority of internationally traded teak.

BURMA'S REIGN OF TERROR

"TEAK IS TORTURE"

Flyer and Fact Sheets for you to copy available by mail, fax or email.

By mail (best quality) send self-addressed stamped ($0.55) 9" x 12" envelope (preferably already used) to Rainforest Relief
P.O. Box 150566
Brooklyn, NY 11215-0566
USA

By fax, send fax request to:

Burma UN Service Office
Fax: 212/338-0049
Phone: 212/338-0048

By email (text version only, will need to be formatted) send request to

<relief@igc.org>

Or download graphic file from the Web at

http://www.envirolink.org/orgs/rainrelief

BURMA'S REIGN OF TERROR

"TEAK IS TORTURE"

A military coup in Burma in 1962 began a reign of terror and oppression that continues to this day. In 1988, after tens of thousands of Burmese rallied for democracy, the military junta formed the SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council) to "keep order", composed of numerous high-level generals, and then gunned down thousands of demonstrators. In the following years continued protests brought about general elections. The democratic party won over 80% of the Parliamentary seats. However, the military declared the elections null and void and refused to yield power. The SLORC generals use forced labor, rape, torture, forced relocation and intimidation to control the people of Burma.

Until recently, large areas of southern and eastern Burma had remained relatively free from military rule due to resistance of numerous indigenous ethnic groups such as the Mon, Karen and Karenni. However, with massive inputs of new capital, largely from selling natural gas concessions offshore, a "cleansing" operation has ensued. Much of this capital has come from the American energy giants, Unocal and Texaco; the French energy giant, Total and a Thai company, PTT. The "cleansing" involves burning villages, raping and torturing villagers, forced labor and forced relocation. Another prize: the intact hardwood forests of the south.

Cases have been documented by human rights groups of SLORC using forced labor in logging operations.

LIQUIDATING FORESTS

Burma is home to the world's last primary teak forests and some of the largest virgin rainforests remaining in mainland Asia -- which are now being liquidated to fund the SLORC's rule. Many of these forests are home to rare species such as tigers, theAsian Elephant, gibbons, hornbills, giant wild oxen, rare orchids & medicinal plants and others Q all of which logging the trees would obliterate.

The SLORC is now once again increasing hardwood logging. Teak and hardwood harvest increased dramatically in the early 1990, then fell when the borders with Thailand were closed and is now again on the rise. State-run total hardwood extraction in 1991-92 was over one million cubic tons. The SLORC-controlled Minister for Forestry, Lieutenant General Chit Shwe, recently stated that teak forests will be logged to increase economic development, calling for full support of the private sector in the development of "forestry". The SLORC is providing assistance to private companies for expansion and investment, having exempted forestry products exports from commercial tax since May, 1996.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy, calls this kind of economic "development" "crony capitalism". The generals and their friends get rich, while the Burmese populace starves.

Taking advantage of the tax holiday, Sunwood Industries Plc's holding company, the Sunti Forestry group, is building high-tech teak processing factories in Burma which will provide a steady flow of teak furniture parts for Sun, Thailand's largest exporter of teak furniture.

Sunti Forestry Group is one of the world's largest exporters of teak furniture, mostly to markets in the United States, Europe and Japan.

THE IMPORTER'S ROLE

IN the US, teak is used for indoor and outdoor furniture, interior trim, boat trim & decking and small consumer items like spice racks, salad bowls and napkin holders.

Some of the largest buyers in Europe are the Scandinavian furniture manufacturers which supply Scandinavian furniture stores in the US and Europe such as Scandinavian Design, Happy Viking, Scan Design, Dania, etc. Most of these individually operated stores carry similar inventories, buying from the same suppliers. They claim, of course, that selling teak helps the people of "Myanmar" achieve economic "development" and gives them jobs but fail to mention that the SLORC is using the money from the sale of teak to buy more weapons to use against the very people the companies say they are benefitting.

With the full support of the Burmese democratic government-in-exile, Rainforest Relief has called for an international boycott of teak from Burma. Since most of the teak exported from Thailand, Singapore and Taiwan is Burmese in origin, this includes teak from those countries until they can prove it is not from Burma.

Rainforest Relief is against the logging, export. import or purchase of tropical rainforest woods unless they originate from an operation that has been certified by an idependent organization accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council.

What You Can Do:

We can pressure Burmese teak logging by pressuring consumers in the US, Europe and Japan to stop buying teak furniture and other teak products from Burmese teak.

Organize a demonstration at the Scandinavian furniture retailer nearest you (you can find them in the phone book under Furniture -- Retail. Look for "Scandinavian designs" or "teak" in the ads).

Go in and ask them where the wood comes from (they will probably have some propaganda to hand you about sustainable production and plantations). Check with Rainforest Relief so as not to duplicate efforts.

Write to the heads of these stores asking them to cease selling teak (and mahogany) unless it is independently certified. Let them know you are planning to demonstrate in July, and give them a reasonable date by which to respond to your letter. They will either not respond, or they'll tell you to take a hike (which you should do anyway, in a forest near you).

Organize rallies in front of these stores between July 1st and 7th. Signs can read: "Leave Burma's Teak Forests Alone", "[Store Name] Out of the Rainforests", "Stop Funding Human Rights Abuses in Burma", "When You Buy Teak, You Pay For Rape and Torture of the Burmese People", "No Teak For Guns", "This Furniture is Stained With the Blood of Innocent Burmese", etc.

Contact Rainforest Relief for flyer originals and further information.

Get your town to pass a tropical timber resolution barring the use of tropical hardwoods unless they are independently certified (call, write or email us for sample ordinances).

Get your school or workplace to pass a resolution to do the same.

Let's leave Burma's forests for the Burmese, the Rhinos and the Elephants.

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RAINFOREST RELIEF

WHY NOT TO BUY TEAK

When you buy a teak wood product you are funding the destruction of tropical

forests and the illegal military regime of Burma. The demand for teak is fueling

massive deforestation in Burma, having been responsible for the loss of entire

forests in many other countries. The repressive illegal regime of Burma is

selling off its teak and other hardwoods to pay for the purchase of arms to

quell the democracy movement.

TROPICAL FORESTS AT RISK

Teak (Tectona grandis) is native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia and

India. Teak logging began in earnest in the area during the British colonial

period. British demand for teak ships eliminated most teak in India, and

eventually demand for teak in Europe and the US contributed to the elimination

of Thailand's teak. Thailand and more recently Cambodia, have had to institute

bans on the export of unprocessed logs in an attempt to slow deforestation that

has led to massive flooding and drought in those countries. Current teak

production now comes almost entirely from Burma.

Teak logging, like most tropical logging, causes extreme degradation to the

tropical forest. Since teak trees are sporadically dispersed throughout the

forest, loggers travel further into the primary forest creating miles of roads

to haul logs to mills. Logging roads play a fundamental role in allowing further

deforestation of primary forests in Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand.

In addition, Burmese and Thai loggers use elephants to move logs around,

drugging the animals with large amounts of amphetamines, to which they can

become addicted. Many elephants get sick and die because of overwork due

to the pressure to log teak at ever faster rates.

BURMA

In 1988, the Burmese military government gunned down thousands of

pro-democracy demonstrators. Forced to have general elections in 1990, the

military declared the elections null and void when the democracy party, the

NLD, won over 80% of the Parliamentary seats. Since then, the military regime

in Burma renaming themselves the State Law and Order Restoration Council

(SLORC) has ruled the country using repression, torture, imprisonment, rape

and murder to hod on to power.

Additionally, it's estimated that half of the government's income is from

trafficking in heroin, as Burma is the source for an estimated 60% of the world

trade.

Teak is the second largest legal money-maker for the SORC. In 1992-93, Burma

extracted nearly one million cubic tons of teak logs with state owned or

contracted operations, up from 700,000 in 1983.

Claims that teak production helps the Burmese people are false, since the

democratically elected government has never been allowed to take office, and

funds generated from teak and heroin sales are not going any further then the

pockets of the generals and their rich friends.

THE IMPORTER'S ROLE

China is the largest importer of teak logs from Burma, with Thailand the second

largest. Much of this teak is processed for re-export as furniture and small

consumer items. The United States and Europe are the final destinations of large

amounts of teak, either lumber or finished products. Much of the teak lumber

imports are used in construction of yachts and boats, a luxury the Burmese can

ill afford.

What You Should Do

By buying Burmese teak you are threatening the largest remaining pristine

tropical rainforests in Southeast Asia. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize

laureate, has asked that other nations stop investing in Burma until democracy

can be restored.

Do not buy (or, if you are an architect or interior designer, do not specify)

teak or other tropical hardwoods unless they are certified as coming from an

ecologically sound operation (less than 1% of production). If you have questions

about these claims, call Rainforest Relief for verification. We can also supply

you with information on sources of certified tropical woods.

Boycott stores that sell teak that is not certified. Common outlets include

"Scandinavian" furniture stores. You probably have one in your area. Call

Rainforest Relief to coordinate demonstrations and other actions at these

stores.

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