BURMA
Major Victory:
Texaco to Leave Burma
Students for a Democratic Burma (PSU) joined the Free Burma
Coaltion and grassroots activists worldwide in celebrating
another in our long string of victories aimed at restoring
democracy to Burma by isolating the Brutal rogue military regime
SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council) which rules Burma
(called Myanmar by the illegitimate dictatorship). Another
victory came in January, when Pepsico pulled out of Burma after
three years of consistent, rising grassroots pressure.
In previous years, the SDB has campaigned to get Penn State
University to vote its shares in company's doing business in
Burma (for example: Pepsico, Texaco, and Unocal) in favor of
human rights shareholder resolutions and against the SLORC
dictatorship. PSU has consistently failed to take a public stand
in support of the democratic movement of the Burmese people, and
has shirked its ownership responsibility while profiting from
investments in companies doing business with an illegitimate*
government involved in systematic human rights abuses, slave
labor, and ethnic genocide.
Unlike Penn State University, the University of Wisconsin has
taken a responsible ownership stand by choosing to vote its stock
in favor of human rights resolutions regarding Burma and, more
recently, has moved to pull its stock out of companies doing
business in Burma (see attachments).
Students for a Democratic Burma is now requesting that the PSU
review its stock portfolio with an eye towards identifying
companies that continue to do business in Burma. Since PSU has
consistently failed to take a responsible ownership position (PSU
apparently does not vote any of its stock at all), we now ask the
university to dump stocks of companies doing business in Burma.
Students for a Democratic Burma and the Free Burma Coaltion would
be more than happy to provide a list of publically traded
companies doing business in Burma to the university so that they
may make wise choices about how to handle their investments. For
starters, we call on PSU to dump any and all shares in Unocal
corporation that they continue to hold.
* SLORC lost free and fair democratic elections in 1990 but
responded by exiling and imprisoning the elected democratic
leadership
Additional Background
Contact: Father Joseph Lamar 914-941-7636 x 2516 (Maryknoll
Fathers and Brothers)
See also Below
++
>Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 08:28:24 -0500
>Originator: free-burma@lists.stdorg.wisc.edu
>From: <zni@students.wisc.edu>
>
>Dear Free Burma Colleagues and Supporters:
>
>Congratulations to all who worked so hard in persuading the
U.S. oil giant, Texaco to divest from Burma!
>
>This is the first major victory after Pepsi's withdrawal from
Burma, and we all know that these multinational corporations do
not readily heed the appeal and protests from the consumers,
shareholders, and other grassroots citizens. Texaco's decision to
leave Burma will definitely be uplifting for the Burmese people
in general and those democrats within the democracy
>movement inside our country.
>
>This past April, the University of Wisconsin divested its
$239,000 worth of stocks in Texaco amidst the two year long Free
Burma campaign here on campus, a small victory which led Mother
Jones magazine to place UW-Madison at the top of politically
active U.S. campuses. There had been serious shareholder actions,
grassroots protests, oil, chemical, and atomic workers' actions,
selective purchasing ordinances targetting multinational
corporations that form unholly alliances with Burma's heroin
junta called SLORC.
>
>Coincidence or no coincidence, these major
victories--withdrawal of Pepsi and Texaco--came on the eve of
Free Burma conferences at American University back in February
and UCLA this coming October 4.
>
>Please come join us at the UCLA FBC Conference (for info and
registration, visit http://wicip.org/fbc/) to help shape the next
phase of our Free Burma grassroots efforts and to celebrate this
latest round of our earned victory!
>
>As Frederick Douglas puts it, "power concedes nothing
without demand. It never has, and it never will."
>
>Once again, our heart-felt thanks to you all.
>
>peace, love, and hope,
>
>The Free Burma Coalition
>
>
>FREE BURMA: NO
PETRO-DOLLARS FOR SLORC
>Please Distribute
>>For Immediate Release Media Contact: Pamela Wellner,
415-695-1956,
>September 25, 1997 Joe Drexler, OCAW, 303-987-2229
>
>
>TEXACO SALE OF BURMA GAS PROJECT A BIG VICTORY FOR
BURMA'S DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT
>
>San Francisco, Sept. 25 -- US oil giant Texaco's announcement
yesterday to sell its stake in a natural gas project off Burma's
coast is a major win for the Burmese democracy movement and its
supporters worldwide.
>
>The sale to Premier Oil of Britain follows a decision in
April by President Clinton to bar new investment in the
military-ruled Burma in the interests of human rights, democracy
and counter narcotics efforts. In recent months both Canada and
the European Union have taken supportive action. Multinational
oil company investment in Burma provides the largest legal source
of foreign currency to the regime.
>
>Burma's junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC), a flagrant human rights abuser was condemned by
Secretary of State Albright for involvement in drug money
laundering. In July, Albright said, "We are increasingly
concerned that Burma's drug traffickers, with official
encouragement, are laundering their profits through Burmese banks
and companies -- some of which are joint ventures with foreign
business." SLORC has a right to a 15% stake in the gas
project.
>
>The gas project's future could also now be jeopardized.
Premier is likely to come under pressure from the new UK
government which is considering sanctions against SLORC.
Additionally, Petronas of Malaysia, which will acquire part of
Premier's stake, is thought to be lacking the technical capacity
to manage the project alone.
>
>"We welcome Texaco's gesture, but we also appeal to
Premier to seriously reconsider their deal with Burma's
illegitimate regime. We believe it is against the current trend
of the UK government's Burma policy and the position of Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi, leader of the legitimately elected National League
for Democracy, who advocates no foreign investment with
SLORC." said Bo Hla-Tint, spokesperson for the National
Coalition Government of the Union of Burma.
>
>"We believe the Texaco decision to leave Burma sends
another message to the oil companies that corporate downsizing
and exploiting US workers to raise capital for investments in
totalitarian countries, where slave labor and wholesale
repression are routine, will not go unchallenged." said
Robert Wages, President of the 90,000 member Oil, Chemical and
Atomic Workers International Union, OCAW.
>
>"Now that Texaco realizes that Burma is no place to do
business, how can ARCO and Unocal justify dealing with this
brutal regime? If they stay we will continue boycotting ARCO
products and intensify on-going efforts against Unocal."
said Pamela Wellner, campaign coordinator, Free Burma: No
Petro-dollars for SLORC.
>**********************************************************************
>
>John Peck, c/o UW Greens, 731 State St., Madison WI 53703
#608-262-9036
>
>"What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a
raisin in the
>sun? Or fester like a sore --- and then run? Does it stink
like rotted
>meat? Or crust and sugar over like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it
just sags
>like a heavy load. Or does it explode?"
> - Langston Hughes
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Source: DB Press Release
Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 13:10:02 -0400
From: bgl103@psu.edu (Brian Lipsett)
Contact: Brian Lipsett 867-7341 (SDB)