Wired News on April 19 & 20, 199

[FreeBurma@xxxxxxx]

Attn: Burma Newsreaders
Re: Wired News on April 19 & 20, 1995
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Burma Arrests Three Thais for conterfeiting 

     BANGKOK, April 20 (Reuter) - Burmese forces have arrested three Thai men
and seized a large amount of counterfeit kyat bank notes alleged to have been
printed in Thailand and meant to be used to buy gems in Rangoon, state-run
media reported. 

    The men were arrested on April 9 at Rangoon airport when officials found
109.95 million kyat in fake bank notes hidden in five suitcases they had
brought from Bangkok, Burmese state television monitored in Bangkok said late
on Wednesday. 

    The notes were going to be used to buy gems in Burma, the television
report said. It said legal action will be taken against the three Thai
suspects. 

    The official exchange rate of the Burmese currency is six kyat for one
dollar but on the black market one dollar buys at least 100 kyat, a tourist
who visited Burma recently said. 

 REUTER


Transmitted: 95-04-20 03:54:47 EDT
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Burma Seizes Fake U.S. Dollars

      BANGKOK, April 19 (Reuter) - Burmese forces in Rangoon have arrested
seven people and seized $14,700 in counterfeit U.S. dollars alleged to have
been smuggled into the country from Thailand, the state-run media has
reported. 

    Acting on a tipoff, police arrested a man selling the counterfeit bills
and six of his customers at a bus stop in Rangoon earlier this week, Burmese
state television monitored in Bangkok reported on Tuesday night. 

    ``According to the report the fake U.S. dollar notes were smuggled into
Yangon (Rangoon) from Thailand,'' it said. 

 REUTER


Transmitted: 95-04-19 00:43:16 EDT
**************

Bussinessman Arrested for Gold Smuggling in Burma

      RANGOON, April 19 (Reuter) - A Burmese company director was arrested at
Rangoon airport on charges of trying to smuggle 26 kg (57 lb) of gold into
the country, state-run media reported on Wednesday. 

    Zhao Qing Kong, also known as Ba Than, was arrested on April 13 when he
arrived on a flight from Bangkok with 26 gold bars hidden on his person and
in his luggage. 

    Zhao, director of the Shwe Hin Tha company of Rangoon, told authorities
he had been given the gold to invest in Burma by his Hong Kong-based brother.


    Legal action would be taken against him, the media reported. 

 REUTER


Transmitted: 95-04-19 06:00:42 EDT
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Burma Release Another 278 Convicts

      BANGKOK, April 19 (Reuter) - Burma's military government has released
another 278 convicts from work camps as part of a plan marking the 50th
anniversary of the Armed Forces, Burma's state-run television reported. 

    ``Altogether 278 convicts were released from various work camps where
they had been contributing labour in nation building tasks and regional
development,'' said the television report, monitored in Bangkok late on
Tuesday. 

    ``They were released under the order... issued in honour of the golden
jubilee Armed Forces Day.'' 

    Altogether 5,615 convicts have been released since the order was
published late last month, the television reported. 

    The government announced that more than 23,000 prisoners would have their
sentences reduced by one third in honour of the golden jubilee of the Armed
Forces on March 27. 

 REUTER


Transmitted: 95-04-19 02:27:36 EDT
**************

Coffee Retailer Writing a Code of Conduct for its Suppliers

By William DiBenedetto, The Journal of Commerce  Knight-Ridder/Tribune
Business News  

SEATTLE--Apr. 18--Starbucks Coffee Co., the gourmet-coffee retailer, is
 developing standards for business conduct that will set minimum working
 conditions and pay for its suppliers in Guatemala and elsewhere.  

The move to draft that type of code is a first by a U.S. agricultural
importer and parallels the Clinton administration's recently issued "model
business principles," which are a centerpiece of its human-rights policy. 

"This is in the preliminary stages," said Cheri Libby-Strahan, a Starbucks
spokeswoman. "We won't know precisely what will be in it for at least six
months."  

The goal is six months, but the company said a final version may take more
than a year.  

The company also announced that it won't sell a canned coffee drink in
Myanmar that it plans to introduce soon in a joint venture with Pepsico Inc.
Pepsico operates a plant in Myanmar but has come under pressure to leave
because of growing opposition to the Southeast Asian country's military
dictatorship.  

Several apparel importers, including Eddie Bauer, recently pulled their
 business out of Myanmar.  

Starbucks, based in Seattle, is a fast-growing purveyor of specialized coffee
blends, with more than 350 stores nationwide.  

So-called sourcing codes are becoming more common for manufacturers of goods
ranging from apparel to electronics. 

"But to our knowledge, a sourcing code has not yet been adopted by any U.S.
importer of agricultural commodities from developing nations," a company
 statement said.  

Because of the complexity of labor and other issues involving Third World
 agricultural practices, Starbucks said it "wants to be sure that our actions
 will be practical, effective and capable of meeting our goals."  

Starbucks' decision to develop a code on working conditions was prompted by
advocacy groups that distributed leaflets at some of its stores complaining
about Guatemalan coffee pickers' low pay.  

The company said it is "defining and developing a workable code of conduct
that will not only help us make the best decisions in Guatemala, but will
provide us guidance globally."  

The development of human-rights principles for U.S. businesses abroad has
been a hot topic in the White House, especially after the president last year
 delinked human-rights conditions from an annual decision on China's status
as  a most-favored trading nation.  

Late last month, the administration unveiled its set of voluntary business
principles, which include avoidance of child and forced labor and respect for
the right to organize. The principles also recommend respecting free
expression, complying with U.S. and local laws promoting good business
 practices, providing a safe and healthy workplace and adopting responsible
 environmental practices.  

The administration's guidelines do not address minimum-wage standards.
 Businesses and business groups have not flocked to sign on to the
 administration's code. Like Starbucks, many are developing their own.  

Early this month, the United States Council for International Businesses
 reaffirmed that it will promote voluntary business guidelines developed
under  the aegis of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
and the International Labor Organization. The two codes, adopted in 1976 and
1977, were negotiated by governments with business participation, the council
said, and address most of the areas outlined in the Clinton administration's
model business principles.  

The council is the American business member of the OECD's Business and
 Industry Advisory Committee and the ILO's International Organization of
 Employers.  

An administration official said this month that the debate over core business
standards should be continued within the ILO and the World Trade
Organization, which has replaced the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
as the world's trade referee. 

"As long as standards are voluntary, there's no great resistance," said Jim
Langlois, executive director of the National Apparel & Textile Association,
which represents clothing importers and retailers. "Most apparel companies
are sensitive to potential adverse customer reaction; some don't do business
where child labor is a problem."  

He said Levi Strauss was a pioneer in developing business standards, and that
apparel companies such as Reebok, Eddie Bauer and The Gap also have such
 standards.  

The Starbucks development "is a good marketing ploy for Starbucks; the type
of clientele they have is receptive to this sort of action," said Desmond
O'Rourke, director of the International Marketing Program for Agricultural
Commodities and Trade at Washington State University. 

"There are many sides to the question," he said. Conduct codes "sell very
well back home, but may not play all that well in the country where you try
to do it." Often, there's a feeling in those countries of "Here we go again."


"Unquestionably, you want to see humans treated fairly and with dignity and
respect," he said. "But (the codes) can be very selective. Many countries use
child soldiers, for example."   

END!A5?JC-COFFEE 


Transmitted: 95-04-20 03:58:16 EDT
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