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Burma Issues Newsletter August (r)



There is a pattern of foreign governments and legislators blandly 
asserting that there is no international support for economic 
sanctions on the SLORC. In a debate on sanctions earlier this year 
in the British House of Lords the same standard comment was made: no 
international support for sanctions.

Fortunately, there is demonstrated growing grassroots support for 
sanctions in the United States at least. The cities of Seattle and 
Chicago have both unanimously passed resolutions calling for their 
Congressional delegation to support a federal sanctions bill.

More importantly, the City of Berkeley, California, and the City of 
Madison, Wisconsin, have passed laws barring their city purchasing 
managers from buying goods or services from companies doing business 
in Burma. A similar law has just passed the Massachusetts lower House 
and is currently in the Massachusetts Senate. My conservative 
estimation is that similar legislation boycotting companies doing 
business in Burma will be introduced in ten cities and states in 
North America by the end of the year.

You can receive a packet of information on these selective purchasing 
laws from Conrad MacKerron at Progressive Asset Management at 
pam@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Conrad worked on the successful Berkeley Burma 
law.) I am also available as a resource on the Massachusetts 
legislation.

We need to bring these grassroots efforts to the attention to 
national legislators and government officials. Through these local 
laws, we are building up political support for sanctions in the same 
way that support was built up for sanctions on the apartheid regime 
in South Africa.

Simon Billenness
Franklin Research & Development
(617) 423 6655 x225
-----------------------------------



> Date:          29 Aug 1995 17:09:27
> Reply-to:      Conference "reg.burma" <burmanet-l@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> From:          information.general@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject:       Re: Burma Issues Newsletter August
> To:            Recipients of burmanet-l <burmanet-l@xxxxxxxxxxx>

> From: Information Services - General use <information.general@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> 
> >Sanctions -- US Senator McConnell has introduced a sanctions bill
> >against Slorc, claiming there has been no human rights progress in
> >Burma despite the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. The move has been
> >opposed by Winston Lord who claims that there is no international
> >support for sanctions. 
> 
> It would be good if we could inform Mr Lord of international support 
> for sanctions, does anyone have his e-mail address or fax no.?
> 
> Blair
> 
> University of Auckland Library
> Information Services
> 
> information.general@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Phone:  (64) 9 373-7599 ext: 8045
> Fax  :  (64) 9 373-7092
> 
> "There's more to life than books, you know,
>  - But not much more". - The Smiths(1984) 
> 
"Reel Around the Fountain. Slap me on the Patio."