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Total SA Paris refutes Pilger filmP



Subject: Re: Total SA Paris refutes Pilger filmPlease Email response now!! June 4th Paris dividents shareholder meeting

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Headline: Total SA 
Keywords: May crackdown, National League for Democracy (NLD), Aung San Suu Kyi, human rights, Total, Joseph Daniel Vice-President Public Affairs Total SA , Yadana, Ye-Tavoy railway, Death Railway,  John Pilger, 'Inside Burma', Unocal, Total, Andaman Sea, 
Date: May  29 1996 
Source: UVI
Section: Total

Total  SA denies using forced labor on its Yadana gas pipeline, refutes Pilger's documentary 'Inside Burma'.

The following is a letter from Joseph Daniel Vice-President Public Affairs Total SA refuting the " concerns raised by the television programme on ITV called 'Inside Burma, a land of fear'. In a world of rapidly declining oil resources, it is wonderful to see TOTAL so dedicated to human rights " and the economic development of this country for the benefit of a people who have been isolated for many years and who are in need of energy and hope to shape their future. " The danger of this line of argument is that TOTAL acts as though they really believe this rhetoric and are indifferent to a world that neither wishes nor can be duped by such self-interested, hypocritical, and highly controversial statements that NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi has widely, and consistently denounced as falsehood and delusion.

(The statement was sent in ordinary posted mail, and written on ordinary white stationary, unsigned!!, and no sign of Total letterhead, neither was it written on Total stationary. Are they trying to protect from photo-copies using their letterhead? This is very unusal " of any " major international company " and suggests fear and paranoia on their part. Talk about non-committment to moral convictions, but this has got to be one of the strangest letters I have ever received in my long career as a journalist, and international human rights activist.)
- Dawn Star, UVI.net 

We at Friends of Burma France, encourage all readers and interested Free Burma activists and their friends to write immediately to TOTAL SA and voice your comments and observations now. Remember, silence breeds complicity and indifference. DEBATE TOTAL NOW!

The Total statement reads as follows: 

" We understand the concerns raised by the television programme on ITV called 'Inside Burma, a land of fear'.

" As a major international company, we do not as a rule comment on the political situation in the 80 countries we operate. However, we are well aware of the problems that Burma has been facing for many years and we hope that it will quickly find its own road to development.

" Our project in Burma consists of the development of a gas field offshore and the building of a gas pipeline from the Andaman Sea to the Thai border. Through its presence in Burma, TOTAL has decided to participate in the economic development of this country for the benefit of a people who have been isolated for many years and wo are in need of energy and hope to shape their future. Indeed, we think it is in the interest of a country rich in confirmed energy resources to open up to the rest of the world, to foster social change, and to ensure peace in their land.

" We do not intend to express an opinion on the cause defended by the presenter of the programme or on his sincerity. However, the report contains many allegations and factual errors which could give a false perception of our project. It suggests that TOTAL and US-based UNOCAL, one of our partners in the building of the gas pipeline for the Yadana project, would have used or supported the use of forced labor.

" Such allegations are completely unfounded.

" First of all, our project has absolutely nothing to do with the railway of Ye-Tavoy wrongly presented as the continuation of the second World War 'death railway'. Our future pipeline is perpendicular to the Ye-Tavoy railway. during the pipleine construction we will not use the railway. The latter is technically incapable of transporting the very large equipment required for a pipeline project. All the pipeline equipment is transported by other means such as barges and trucks, and under our supervision.

Furthermore, as far as the laying of the pipeline is concerned, TOTAL invites specialized companies of international reputation to make offers for both the offshore and the onshore sections. The selected contractors will obviously operate under the same conditions and with the same respoect for international employment legislation we ourselves apply everywhere in the world - in particular, the right of every employeee to a work contract and personal salaary, as well as working conditions which respect the private life, religion and opinions of each. "

It is obviously unthinkable for TOTAL - whether directly or indirectly - to resort to forced labor or any kind or to child labor. 

Finally I would like to point out an error in the film's commentary - the amount of money that will be provided to the Burmese authorities is not 400M$/year over 30 years, but more or less half of this amount.

We sincerely hope that this has satisfactorily addressed your concern about our project in Burma.

Yours faithfully, 

Joseph Daniel 
Vice-President Public Affairs 



Send your letters now : 

GROUPE TOTAL  
Thierry Desmarest, CEO, President of Exploration and Production,
HQ: 24 Cours Michelet 92800 Paris La Défense 
FRANCE
Tel: 33-1-41-35-40-00  Fax: 33-1-41-35-64-65

Régis Gaignault
Direction de la Communication
TOTAL SA
Tour Total
24 Cours Michelet 92800 Paris La Défense Cedex
FRANCE


E-mail : 
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