[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

Storm At UNOCAL Shareholder Meeti



Subject:  Storm  At UNOCAL Shareholder  Meeting

   STORM   AT   UNOCAL  SHAREHOLDER   MEETING
                                                                           
   (a brief report)

                Released by ISBDA, June 3, 1996.

        About 100 activists for human rights and democracy in Burma rallied
this morning in front of a Unocal compound at Brea, California, where the
annual shareholder meeting of the company was holding. The activists 
shouted "Unocal Out of Burma," "Pipeline Project Stop It Now," and appealed
for immediate withdrawal of the pipeline project which Unocal, Total and a
Thai government company designed to help the harsh military regime in
Burma. Many of the demonstrators wore Burmese traditional costumes and
chanted anti-project slogans continuously from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon using
musical instrument including Burmese 'Ozi' and 'Dobats.' 
        At the shareholder meeting inside the building, a group of
activists asked hard to answer questions directing to the CEO of Unocal,
Mr. Roger Beach, based on well founded information of human right
violations and slave labor practices routinely conducted by Burmese
military regime. For these arguments, Mr. Beach had to defend using more
than 80% of the meeting time: in many cases, he switched agenda by saying
"the allowed time is over" for this issue.  The bottom line of Unocal
answer was that they would like to tame military government in Burma by the
"constructive engagement,"  of which most political analysts regard as a
failed policy after recent crackdown of the NLD MPs in Burma. In the
response to a question by Mr. Larry Dohrs, the Unocal CEO agreed to go
along with the idea of sending an independent fact finding mission in order
to reveal force labor practices and real situation of indigenous people
around the project area.

\EndOfNews
KT
ISBDA