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Students in Thailand sends letter t



Subject: Students in Thailand sends letter to TOTAL

Mr. Thierry Desmarest, CEO
President of Exploration and Production
24, Cours Michelet 92800 LA Difense, France

Date:	July 19, 1996

Dear Sir, 
	We are representing the five Burmese student groups in Thailand; 
All Burma Students' democratic Front (ABSDF), Overseas National Students'
Organization of Burma (ONSOB), All Burma Basic Education Student Union
(ABBESU, Thailand), Burmese Students Association (BSA, Safe Area) and
Federation of Trade Unions Burma (FTUB, Youth Section).  We would like to
express our heartfelt concerns about our company's investment and your
collaboration in the Yadana natural gas pipeline project in Burma. This
project is directly connected to the Slorc human rights violations against
its own people. Involvement in this project will not only increase the
abuses felt by the Burmese but will also strengthen the military regime
which undeniably refuses to recognize the rights of its people.
	 TOTAL SA is involved in a natural gas venture with one of the
world's most brutal and repressive military regimes: Burma's State Law and
Order Restoration Council (SLORC).  The record of human rights abuses and
poverty inflicted on the people of Burma by the ruling Slorc are enormous,
terrible and appalling. The joint natural gas project, in which TOTAL,
UNOCAL of the US, PTT-EP of Thailand and MOGE of Burma, are collaborating,
is directly connected to some of SLORC's worst human rights abuses. There
are already incidents of forced labor in the region where the natural gas
pipeline is proposed. The 254-mile Burmese end of the pipeline, to be
completed in 1988, will carry gas from the Gulf of Martaban to Thailand.
It is expected to earn Burma's military regime $ 400 million a year in
foreign exchange, enabling them to remain in power and to continue their
oppression of the Burmese people. 
	Many human rights organizations have documented the abuses felt by
the thousands of Karen, Mon and Tavoy villagers. Along the proposed
pipeline route, these villagers are subjected to forced relocation, forced
labor, rape, torture and murder. Those villagers living along the route
were forcibly removed without compensation for the loss of their homes and
farms. To add insult to injury, these victims have to pay Slorc for
pipeline security and railroad construction projects made with the salve
labor of children and the elderly.  The proposed pipeline route encroaches
on the homeland of the Mon, Karen and Tavoy ethnic nationalities. To begin
preliminary pipeline construction and related infrastructure, the military
has been systematically destroying these ethnic communities. 
	Oil companies such as TOTAL say they are welcome in the area by
local inhabitants. they discard the charges of forced labor because
pipeline construction has not began. But, since the beginning of the
Yedana pipeline project, Burmese troop have been increased from five to 14
battalions and a rise in human rights abuses necessarily followed.  The
discontent of the local population towards TOTAL's involvement in the
project can be noticed by the attacks and acts of sabotage on TOTAL's
field office in the Kan Bauk area, Tanessarim Division. Although your
company fails to acknowledge that these attacks even took place, the
retaliation by Slorc for these incidents resulted in the execution of many
villagers and the burning of many homes.
	SLORC has been condemned by the U.S. Congress and State
Department, the European Parliament, the United Nations Human Rights
Commission, he International Labor Organization, Amnesty International,
and Human Rights Watch/ Asia.  Amoco and Petro-Canada, as well as such
major corporations such as Eddie Bauer, Levi Strauss, Liz Claiborne, Smith
& Hawkins and Columbia Sportwears have withdraw their investments from
Burma. TOTAL, Texaco, ARCO, UNOCAL, and Pepsi-Cola, however, ar continuing
to support a regime which was rejected by the people of Burma in the 1990
election, and thus, has no legitimate right to govern. Since oil and
natural gas serve as one of the largest sources of income for the Slorc,
TOTAL's participation in the natural gas venture necessarily allows this
oppressive military regime to remain in power and perpetuate its human
rights abuses.
	Because of the human rights abuses that occur under the Slorc
regime, the undersigned Burmese students organizations asks TOTAL to
respect the will of the entire people of Burma and the moral judgment of
the world's major democracies and human rights organizations by
immediately ending all business activities with and withdrawing all
investments from the illegitimate military regime of Burma.
	TOTAL justifies its support of the pariah military egime of Burma
by believing that an improvement in the economic conditions in Burma will
result in the improvement of human rights standards. But, exactly the
opposite is occurring. the reality in the pipeline areas is forced labor,
forced relocation, impoverishment and increased brutality, This is what
Slorc does throughout the country and the pipeline project is no
exception. The human rights abuses surpasses, by far, the Shell Oil
incident in Nigeria.  We do not want to see no Petro-dollars for Slorc
campaign. TOTAL can not separate itself from these abuses unless it
completely withdraws its operation from Burma. 



Sincerely yours,


All Burma Students' Democratic Front
Overseas National Students' Organization of Burma
All Burma Basic Education Students Union (Thailand)
Burmese Students Association (Safe Area)
Federation Trade Unions of Burma (Youth Section)