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SUPPORT THE WORLDWIDE TOTAL BOYCOTT
- Subject: SUPPORT THE WORLDWIDE TOTAL BOYCOTT
- From: cd@xxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 28 Sep 1996 13:53:00
Subject: SUPPORT THE WORLDWIDE TOTAL BOYCOTT NOW
EURO-BURMANET : JOIN THE WORLDWIDE TOTAL BOYCOTT!
TODAYS SAD EVENTS IN BURMA THREATEN ONCE AGAIN TO TURN TO TRAGEDY AS THE
HUMAN TRAGEDY WORSENS. EUROBURMANET CALLS FOR THE IMMEDIATE TERMINATION OF
THE TOTAL YADANA GAS PIPELINE PROJECT IN BURMA. FAILURE TO WITHDRAW FROM
BURMA IS CONSIDERED DIRECT SUPPORT OF THE ILLEGITIMATE AUTHORITY OF THE
ALLEGED GOVERNMENT OF SLORC. TOTAL'S INVESTMENT SHOULD BE CONDEMNED BY THE
EUROPEAN COMMISSION, PREFERENTIAL TRADE TARIFS TO SLORC SHOULD BE REFUSED BY
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, ECONOMIC SANCTIONS SHOULD BE IMPOSED BY THE UNITED
STATES AND WIDESPREAD CONDEMNATION OF SLORC BY INTERNATIONAL FORUMS OF ALL
THE NATIONS IN THE WORLD AS IT IS CONDEMNED BY THE UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION
ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND IN THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
TOTAL MUST BE CONSIDERED RESPONSABLE FOR ITS ECONOMIC SUPPORT OF SLORC AND BE
HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ENCOURAGING AND ENDORSING GENOCIDE IN BURMA.
THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT PRECEEDED THE EVENTS NOW OVERTAKING BURMA AND FOLLOW
THE SAME LOGIC OF REFUSAL BY SLORC TO ADHERE TO THE CALL WORLDWIDE FOR
DEMOCRATIC REFORMS TOWARED A RECONCILIATION WITH THE DEMOCRATIC FORCES IN THE
COUNTRY. TOTAL SUPPORTS DICTATORSHIP, MURDER AND GENOCIDE IN THE DESTRUCTION
AND PLUNDERING OF BURMA.
ALL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OF TOTAL SHOULD BE BOYCOTTED UNTIL TOTAL WITHDRAWS
FROM BURMA. EUROBURMANET URGES ALL TOTAL SERVICE STATIONS IN THE UNITED
STATES AND EUROPE AND ASIA BE BOYCOTTED.
EUROBURMANET URGES ALL MEDIA BE REGULARLY INFORMED OF THE WORLDWIDE TOTAL
BOYCOTT. DO WHAT YOU CAN TO FURTHER NETWORKING INFORMATION AND ACTION ON THE
BOYCOTT.
SEND A MAIL TO DAWN STAR <cd@xxxxxxx>
Source: BurmaNews Network (BNN), Free Burma Coalition (FBC),Euro-Burmanet
29 Aug 1996
Paris -- Dear Free Burma activists, supporters and friends in Europe and
elsewhere. The time has
come. It seems to be constant now, -that the movement must accelerate to meet
the challenge of
the recent onrush of events which the summer of 1996 has occasioned.
It is not now the time to lower the guard against the ever-present menace of
fascism in Burma.
Worse, its co-conspirators in the great oil companies TOTAL and Unocal have
widened the gap
between responsible government intervention through diplomatic and economic
pressure leaving
the door open for renewed attacks on the NLD and relentless rape and
dehumanization of an
entire nation of peoples, ethnics and cultures.
The Genocide and annihilation of the Burmese nation must stop.
We unanimously support the announcement taken by the Free Burma Movement in
the United
States on August 19, 1996 when it declared in a letter to TOTAL Petroleum
North America of an
all-out TOTAL and Unocal Boycott.
In Chechnya and Bosnie we have seen the failure of European and western
nations to deliver their
promise of peace and to end the bloody conflict that wretches the heart of
Europe, and, even more
tragically than thought possible, Europe now cringes under the weight of its
own discontent at
home where social unrest and unemployment pull at an old and tired dying
soul. Europe of the 20th
century. Europe ravaged by war, Europe prosperous. Europe humbled by a lack
of vision and
humanity.
The century is coming to an end. And so too must end the inertia of
frustrated and warring
diplomats afraid to stand up to Asian autocrats and dictators taunting the
world with their
corruption, nepotism and illegitimacy as leaders on the world stage of
democracy. The curtain must
close on these harbingers of ill-fate, suffering, poverty and despair.
For TOTAL, and its pipeline partners, the crisis in Burma is a long-term
crisis investment. Slorc
aims to rule for the long-term, TOTAL invests for the long-term. The summer's
series of crisis to
crisis news-breaking events is over, but the crisis goes on with no end in
sight. Once the West
signaled that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was not to be harmed, or imprisoned - her
public and
private life is already under seige and around the clock surveillance,- it
appeared that the West
could save face and go away with its dignity intact. That is not so, for as
long as Slorc remains
bold and brazenly in place, the dignity of the West suffers further loss with
the lives of the forgotten
Burmese people.
Evil never ceases to change its forms. The Slorc rulers play out their
tea-time diplomacy gaining
time to reap more hell and rich profits as the people endure more harsh
suffering and unspeakable
brutality at the hands of a western-supported army of ignorant violent thugs.
TOTAL has said
clearly that the huge French energy company will not pull out of Burma and
abandon their Slorc
business partners. TOTAL's security directors coordinate strategy with the
Slorc generals for
construction and protection of their " Death pipeline ".
Meanwhile, Slorc continues to defy Warren Christopher's muted warnings and
increases its
repression, as TOTAL's own directors and corporate spokesmen publicly credit
the company with
improving conditions of life for the Burmese economy..All the while, Slorc
kills and terrorizes an
entire nation.
For Slorc and TOTAL, nothing has changed. It is the same Evil in another
form. As Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi has illuminated, augering silence to denounce these evils is
complicity and encourages
more of the same.
There is no more time to lose.
This is why we have called to JOIN THE WORLDWIDE TOTAL BOYCOTT.
The strength and resistance of the Burmese people against the Slorc-led
Genocide brings us to a
turning point in the history of the struggle for freedom.
Recent diplomacy has proved sadly ineffective. Slorc and Washington do not
speak the same
language, their bluffs at reform is nothing but winds in the sails of stately
internationalism gone
dangerously off-course and on the shoals. But what of it ? Even the US
sanctions movement in
Congress showed that neither Mr. Warren Christopher or his boss in the White
House are going
to stop the killing and torture or end the dying.
The arrest and tragic death in Insein Prison during the June crackdown of the
European Honorary
Consul Mr. James Leander Nichols is a timely omen that Slorc has too far
transgressed the
principles of international law. "Leo" Nichols was a symbol of all that was
right in the democratic
struggle in Burma, and the ears and eyes of Europe there.
The European diplomats were caught off-guard. European human rights lobbies
failed to sway
them. United Nations condemnations were ignored.
When at last Mr. Nichols closed his eyes at his tortures and took his last
breath, he died. Did he
die in vain ? Will Europe and the free men and women of the world, close
their eyes on forgottten
Burma ?
Dr. Sein Win, Prime Minister of the exile Burmese government and cousin to
Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi ( their fathers were brothers and founders of independence of Burma from
the British) is right
when last week, in Australia, he again called upon the world to assert
international pressure on
Slorc's alleged government and end their repression. Dr. Sein Win urged that
international
investors heed the call of Suu Kyi and stop supporting Slorc with their
investments in Burma.
Foreign investors are increasing suppression and Genocide in Burma.
For the past year Euro-Burma's repeated recommendations that the company
TOTAL SA reverse
its strategy of financial support and partnership with the alleged government
of " Myanmar " have
gone virtually ignored.
In fact, TOTAL is strengthening its security measures to protect the
pipeline, fosters the use of
forced labor in its pipeline area under its supervision, and trades in sex
with young Burmese girls.
Essentially, TOTAL is destroying the integrity of the Burmese culture and its
traditions - and
making money on the Burmese energy ressources it exploits. It is the rape of
Burma. TOTAL, and
its directors in the great French oil and gas bully, are raping Burma.
Last June,at TOTAL's annual shareholders' meeting in Paris, Euro-Burmanet
denounced TOTAL's
indifference and delivered a copy of the SAIN report "Total Denial" to
Thierry Desmarest, PDG of
TOTAL SA. He could not have cared less about any human rights victim.
Our letters and interviews with Mr. Thierry Desmarest, PDG of TOTAL SA have
been met with
calculated insensibility and blatant disregard for human rights abuses for
which they bear a great
direct responsibility. TOTAL SA is a partner to genocide. There is already
extensive
documentation and eye-witness testimony bearing out the role of TOTAL SA as
they pursue
undeterred in their plans to exploit the energy ressources of the country to
their own benefit and
the profit of the Slorc killing machine.
Like in Bosnia, European ministers overlooked the massacres and rape of
suppression in Burma,
of ordinary villagers helpless to defend themselves against ignoble soldiers
of a 400,000 man army
trained and equipped by China.
Therefore, Euro-Burmanet,based in Paris, with determination and committment
of its supporters,
while it regrets the conditions that make its decision irreversible, joins in
solidarity with the Free
Burma Movement in the United States - and the millions of people in the free
world to STOP
INVESTMENT IN BURMA.
We call upon all active Free Burma groups in Europe to join together now to
coordinate united
action JOIN THE WORLDWIDE TOTAL BOYCOTT
Further, Euro-Burmanet joins in the international call to -
-Stop all non-humanitarian investment and financial support of the Slorc
regime in Burma -Boycott
all tourism to Burma -Withdraw European Union's Generalised System of
Preference (GSP) status
to Burma -Release of all political prisoners in Burma -Endorse the political
program of the
National League for Democracy
Please send your letters now denouncing TOTAL's pipeline venture and SLORC
GENOCIDE in
Burma to :
MR RAJSOOMER LALLAH
SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN BURMA
C/O- U.N. CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
PALAIS DES NATIONS
1211 GENEVA 10
SWITZERLAND
JOIN THE TOTAL WORLDWIDE BOYCOTT! TOTAL'S BUSINESS
PRODUCES REFUGEES !
Send your letters now :
TOTAL SA
Thierry Desmarest, CEO, President of Exploration and Production, HQ: 24 Cours
Michelet
92800 Puteaux France Tel: 33-1-41-35-40-00 Fax: 33-1-41-35-64-65
E-mail :
Paris France, : <hourcard@xxxxxxxxx New York City <TOTALNYC@xxxxxxx ,
<roberth@xxxxxxxxx
http://www-uvi.eunet.fr/asia/euro-burma
http://www-uvi.eunet.fr/asia/euro-burma/total
TOTAL WORLDWIDE BOYCOTT TOTAL WORLDWIDE BOYCOTT
TOTAL WORLDWIDE BOYCOTT
We reprint the August 19 letter to TOTAL NORTH AMERICA.
E-mail, please, it to :
TOTAL US
TOTALNYC@xxxxxxx roberth@xxxxxxxxx
Gary Jones, CEO TOTAL Petroleum North America TOTAL Tower, 900-19th Street
Denver,
Colorado [Hand Delivered]
Dear Mr. Jones:
We are here to express our concern about the irrefutable links between TOTAL
and Burma's
illegal military junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC).
Through numerous exchanges with TOTAL International, we have conscientiously
informed your
company of the dangers -- both to the people of Burma and to TOTAL employees
-- inherent in a
joint venture partnership with the SLORC.
Since 1993 we have urged Unocal and TOTAL to reconsider this project until
there could be real
guarantees that the SLORC wouldn't behave in the region of your proposed
natural gas pipeline as
it does throughout the country.
Human rights violations along the route of the TOTAL/Unocal/SLORC pipeline
have been clearly
documented and continue to be reported by refugees fleeing the area.
As you may know, Unocal is the target to a growing boycott throughout the
western United
States. We regret to inform you that we now find no other alternative but to
launch a North
American campaign to boycott TOTAL and its service stations.
At the same time, Free Burma groups in seven European countries are launching
a TOTAL
boycott after convincing Heineken and Carlsberg to cancel plans for breweries
in Burma.
Please take some time to review the attached report, "TOTAL Denial",
published by the Southeast
Asian Information Network and EarthRights International.
We are certain you'll agree it's time for TOTAL to suspend this project until
the National League
for Democracy is given a chance to exhibit the will of Burma's 43 million
citizens -- who gave the
NLD a mandate for Democracy in Burma's 1990 elections.
Sincerely,
Inge Sargent Kyaw Win, Ph.D. Kim Mizrahi David Wolfberg
Finally, I would like to call on you and organisations all to contribute in
any way possible to JOIN
THE WORLDWIDE TOTAL BOYCOTT. No one must have illusions here. TOTAL is a
formidable adversary not to be underestimated.
It will take a lot of coordinated and organised lobbying here in Europe and
in the United States if
we are to accomplish our common objectives. Let us all work together now.
Please send your suggestions of ways and means for a better campaign. We will
do our best to
respond quickly.
And please be sure to send a copy of your letters e-mail to Euro-Burmanet. If
you would like it
posted, we will put it on the Web site annoncing your participation and
support.
So, together, let's make it a presidential election issue, part of the
campaign activity. (It already is
at the Chicago 1996 Democratic Presidential Convention, with Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi being
honored with the Harriman Award, with honorary speeches by former Vice
President Mondale,
and US Ambassador Albright. Target TOTAL's distribution network in the United
States. Hit'em
where it hurts. Burma has become a national issue. Keep it so.
You may wish to Email your Congressional reps, and the White House :
President@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
And please send a copy of your letter to your State representatives and
Federal legislators in
Congress.
Euro-Burmanet endorses the Free Burma Coalition in the Free Burma Movement.
Dawn Star (Paris) Coordinator (TOTAL) cd@xxxxxxx
Burmanet Euro-Burmanet The Free Burma Coalition http://wicip.org/fbc/
http://www-uvi.eunet.fr/ http://www-uvi.eunet.fr/asia/euro-burma/
http://www-uvi.eunet.fr/asia/euro-burma/nld/
http://www-uvi.eunet.fr/asia/euro-burma/total
Help support our effort. Write now, to
Mrs. Emma BONINO
EC HUMANITARIAN OFFICE
The European Commission Directorate General 1B External Relations
(Directorate 1B, D,
Division 3) Rue de la Lois/Westraat 200 B-1049 BrusselsBelgium
Fax:32-2-299-1047
Join the Free Burma Coalition. Call 608-256-6572 or email:
zni@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
JOIN THE TOTAL WORLDWIDE BOYCOTT! DOWN WITH SLORC
TYRANNY! FREE BURMA NOW !
http://www-uvi.eunet.fr/asia/euro-burma/total/
Help support the TOTAL WORLDWIDE BOYCOTT by donating funds to
EURO-BURMANET : E-mail to cd@xxxxxxx
Send letters and cut-up charge cards to:
Roger Beach, CEO Unocal Corporation 2141 Rosecrans Blvd., Suite 4000 / El
Segundo, CA
90245 Tel: 310-726-7600
Gary Jones, CEO Total North America Total Tower, 900 19th Street Denver,
CO 80202
Tel: 303-291-2000
JOIN THE TOTAL WORLDWIDE BOYCOTT! DOWN WITH SLORC
TYRANNY! FREE BURMA NOW !
http://www-uvi.eunet.fr/asia/euro-burma/total/
TOTAL WORLDWIDE BOYCOTT TOTAL WORLDWIDE BOYCOTT
TOTAL WORLDWIDE BOYCOTT
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