Congressmen Defend Massachusetts to

[FreeBurma@xxxxxxx]

Subject: Congressmen Defend Massachusetts to EU, Japan

    By Leslie Gevirtz     BOSTON, Feb 10 (Reuter) - A group of Democratic
congressmen from Massachusetts wrote to the European Union on Monday telling
them to stay out of the internal affairs of their state, which is boycotting
firms that trade with Burma. 

    Democratic Rep. Barney Frank, who authored the letter to the EU signed by
the state's congressional delegation, said in a telephone interview: "We're
fully prepared to support Massachusetts in this matter. 

    "Most countries don't fully comply with the WTO (World Trade Organization
agreement) ... but I particularly resent both the EU and Japan trying to
interfere with Massachusetts, particularly since we pay for their defense,"
Frank said. 

    The letter to the EU follows one sent to Japan's Prime Minister Ryutaro
Hashimoto on Friday that said Japan had the sovereign right to put dollars
ahead of human rights but it should not "intimidate Massachusetts into
changing the standards it has established for doing business with the state
government." 

    About 10 U.S. cities, including San Francisco, have passed selective
purchasing laws against firms doing business in Burma, citing the brutality
of the military junta that controls the Southeast Asian nation. But
Massachusetts is the only state and the largest market so far to boycott such
firms. 

    Frank suggested if the state's law barring Massachusetts from trading
with firms that do business in Burma were found to be a WTO violation, any
sanction against Massachusetts should "be paid for by reducing the amount of
money spent on the defense of both Japan and Europe." 

    The EU has complained to the U.S. State Department about the
Massachusetts law that went into effect on Jan 1. In a letter sent to
Governor William Weld, EU Ambassador Hugo Paemen called the measure "a breach
of U.S. international obligations and as such could have a damaging effect on
bilaterial EU-US relations." 

    Since Weld signed the law last August, it has inspired several U.S. firms
including Apple Computer <APPL.O> and Hewlett-Packard <HWP.N> to cut ties
with Burma. 

    Human rights activists said the state law was a challenge to Burma's
ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council and noted Aung San Suu Kyi,
the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner who leads the country's democratic
opposition, has called for sanctions against her country's government. 

19:34 02-10-97