Update on NW Airlines Promoting Her

[dohrs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: Update on NW Airlines Promoting Heroin Hotel


It has been three months since activists first contacted Northwest
regarding their promotion of the Traders Hotel in Rangoon (see original
news release below).  How much heroin has Traders' owner Lo Hsing Han
shipped around the world in those three months while Northwest has mouthed
"We'll take it into consideration"?

Please contact head of International Worldperks Marketing Mr. Rick Dow and
tell him how you feel about a US company with a pro-druglord policy.

His fax is 612-726-0343, and phone is 612-727-6465.

If you write a letter, please cc your local newspaper, then send it along
to them.

LD
> 
> 
> Seattle Campaign for a Free Burma
> 2319 N. 45th St., Suite 115  Seattle, WA 98103  Ph: (206) 784-5742  
> Fax:(206) 784-8150
> P a r t   o f   t h e   F r e e   B u r m a   C o a l i t i o n
> 
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
> 
> BONUS MILES AT "HEROIN HOTEL"
> NORTHWEST PROMOTES HOTEL OWNED BY BURMESE DRUG LORDS
> 
> MINNEAPOLIS--JANUARY 14, 1997--Northwest Airlines is offering its frequent 
> fliers bonus miles if they stay in the Traders Hotel of Rangoon, according
> to its December "WorldPerks Update."  The Christian Science Monitor said
> on November 20 that the Traders Hotel is "a dark reminder of the power and 
> influence exercised by (Burma's) drug lords."
> 
> The Traders Hotel is co-owned by Steven Law and his father Lo Hsing Han.
> Lo is a reputed heroin trafficker known as the "King of the Golden Triangle."
> In August, Law was barred from the US by the State Department due to
> suspicion of his involvement in the narcotics trade.  Burma produces more 
> opium and heroin than the rest of the world combined, and State Department
> sources say 60% of the heroin on US streets comes from Burma.
> 
> "It's simple.  When the US Government says Steven Law is involved in
> heroin trafficking, US companies shouldn't promote Steven Law's hotel"
> says Dan Orzech of the US-based Free Burma Coalition.
> 
> Northwest doesn't deny that Law and Lo are co-owners of Traders Hotel
> Rangoon.  It acknowledges reports that Law is barred from the US, but it has not
> ended the promotion, according to a company spokesman.
> 
> Robert Gelbard, US Assistant Secretary of State for International
> Narcotics Affairs wrote in the November 21 Far Eastern Economic Review that 
> Burma's military junta "has brazenly exploited drug-trafficking money" to 
> stay in power.  The drug lords are "buying real estate in Rangoon and
> Mandalay, investing in Burma's economy, and openly courting military
> officials."
> 
> "That the Burmese economy is based on narco-dollars is quite obvious" says
> Dr. Sein Win, head of the NCGUB, BurmaÕs democratic government in exile.
> "Burmese citizens weren't even allowed to possess foreign currency for the 
> past 30 years.  Now all of a sudden, you find local investors coming up
> with millions of dollars for projects like the Traders Hotel.  It does not
> come as a surprise that these investors are either notorious drug
> kingpins, like Lo Hsing Han and Khun Sa, or their close associates."
> 
> One US company, Wente Vineyards of California, was successfully targeted
> by boycotters over connections to Steven Law.  Numerous other companies,
> including Motorola, Amoco, Eddie Bauer, Heineken and Carlsberg have
> withdrawn from Burma under consumer pressure, citing corruption, human
> rights concerns and "business reasons."
> 
> "US interests are clear.  We need to fight the Burmese narco-dictatorship"
> says Orzech.  "We don't want a boycott of Northwest Airlines, but we do
> want them to do the right thing.  Don't promote the 'Heroin Hotel'" he
> warns.
> 
> Contact:  Larry Dohrs, Free Burma Coalition, 206-784-5742
> Dr. Sein Win, National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma
> 202-393-7342
> Vinita Koshal, Northwest Airlines, International WorldPerks Marketing 
> 612-726-2111 		
> 
> END
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