DISNEY BURMA UPADATE

[dohrs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

At the bottom is an article from Asia Times, titled "Disney's image at
risk over ties to Myanmar."

Disney wrote a response to Asia Times, which to my knowledge was not
published.  This response is reproduced below.  It should be noted that
Disney spokespeople are pretty good at splitting linguistic hairs, but
this is a fairly unequivocal response.
LD


Vice President
Corporate Communications
The Walt Disney Company

Feb. 11, 1997

To:  Pansak Vinyarstin, Editor in Chief
Asia Times


Dear Mr. Vinyarstin,

Nothing is more frustrating than to answer a reporter's questions and then
have him purposefully ignore them.

When Yaroslav Trofimov called regarding the Yangon, I very clearly told
him that The Walt Disney Company has no ownership position in the oil
company and just as clearly that Shamrock Holdings is in no way an
investment arm of The Walt Disney Company.

He chose to write quite the opposite, one presumes in order to advance
whatever agenda he and/or the Asia Times has regarding the Walt Disney
Company.  Regardless, it is unconsionable that a respected news journal
would choose to so blatantly disregard facts and intentionally state
fiction.

The Walt Disney Company has a policy against doing business in Myanmar.
For some reason, it served your publication's purpose to state otherwise.

Sincerely,

(signed)
John Dreyer


> Subject: Disney's image at risk over ties to Myanmar
> 
> The Asia Times
> 
> Disney's image at risk over ties to Myanmar
> 
> Yaroslav Trofimov, Haifa, Israel, 28th January 1997
> 
> Defying the international boycott campaign against Yangon, an Israeli
> company partially-owned by Walt Disney is planning to invest tens of
> millions of dollars in Myanmar's petrochemical industry. 
> 
> A similar-sized project was also under consideration in Vietnam, said
> Eli Hovev, manager of the Haifa area-based Dor Energy Trade. 
> 
> The Israeli company plans to set up petrochemical plants in both Asian
> countries, and to operate them as 50-50 joint ventures with the
> state-owned monopolies, Myanmar Petrochemical Enterprises
> (MPCE) and Petro-Vietnam. This would be the first sizable Israeli
> investment in either country. 
> 
> One-third of Dor Energy, Dor Energy Trade's parent company, is
> owned by Shamrock Holdings, the investment arm of the Walt Disney
> empire. 
> 
> The remaining two-thirds of the company is held by the Tel
> Aviv-based Dankner group, a privately-held conglomerate which
> effectively dictates company policy. 
> 
> According to Hovev, Dor Energy's negotiations with Myanmar were
> more advanced that those with Vietnam. The Israeli company and
> MPCE recently signed a memorandum of understanding and the actual
> contract may be finalized within a month. 
> 
>  "We are not worried about the international campaign against
> Myanmar. It is true that some companies, mostly American, left the
> country, but many others went in," Hovev said. "As far as I know,
> there is no political pressure on us from the Israeli government not
> to do business with Myanmar." 
> 
> Myanmar, historically one of Israel's most faithful Asian allies,
> still maintains a privileged relationship with many Israeli decision
> makers. 
> 
> Industry analysts warned that Dor Energy's Myanmar petrochemical deal
> may lead to a clash between Dankner group and Walt Disney. 
> 
> Over the past two years, many companies operating in the United States
> have found themselves targeted by painful boycott campaigns  launched
> by supporters of democracy in Myanmar. 
> 
> The organizers of the boycott believe that any foreign investment in
> Myanmar makes it easier for the State Law and Order Restoration
> Council (SLORC), the country's military government, to repress the
> democracy movement. 
> 
> The Dankner group does little business in the US and is therefore
> relatively immune to the boycott campaign. 
> 
> The same, however, could not be said about Walt Disney, whose
> carefully-nurtured public image in the US could be badly hurt by a
> financial partnership with SLORC's Myanmar - which is definitely no
> Disneyland. 
> 
> 
> 
>