APPEAL

[sain@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Dear Burma/Environmental Activist:

We urge you to read the letter of appeal below, sign it and  fax it to
the enclosed addresses as a matter of urgency.  Send a copy also to the
Asia Pacific Environmental Exchange 1-206-720-6426 for our collective
petition.  Then forward this message  to as many other activists you
might know by email or fax.

Citations of proof of all information stated below, available upon
request from the Asia-Pacific Environmental Exchange.  Danish Minister
of Environment Svend Auken will be sitting down with the EAC and
respresentatives of Zeneca on June 12th.  The UK has a new government
that may be more responsive than has been noted in the past.  Letters
are needed before June 12th if possible but are very much needed after
that as well.  Preferably send faxes, put it on your letterhead and
sign.  Feel free to amend or add to the letter as you wish.  Finally
please send a copy of your letter to the Asia Pacific Environmental
Exchange so that we can assertain success of this appeal.  And THANK
YOU!!!


-------------------

[date]

[address of recipient, see below]


Dear Sir or Madame:

We appeal to you in your official capacities to do all in your power to
put an immediate stop to the production, and sale of the pesticide
paraquat by the East Asiatic Company (DK) and the Zeneca Group (UK) in
Thailand and Burma.

It has recently been revealed in the Danish press that these two
companies, through their jointly owned daughter company, Zeneca Agro
Asiatic Ltd. are producing the extremely lehal herbicide Paraquat in
Thailand despite the fact that Paraquat has been banned for use in
Denmark and despite the fact that Zeneca's own studies have shown that
Thai farmers are ignorant of the extreme hazards associated with
Paraquat use.

Paraquat is one of the most deadly pesticides in use today and has been
implicated in thousands of farmworker poisonings particularly in
tropical countries.  It has been targeted for a global ban by the
international Pesticides Action Network and has already been banned in 9
countries including Denmark.

Even more disturbing is the discovery that Zeneca and EAC by their own
admission are actively promoting the lethal pesticide for trade and sale
to Burma and are dealing with the globally denounced SLORC regime in
order to gain further poison profits.

We find it deplorable that transnational companies trade in products
that have already been banned at home or for which knowlege exists that
their use is seriously harming the populace of developing countries.

In the case of Burma where the country is ruled at the barrel of a gun,
and the right to free speech and the demand for workers rights are
responded to by arrest, torture, imprisonment and death, the selling of
this product is seen as doubly criminal.  

Such trade not only poisons people and the environment but poisons
international relations as well.  We urge you therefore to do all in
your power to halt this despicable trade and to respond to this letter
to explain what steps you have taken.  We thank you in advance for your
serious attention to this matter.

Sincerely yours, 


[name]
[organisation name]
[organisation address]

-----------------


Addresses: 

Minister for the environment     
Mr. Svend Auken                  
Hoejbro Plads 4                  
1200 Copenhagen K                 
Denmark                          
fax: +45  3332 2227                   

Chairman of Environment Committee
Mr. Steen Gade
Danish Parliament 
Folketinget
Christiansborg
1240 Copenhagen K
fax: +45 3332 8536

Minister of Environment
Michael Meacher
Ministry of Environment
London, United Kingdom
fax: +44 1718904455


Thank you,  

Jim Puckett
Executive Director
Asia-Pacific Environmental Exchange