Earlier Story:Supervisor Hits S.F.'

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Subject: Earlier Story:Supervisor Hits S.F.'s Burma Stand Newsom wants board to stick to local issues 


Supervisor Hits S.F.'s Burma Stand
Newsom wants board to stick to local issues 
17/6
Edward Epstein, Chronicle Staff Writer

        A San Francisco supervisor who says the city has no business putting
        sanctions on Burma and other repressive foreign regimes vowed
yesterday to
        force his colleagues to be consistent and act tough against a long
list of other
        governments that violate human rights. 

        Supervisor Gavin Newsom told his colleagues that he couldn't see why
they
        unanimously passed a law last year singling out the Burmese military
        dictatorship and companies that do business with it. ``If it is
indeed the
        righteous path for the board to consume itself with human rights,
why has no
        member of the board had similar resolutions about Nigeria or
Indonesia?'' he
        asked. 

        ``The inconsistency of the Burma ordinance is striking,'' he said at
the board's
        weekly meeting, adding that he thought the board should focus on the
city's
        problems and limit its foreign policy pronouncements to resolutions
urging
        action or condemning human rights violations. 

        Newsom initially said he was going to ask the city attorney's staff
to draw up
        sanctions ordinances covering 18 countries, but he later scaled that
back and
        said he will seek nonbinding resolutions merely condemning the
conduct of
        regimes in Nigeria and Indonesia. 

        In Nigeria, a military government quashed a civilian regime, and
Indonesia's
        brutal occupation of the former Portuguese colony of East Timor has
never
        been recognized by the international community. 

        But at the end of yesterday's four-hour meeting, Newsom said he will
        eventually seek resolutions on the rest of his list: Iran, Iraq,
Sudan, Congo,
        Nigeria, Cuba, China, Libya, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Burundi,
        Afghanistan, Vietnam, Bhutan, Guatemala, Sri Lanka and Kashmir, a region
        caught in a bitter conflict between India and Pakistan. 

        Newsom estimated that so far this year the city attorney has spent about
        $60,000 on drafting, amending and litigating the city's law against
Burma. 

        ``I'm dead serious,'' said Newsom. ``I expect consistency from this
board. I
        imagine you've got to be with me when I introduce legislation on
these other
        countries,'' he said at the end of an hourlong debate on the thorny
issue. 

        The reason for Newsom's action was a debate over amendments introduced
        by Supervisor Tom Ammiano to last year's Burma ordinance, which he
        sponsored. The amendments would specify that city construction
contractors
        are covered by the law, which bans San Francisco from doing business
with
        firms that are active in Burma. 

        Ammiano defended his law yesterday. ``The arguments against the law help
        dilute the issues of human rights and democracy. 

        ``Burma is different from China. President Clinton and Secretary of
State
        (Madeline) Albright support sanction against Burma,'' he said. 

        He also pointed out that the Burma law is the only city foreign
sanctions law in
        force. A similar measure against South Africa was repealed after the
apartheid
        government left office. 

        Supervisor Sue Bierman supported Ammiano. ``You can't cover all the
world,
        all the time. But once in a while you can speak out against
brutality,'' she said.
        ``It is very dangerous to think you should just stick to your back
yard.'' 

        Several other supervisors said they sympathized with Newsom's arguments,
        but said they would vote with Ammiano. Supervisor Amos Brown went so far
        to suggest that Newsom add Rwanda and Liberia to his list, while
Supervisor
        Jose Medina said his colleagues shouldn't forget the situation in
Northern
        Ireland. 

        In the end, only Newsom and Board President Barbara Kaufman voted
        against Ammiano's amendments, with the board's other nine members in
favor.

        Ammiano was also at the center of another major discussion yesterday
when
        he lost a bid to strike $1.5 million in funds for the Mayor's Office
of Protocol
        that Mayor Brown is seeking in his new budget. The money, near and
dear to
        the party-loving mayor's heart, would go to hire nine staff members and
        provide $1 million for expenses. 

        The money, which comes from the hotel tax, would be transferred from the
        San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau. 

        ``I would be much happier if we took this $1.5 million and did a lot
of other
        things with it,'' Ammiano said, suggesting that the money go to
neighborhood
        cultural facilities. 

        Nine members voted against Ammiano, who was joined only by Supervisor
        Leland Yee.