SJMN: S. F. VOTES TO EXPAND BURMA B

[ktint@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: SJMN: S. F. VOTES TO EXPAND BURMA BAN

SJMN:6/18

SAN FRANCISCO VOTES TO EXPAND BURMA BAN              
                                                             
Supervisors debate involvement in foreign human rights issues             
                             

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Extending San Francisco's involvement in the 
international human rights arena, city supervisors voted to expand 
economic sanctions against Burma and discussed a similar ban against five 
African nations.

After a heated debate, the Board of Supervisors voted on Monday to add 
construction contracts to an ordinance barring the city from doing 
business with companies having ties to Burma.

The Southeast Asian nation's government is often criticized for harsh 
repression of its country's democracy movement.

The board's vote follows closely on a wave of national sanctions against 
Burma, which is also known as Myanmar.

The Burmese government seized power in 1988 after gunning down 3,000 
demonstrators, and refused to recognize Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San 
Suu Kyi's sweeping victory in 1990 democratic elections.

San Francisco Supervisor Amos Brown, saying the board needs to be 
consistent, raised the possibility of similar bans on commerce with 
Sudan, Liberia, Rwanda, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) and 
Nigeria.

But tempers flared when Supervisor Gavin Newman urged that the ban be 
dropped. He argued that San Francisco's involvement with foreign human 
rights issues means it must levy sanctions against a slew of other 
countries. Such a move would be costly in time and money, he said.

Supervisor Tom Ammiano, chief sponsor of the Burma ban, said: ``It really 
mocks what human rights issues are all about. If that supervisor had done 
his homework, he wouldn't have wasted time on this ridiculous polemic. I 
feel we have a moral responsibility to our neighbors.''

Published Wednesday, June 18, 1997, in the San Jose Mercury News