Judge Refuses to Remove Unocal

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Judge Refuses To Remove Unocal

 .c The Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A federal judge has rejected a request by civil rights
lawyers to remove oil company Unocal from a $1.2 billion pipeline project in
Burma. 

In a ruling from the bench this week, U.S. District Judge Richard Paez said
opponents of Unocal's involvement had not shown that barring the company's
participation would stop the human rights abuses claimed in the lawsuit. 

He denied a preliminary injunction that would have ordered Unocal off the
project until a trial of the suit. 

``It's a significant result,'' said Edwin Woodsome, a lawyer for Unocal, based
in El Segundo, Calif. But he said opponents could seek another injunction
later in the case. 

Unocal is the largest U.S. investor in the South Asian nation. It is a partner
with the Burmese government in the pipeline being built from Burma to
Thailand. 

President Clinton imposed trade and economic sanctions on Burma last April,
barring new U.S. business there because of the military government's
repression of the country's democracy movement and its failure to curb drug
trafficking. The ban does not affect existing investments. 

The suit against Unocal alleges that the military government is forcing
workers into slave labor and destroying villages in the path of the pipeline.
It also says soldiers overseeing the project have raped and tortured scores of
peasants. 

Unocal denies knowing anything about such abuses and says it has monitored
payments to workers and settlements of land claims. The company says it is
merely an investor with a 28 percent share of the project and not an active
manager. It also contends U.S. courts lack jurisdiction. 

Paez refused to dismiss the suit last March, saying the company could be held
responsible under U.S. and international laws for abuse by a foreign partner.
He reaffirmed his decision after consulting with the State Department, which
said it had no objection to the suit. 

The suit was filed on behalf of thousands of peasants in the path of the
pipeline. 

Anne Richardson, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, expressed confidence Friday that
during the trial, ``we believe we will be able to show that the project
probably could not go on without Unocal's critical support.'' 

AP-NY-01-30-98 1949EST

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