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Suu Kyi Urges Investors to Avoid Ma



Suu Kyi urges investors to avoid Myanmar - report

 NEW YORK, March 19 (Reuters) - Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has urged
companies to avoid investing in Myanmar (Burma) because it props up the ruling
military regime, according to an interview in BusinessWeek. 

"We do not think investment at this time really helps the people of Burma,"
Suu Kyi said in the interview, published in  magazine's March 30 issue. "It
provides the military regime with a psychological boost." 

The Nobel peace prize winner also said the United States should not soften its
sanctions against the regime. 

"We very much appreciate the U.S. sanctions because they have been a
tremendous psychological boost for the democracy movement, and also they have
made businesses think carefully about what is really going on in Burma," she
was quoted as saying. 

The United States last year imposed economic sanctions banning new American
investment in Myanmar because of Yangon's record of human rights abuses and
its failure to recognize the democracy movement led by Suu Kyi. 

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party won a landslide victory in
1990 elections but the result was not recognized. She was released from six
years of house arrest only in 1995. 

Companies such as Motorola Inc <A HREF="aol://4785:MOT"><MOT.N></A>, Levi
Strauss and PepsiCo Inc <A HREF="aol://4785:PEP"><PEP.N></A> have stopped
operations in Myanmar. Unocal <A HREF="aol://4785:UCL"><UCL.N></A> is one of
the few U.S. companies that have remained. 

"We want investment to be at the right time -- when the benefits will go to
the people of Burma, not just to a small, select elite connected to the
government," Suu Kyi said in the interview. 

Suu Kyi said the current economic situation in Myanmar was "very bad," with
rising prices, not much new investment and a poor rice harvest. 

The NLD and the government are in a political stalemate after the NLD refused
to take part in any talks without Suu Kyi, although some diplomats say
discussions are going on at lower levels. 

In response to a question about resolving the impasse, Suu Kyi said,
"Everything has to start with dialogue. If anyone is interested in power-
sharing, they can put it forward in the process of dialogue. We have said,
with regard to dialogue, we are prepared to discuss anything."