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1/6)FIDH'96:REPORT ON THAI-BURMA GA



FIDH REPORT ON THAI/BURMESE GAS PIPELINE (1/6)
RECEIVED date: Wed, 27 Nov 1996 18:36:28 +0100 (GMT)
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FIDH IS AN INTERNATIONAL NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATION IN CONSULTATIVE
STATUS WITH THE UNITED-NATIONS, UNESCO AND THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE,
AND OBSERVER STATUS WITH THE AFRICAN COMMISSION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS.

FUNDED PAR PIERRE DUPUY  NOVEMBER 1996
SITUATION REPORT

BEATRICE LAROCHE
DEPUTY  AT  THE  FIDH  PERMANENT  DELEGATION
WITH THE  UNITED  NATIONS  IN  NEW  YORK
Anne-Christine HABBARD
PROGRAMME  OFFICER,
EXECUTIVE BUREAU OF THE FIDH
BURMA, TOTAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS:
DISSECTION OF A PROJECT

SUMMARY
Acronyms
Introduction
Historical Background

I - Project Description
        A. Figures and facts
        B. Development of the construction
        C. The pipeline route and the protection of the construction
sites
        D. Methods of employment

II - Support for the junta
        A. An act of moral and political support
        B. Disregard for civil society and its legitimate
           representatives - TOTAL's interest in upholding the junta
        C. Economic support
        D. Logistical and military support

III - A Judicial Void
        A. The coup d'etat and the absence of rule of law
        B. Burma's obligations under international law

IV - Human Rights Violations in conjunction with the Pipeline
        A. Militarisation
                1. Attacks on the project
                2. Reprisals
        B. Forced relocation of the population
                1. Evictions from villages
                2. Expropriations
        C. Forced labour
                1. Forced labour and the general infrastructure
                2. Forced labour and security
                3. The case of the Ye-Tavoy railway
                4. The porters of the Burmese army
        D. Other violations
                1. Summary executions
                2. Torture and other cruel, inhumane and
                   degrading practices
                3. Rape and violence against women
                4. Violations of economic, social and cultural rights
                5. Environmental rights

V - Conclusions and Recommendations

 ACRONYMS

ABSDF           All Burma Students Democratic Front - Student group
opposed
                to the SLORC

BSPP            Burma Socialist Programme Party - Party in power since
the
                1962 military coup d'etat until the SLORC's taking of
power
                in 1988

DKBA            Democratic Karen Buddhist Army - KNU's dissident faction
                since 1994, supported by the SLORC

EGAT            Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand -
Thailand's
                state-owned company operating the power plant in
Ratchaburi
                (Thailand), where the natural gas from Yadana will be
                transformed into electrical power (2800 MW)

ERI             Earth Rights International

FTUB            Federation of Trade Unions of Burma - Coalition of trade
                unions opposed to the SLORC

IMF             International Monetary Fund

KHRG            Karen Human Rights Group

KNLA            Karen National Liberation Army - Armed branch of KNU

KNU             Karen National Union - Political movement of the rebel
                Karen group

LIB             Light Infantry Batallion

MOGE            Myanma Oil & Gas Enterprise - Oil company of the Burmese
                state, a 15% partner of TOTAL and UNOCAL in the Yadana
                project

MNLA            Mon National Liberation Army - Armed branch of the Mons

NCGUB           National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma -
                Burmese government in exile

NCUB            National Council of the Union of Burma - Coalition of
                deputies and representatives of various opposition
groups

NLD             National League for Democracy - Principal political
                opposition movement, directed by Aung San Suu Kyi

NMSP            New Mon State Party - Political movement of the rebel
Mon
                group

PTT-EP          Petroleum Authority of Thailand Exploration and
Production
                Public Co Ltd. - Semi-public Thai oil company and a
25.5%
                partner in the Yadana project

SLORC           State Law and Order Restoration Council -
                Military junta currently in power in Burma

UNOCAL          American oil company, a 28.26% partner in the Yadana
project

USDA            Union Solidarity and Development Association - A union
                affiliated with the SLORC

Burma's currency is the Kyat, at the official exchange rate of 6 kyats
per
one US Dollar; exchanged on the black market at 110 to 120 kyats per
Dollar.

 INTRODUCTION

A journalist who recently spoke about the TOTAL's gas-pipeline project
in
Burma referred to its "loathsome banality." The problem posed by the
construction site is indeed not new. Since the conclusion of the first
contract in July 1992, numerous reports have been published which
question
not only the opportunity, per se, of such a project, but also the
conditions under which the works have unfolded at the construction site.

FIDH, therefore, undertook the task of investigating the allegations,
inquiring about human rights violations at the construction sites, as
well
as providing the French public (since heretofore, the majority of
published
reports has come from English-speaking groups) and the international
public
opinion with a precise report on the situation at the construction sites
of
the French group TOTAL: TOTAL is the operator of the project and the
financial partner with the highest stakes in it. It is therefore the
most
responsible of all parties for its realisation.

As was inevitable, this report presented a methodological problem, since
independent observers are not allowed on the construction site. In a
recent
interview with FIDH though, Mr. Daniel Valot, the General Director of
TOTAL's Exploration/Production department, nonetheless responded
positively
to the idea of a truly independent mission, and FIDH ardently hopes that
its request to this end may soon become a reality. The present report is
thus founded on information collected from other reports and sources -
information which has been confirmed and verified, in keeping with the
methods traditionally embraced by FIDH. The recent report of the
Southeast
Asian Information Network and Earth Rights International, Total Denial,
published in July 1996 (and particularly its interviews with the
refugees
at the Thai border), was a vast and precious source of information, on
which a number of passages in this text are based. Our great
appreciation
goes to its authors. A number of other sources may not be cited here for
obvious security reasons, but the authors of the present report
nonetheless
wish to express their gratitude for their cooperation which has proven
to
be extremely valuable, and, indeed, indispensable. We express our warm
gratitude to Milos Naumovic who graciously translated this report into
English.

The conclusions of FIDH inquiry are overwhelming, and one cannot but
note
the manifest insufficiency of TOTAL's and UNOCAL's responses to the
questions raised by the project. It appears indeed that the Yadana
project
is reprehensible on more than one count:
*       Although the directors of TOTAL and UNOCAL claim not to play a
political role, but wish to limit themselves to the economic realm, it
appears that this is an illusory desire :

-       since such a project conducted with a particularly brutal and
internationally condemned military regime provides this regime with
inherent moral support.

-       since the project lends a short, medium and long-term economic
support to a junta which was financially drained, and which uses most of
its funds for the purchase of weapons.

-       since there are apparent military agreements between TOTAL (and
in
particular, its security consultants) and the Burmese army to combat the
ethnic rebel groups.

*       Human rights violations at the construction site are massive and
verified: forced relocation of the population, forced labour, summary
executions, torture, rape, financial extortions... The majority of these
violations is committed by the Burmese army, the Tatmadaw, in charge of
guaranteeing the security of the construction site. Although it is
unlikely
that TOTAL resorts directly to the use of forced labour, it is
nonetheless
clear that it tolerates its existence and reaps profits therefrom. The
construction site is the cause, at least indirectly, of massive human
rights violations.

 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Once a British colony, Burma won its independence in 1948. In 1962, the
military coup d'etat directed by General Ne Win took control of the
young
democracy and installed a military dictatorship under the rule of the
only
permitted political party, the BSPP, which lasted almost three decades.
In
1988, the pro-democracy demonstrations destabilised the previously
well-oiled BSPP machine, culminating, on August 8th, 1988 in a massive
strike. The military government's ferocious response resulted in over
5000
deaths throughout the country, the declaration of a new regime, the
SLORC,
the imposition of martial law and the change of the country's name to
Myanmar. After the massacre, the leaders of the democratic movement,
among
them Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of the independence struggle's hero
Aung San, established the National League for Democracy (NLD). Aung San
Suu
Kyi has been the secretary-general of the NLD since its foundation. At
the
legislative elections organised by the SLORC in 1990, and in spite of
severe restrictions imposed on political liberties, as well as on the
freedoms of association and expression, the NLD won more than 80% of the
seats - a result recognised by the international community. The SLORC
reaction was immediate and numerous elected representatives were
arrested.
The victorious party found it impossible to form a government, though
the
NLD leaders handed this task to some of its representatives who rejoined
the areas controlled by the ethnic opposition groups along the Thai
border.
These representatives established the NCGUB (National Coalition
Government
of the Union of Burma) with Mr. Sein Win as its prime minister,
currently a
refugee in the United States. From July 1989 to July 1995, Aung San Suu
Kyi
remained under house arrest - she received the Nobel Peace Prize in
1991.
Ruined, financially and economically drained, the government decided, in
1989, to open its borders to foreign investment, while refusing
steadfastly
to engage in discussions with the NLD. Today, Aung San Suu Kyi still
suffers from restrictions on her freedom of movement, numerous NLD
members
have been arrested and some have died under suspicious circumstances.
Far
from progressing to a transitional phase, Burma is today in the throes
of
terror and totalitarianism.

It is within this context that a number of oil companies, including
TOTAL,
have begun investing in Burma.

 I - PROJECT DESCRIPTION

A. Figures and Facts

The oil corporations TOTAL (France) and UNOCAL (USA) are the partners of
the Burmese oil company MOGE (Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise) in a
joint-venture having as its goal the exploitation of the Yadana gasfield
(blocks M5 and M6), considered to be a gigantic field due to its
reserves
estimated at around 5 trillion cubic feet (140 billion cubic meters) The
MOGE is under complete control of the SLORC, which is therefore a full
partner of TOTAL and UNOCAL.

Through its intermediary, the PTT-EP, Thailand got also involved in the
project, through a contract signed in February 1995 providing for the
import of natural gas from Yadana to supply its power plants over a
period
of thirty years.

The project, evaluated at 1,2 billion USD, represents the principal
foreign
investment in Burma and constitutes more than a third of all such
investments. Once the construction is completed (platforms, pipeline,
drill
holes...), towards mid-1998 according to the plans, gas sales to
Thailand
(525 million cubic feet per day, or 5,4 billion cubic meters per year )
should provide the Burmese regime with an annual income estimated
between
200 and 500 million USD (400 million USD is the figure most often
cited),
or the equivalent of half of all export revenue from the year 1994-1995
 .

The venture began in July 1992 when the TOTAL corporation bound itself
by
contract to the MOGE for the purpose of the "evaluation, development and
production"  of gas in the field of Yadana located in the Andaman Sea,
Martaban Gulf, 45 miles (70 km) from the southern coast of Burma. In
early
1993, UNOCAL joined TOTAL as a co-venturer, acquiring 47.5% interest in
the
project, a figure ultimately reduced to 28.26% following the entry of
PTT-EP and the MOGE (15% interest) - therefore the SLORC - in the
consortium. The sales contract signed with the MOGE in February 1995
provides that the natural gas produced in Yadana will supply Burma with
125
million cubic feet per day. The PTT-EP's investment rose to 210 million
USD, equalling 25.5% of the total. TOTAL corporation, having already
invested 700 million USD, or 31.24% of all investments, is therefore
made
the principal partner of the venture.

              Summary

              TOTAL           31.24%
              UNOCAL          28.26%
              PTT-EP          25.5%
              MOGE            15.5%

              Production total:       650 million cubic feet per day
              PTT-EP imports:         525 million cubic feet per day
              Burmese market:         125 million cubic feet per day

The existence of gas-fields at Yadana has been known since the early
1980s
and the PTT-EP has been showing continous interest therein ever since.
In
1991, it submitted a loan request to the World Bank in order to proceed
with feasibility studies of the fields, a request which was rejected on
the
grounds that the World Bank "like most other international
organisations,
does not recognise the present regime in Rangoon. We also don't look
favourably on applications for extended and soft loans submitted by
others
on its behalf" .

 B. Progress of the construction

The progress is divided into various stages :

1. Study and identification of the terrain in order to establish the
route
of the future pipeline: March to May 1995, October 1995 to May 1996 (dry
season). The route was defined by satellite images.

2. Clearing of the sites traversed by the pipeline route

3. Civil engineering works: airstrip, helipads (Ka Daik, Ohnbinkwin,
Migyaunglaung), wharves (Ka Daik and Pyin Gyi in the Heinze basin),
access
roadways, TOTAL=EDs headquarters (Ohnbinkwin), bridges over the Heinze
and
Tavoy rivers (dry season 1995-1996).

4. Construction of a service road parallel to the pipeline, which will
serve the laying and the maintenance of the future pipeline. The
construction began in the west between Hpaungdaw and Migyaunglaung in
the
direction of Migyaunglaung, according to the Karen Human Rights Group .

5. Installationof the on-shore pipeline scheduled for 1996-1997 during
the
dry season (October to May).

6. Installation of off-shore platforms from mid-1997 to early 1998.

7. Placement of the pipeline into the sea from mid-1997 to late 1997.

The complete pipeline will be 416 miles (approx. 700 km) long, 254 miles
(409 km) of which are to be within Burmese territory - 215 miles (346
km)
off-shore and 39 miles (63 km) on-shore, with an additional 161 miles
(260
km) in Thai territory (this last portion being under the responsibility
of
the PTT-EP). The project will be operational towards the middle of 1998.

C. The pipeline route and the protection of the construction sites

The last section of the pipeline in Burmese territory will be built on
land
running through the Tenasserim region towards the Thai border. In this
rural and ethnically varied region, the villages are scattered within a
rainforest, and the Karens, the Mons and other opposition groups
maintain
an active presence. Although the Mons have signed a cease-fire with the
SLORC in June 1995, the SLORC does not control the entire area which is
still susceptible to armed conflict. The SLORC and foreign investors
generally agree that the pacification of Burma is a precondition to the
contracts of investment. Therefore, according to the production sharing
contract, the SLORC is entrusted with, and liable for, guaranteeing
security of the construction sites and the TOTAL employees (see infra.,
p.20). The SLORC has thus dispatched several light infantry batallions
to
the region (between 12 and 15 according to the sources), totaling around
10,000 troops. Four of these batallions are assigned to the protection
of
TOTAL's headquarters and the surveillance of the route of the future
pipeline, which will be 39 miles long and approximately 300m wide. The
immediate access to the route's surroundings is forbidden to the local
population . The city of Ye is frequently under an imposed curfew and a
part of the Ye Byu municipality is under martial law . TOTAL has
established its headquarters in a veritable entrenched camp in
Ohnbinkwin.
The camp, placed under protection of Burmese soldiers is surrounded by
three layers of barbed wire and is equipped with trenches and bunkers .
TOTAL has appealled to "security consultants" in order to reinforce the
protection of the camp and of the pipeline (see infra., p.17). The TOTAL
employees travel daily under military escort.

 Traversed villages

The pipeline will follow the Tavoy and Zin Ba valleys, before crossing
the
Burmese-Thai border at Ban-I-Taung. The villages in the immediate
vicinity
of the pipeline where TOTAL has established committees of communication
are:
                        Daminseik
                        Hpaungdaw
                        Zadi
                        Kaunghmu
                        Tchechaung
                        Ohnbinkwin
                        Kanbauk
                        Migyaungaing
                        Pyin Gyi
                        Ein Da Ya Za
                        Migyaunglaung
                        Kaleinaung
                        Zin Ba

D. Methods of employment

By the end of 1996, TOTAL plans on hiring "20 expatriates and 150 local
employees, among whom are 80 trainees. Added to this number will be the
personnel hired by the sub-contractors for building the installations
(around 600 persons during the dry season, 1995-1996)"  (airstrips,
wharves, bridges, etc.). TOTAL therefore directly employs Burmese
workers,
paid 200 to 300 Kyats approximately per day, and thus at a higher rate
than
the usual local levels, as the national average rests at approximately
60
Kyats per day (around 0.54 USD). According to TOTAL, the construction of
the pipeline will necessitate in October 1996 the employment of at least
1500 workers, and 800 have already applied . TOTAL has set up a
recruitment
process by quota in villages where the "hiring committees" have been
established. These committees are in charge of candidate selection, a
system which, according to TOTAL, is intended to neutralise the various
effects of "chumminess of the SLORC and the pressure from ethnic groups"
 .
However, according to the KHRG and other sources, TOTAL has allegedly
entrusted the greatest part of hiring responsibilities to a subsidiary
of
the MOGE, the Myint Association, with preference hence given to the
members
of the USDA (a "union" affiliated with the SLORC), and their families -
one
cannot but remain perplexed at the effective degree of neutralisation of
"chumminess of the SLORC" . There also appears to be numerous instances
of
corruption among the committee members , multiple bribes being paid to
the
local SLORC representatives at every stage of the employment selection
process ("purchase" of application, of the medical examinations...) .
In addition, although TOTAL claims only to employ volunteers of 18 years
of
age or older , several reliable testimonies indicate that several minors
have been employed.

These pieces of information cast serious doubt on TOTAL's strictness in
following its own guidelines for employment. In spite of the measures,
the
hiring method does not respect the principles of independence and
neutrality which TOTAL declared it would apply.

Hence, one cannot but question the confidence of J.-M. Beuque, the
official
in charge of the TOTAL's Far East operations, when he stated that "we
are
going to control [the supervision of pipe laying and related work] very
strictly" .
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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