The BurmaNet News: March 12, 1999 (r)

[talbrecht@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: RE: The BurmaNet News: March 12, 1999

             As I recall there is an exception for goods,services and
technology so it looks like Smartnet is ok.
> -----Original Message-----
> From:	John William Jacobs [SMTP:jjacobs@xxxxxxxxxx]
> Sent:	Friday, March 12, 1999 8:45 PM
> To:	BURMANET-L
> Subject:	Re: The BurmaNet News: March 12, 1999
> 
> Hello,
> 
> I was wondering if you could help me.  The web page www.myanmar.com
> advertised as the official homepage of the "Union of Myanmar" is being
> hosted by a US company, SMARTNET.  Although I'm not a lawyer or even
> very
> skilled at interpreting the law I feel that this is a direct violation
> of
> the US sanctions imposed against Burma.  This site contains
> information
> including contacts and regulations on how to conduct business in
> Burma.
> 
> The sanctions imposed by the US directly prohibit any new investment
> in
> Burma and furthermore prohibit "entering into a contract providing for
> the
> participation in royalties, earnings, or profits in the economic
> development
> of resources located in Burma, without regard to the form of
> participation"
> and "facilitating  transactions of foreign persons that would violate
> any of
> the foregoing prohibitions if engaged in by a United States person".
> 
> If I'm not mistaken, hosting a site that is referenced as the official
> home
> page on both the ASEAN site and the Myanmar mission to the UN site,
> and
> including information on how to invest in Burma, would in fact be a
> direct
> violation of these sanctions.
> 
> I have contacted both the US Dept of Justice and the FBI and asked if
> they
> are the correct agencies to contact concerning this issue.  I have not
> received any help or information.
> 
> I have also contacted SMARTNET directly and appealed to them on a
> humanitarian level to discontinue their support of this site. They
> don't
> care about the content of the site or what it represents.  I was told
> that
> in the absence of a court order, they will continue to front the
> domain name
> and host the site.
> 
> I am asking that the readers of this list, and all others who care
> about
> human rights, contact SMARTNET and request that they discontinue their
> support of this site.  I am of course sensitive to first amendment
> rights
> and issues, but I would hope that SMARTNET would draw the line at
> directly

> supporting the SPDC and their well documented abuses. SMARTNET contact
> information is on their site at www.smart.net.  Please do not do
> anything
> that could be seen as abusive or otherwise improper.  Lets not lower
> ourselves to the level of these people.
> 
> Additionally if anyone has any ideas on how to engage the US
> government in
> pursuing this or would like to take on the issue, I would be most
> grateful.
> I will be departing for Thailand and the boarder in three weeks and
> may not
> have the time to see this issue through.
> 
> ---
> John Jacobs
> jjacobs@xxxxxxxxxx