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Reuters-US state seeks to have Myan



Subject: Reuters-US state seeks to have Myanmar law reinstated 

US state seeks to have Myanmar law reinstated
06:25 p.m Jul 12, 1999 Eastern
BOSTON, July 12 (Reuters) - The Massachusetts state attorney general said on
Monday he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate a state law that
restricts purchases from companies that do business with Myanmar.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit in Boston struck down the law
on constitutional grounds in June.

The Burma law, as it is known, was enacted in 1996 in response to charges
that the Myanmar military government was guilty of widespread human rights
abuses.

The law directs state officials to publish a list of companies doing
business with Myanmar and restricts the ability of those firms to sell goods
and services to Massachusetts.

``The law is about working for basic human rights and it's about a state's
right to chose who it does business with,'' Massachusetts Attorney General
Thom Reilly said in a statement. ``We believe the Constitution allows the
state to apply a broad and principled standard to buying goods and
services.''

New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco are among 20 municipalities that
have similar laws.

The appeals court decision was issued in a lawsuit filed by the National
Foreign Trade Council, a Washington, DC-based lobbying group that represents
U.S. businesses.

The measure has also been the subject of debate by the European Commission
and Japan which have threatened World Trade Organisation action.

Labour unions, nine other U.S. states and some 26 members of Congress have
all supported the Massachusetts law in previous court actions.