EBO “Burma News” 22 August 2003

News Summary:

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1. ICFTU denounces Chinese statement on Burma - calls for more pressure, not less

2. WPP agrees to quit Burma

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ICFTU denounces Chinese statement on Burma - calls for more pressure, not less

Brussels, 21 August 2003 (ICFTU Online) : Reacting today to a recent Chinese

government statement on Burma, the International Confederation of Free Trade

Unions (ICFTU) stated that it is “appalled” to learn about the recent position

taken by China in relation to the critical human rights situation in Burma.

According to a Xinhua press release of 19 August, Chinese State Counsellor

Tang Jiaxian said that “the current domestic situation in Myanmar is the country’s

internal affairs, and China will not agree to foreign interference or to sanctions

and isolation against Myanmar”.

According to the ICFTU, the military leaders of Burma have clearly demonstrated

that they are unwilling to give up their absolute hold on power and halt

the seemingly endless series of human rights violations. The global labour

body says that a return to democracy will not take place if the decision is left

solely in the hands of the generals who rule Burma. Nor will any of the other

major problems in Burma go away, such as widespread use of forced labour,

violence against religious and ethnic minorities, forced relocation, beatings,

child labour, rape and murder. Trade unions are not allowed in Burma and

any attempted trade union activity is heavily repressed.

Unions argue that external pressure is needed. The decision of the International

Labour Organisation in 2000 to take special action on Burma forms part of

the basis for action against the Burmese dictators and remains a source

of hope for the Burmese people.

As a result of the brutal attacks on and detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, and

other NLD members, and the subsequent crackdown on the opposition in Burma,

many countries have decided to take action. Many of the more vocal critics of

the junta, such as the authorities in the US, Canada and the European Union,

have stepped up their action, often by expanding existing economic sanctions.

The US, having already banned new investment in 1997, has taken the most

far-reaching step so far by barring all imports from Burma. Many other countries

and regional bodies have also raised concerns. Japan has decided to freeze new

aid to the country and Malaysia, traditionally close to Burma, has suggested that

the country might risk losing its membership in ASEAN, the regional economic bloc.

The ICFTU, which has been running a long-standing campaign against the use

of forced labour in Burma, has strongly protested the position taken by

the Chinese authorities.

“While the Chinese attitude may reflect strategic interests in an unethical regional

power play,” said General Secretary Guy Ryder. “it also invokes the all too familiar,

but morally bankrupt, ‘non-interference in internal affairs’ defence for violations

of universal human rights”.

The Xinhua press release goes further, quoting from Tang Jiaxian as saying,

''We believe the Myanmar government and people have the wisdom and

capability to handle relevant issues appropriately and continue to push forward

the process of national reconciliation”. Ryder commented that “Anyone who

believes, after all this time, that the Burmese dictators are actually trying to

solve the country’s problems and are really open to democracy, has not been

paying attention over the last few decades. The only political legitimacy in Burma

is held by those elected in the last free elections and not by those who currently

rule through brute force and terror.”

The ICFTU is calling on the international community, governments and business

to “act responsibly and decisively” and use their influence to change the desperate

situation in Burma. The ICFTU has commended the decision of some companies

to leave Burma until democracy is restored and is calling on others to join them

“in solidarity with the people of Burma, rather than joining the Chinese regime

in solidarity with their oppressors”.

For more information please contact ICFTU Press on: +32 (2) 224 0232

- [email protected]

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions(ICFTU)

Boulevard du Roi Albert II 5, B1, B-1210 Brussels, Belgium.

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WPP agrees to quit Burma

The Guardian

Friday August 22, 2003

By Chris Tryhorn

Advertising group WPP is to close its office in Burma to avert a public relations

disaster after it was included on a "dirty list" of companies with links to the regime.

It is closing Bates Myanmar, the Burmese office of the Bates advertising network

it acquired last month when it took over Cordiant Communications.

The group is understood to be in consultation with Bates Myanmar staff, and will

sever its connections with the country before the end of the year.

The move follows the publication this week of the Burma Campaign UK's

"dirty list" of 79 companies linked to businesses operating under Burma's

military dictatorship.

WPP had no links with Burma before buying Cordiant, but was warned by

the campaign that acquiring Bates Myanmar would make it a target

for human rights activists.

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