-------------------------- BurmaNet -------------------------------
"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------


The BurmaNet News: July 15, 1996 
Issue #466

Noted in Passing: 
                            Companies should be well aware of the risks they
run 
                if they invest in a country whose citizens have no rights.
                said Danish Foreign Minister.(see: NATION: CARLSBERG 
                HALTS BEER EXPORTS TO BURMA)
HEADLINES:
=========
DASSK: LETTER FROM BURMA #34
REUTER: MARTYRS' DAY MORE THAN A COMMEMORATION 
PRESS CONFERENCE: BY ANTHONY LAKE IN BANGKOK
STATE DEPT.DISCUSSION: CHRISTOPHER ON BURMA
PRESS RELEASE: RANGOON-DAW SUU SENDS MESSAGE TO EU
REUTERS: SUU KYI COULD NOT GO TO DENMARK 
BKK POST: THE END DRAWS NEAR FOR BURMESE JUNTA 
PRESS RELEASE: BURMESE MP IN SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION
THE NATION: BURMA UNRUFFLED BY TOURISM BAN
THE NATION: HEINEKEN WITHDRAWS FROM BURMA
NATION: CARLSBERG HALTS BEER EXPORTS TO BURMA
NATION: PEPSICO FACING NEW PRESSURE
DP: WORLD'S CONSCIENCE TURNS TO MYANMAR 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DASSK: LETTER FROM BURMA #34
July 14, 1996 ( Mainichi Daily News) 
From: Carol Schlenker & Aung Thu <carol@gol.com>

JULY IS A MONTH OF MOMENTOUS ANNIVERSARIES

It is not a month that seems to inspire poetic outpourings.  Perhaps it is
the in-between ordinariness of July, caught between summer pretty June 
and summer glorious August, that fails to stimulate the imagination.  
I cannot recollect a single poem dedicated to July except for an excruciating 
one I wrote, as a classroom exercise in my school in Delhi, that began 
"In July,month of rain and dust ..."  It is the time of year in North India 
when the monsoons have just begun and the dust storms of the hot, dry 
season have not yet cleared away.
        
But dull, in-between July is a month of momentous anniversaries.  
There is Bastille Day and American Independence Day and the July 
Conspiracy against Hitler.  In Burma, too, the month is notable for a 
number of significant events in the modern history of our country.  
In 1947, on July 19, six months before Burma was officially declared 
a sovereign independent nation, my father and several of his colleagues 
were assassinated while a meeting of the Governor's Executive Council 
was in session.  Four gunmen dressed in jungle-green fatigues and armed 
with automatic weapons pushed their way into the council chamber and 
opened fire, wiping out seven councillors who were the foremost leaders 
of the country, a senior member of the civil service,and a young 
ide-de-camp.   It took just a few minutes to perpetrate the deed that has 
had an immeasurable effect on the evolution of Burma as an independent 
nation.
        
The assassinations had been arranged by a veteran politician, U Saw, 
who chose the way of violence, rather than the way of the ballot box, 
as the primary means for achieving political power.  He had boycotted 
the elections of April 1947 in which my father's party, the Anti-Fascist 
People's Freedom League (AFPFL), had won an overwhelming victory.  
But although he had neither contested for nor gained the mandate of the 
people, U Saw thought that once he had removed those he saw as his 
arch rivals, he would be called upon to form a new government.  In the 
event it was U Nu, the most senior member of the AFPFL left alive, 
who succeeded my father.
        
Fourteen years after Burma became independent, another event of high
historical significance took place in July.  On March 2, 1962, the
democratically elected government was removed by a military coup and 
state power passed into the hands of the Revolutionary Council headed 
by General Ne Win.  The students of Rangoon University, with a strong 
tradition of political activism dating back to the days of the independence 
movement, did not respond favorably to the establishment of military rule.  
As unrest increased in the campus, new university regulations were 
introduced and in the first week of July, students began peaceful 
demonstrations to protest against these new regulations.  Events took a 
nasty turn on the 7th of July when soldiers were ordered to open fire on 
the students.  The exact number and nature of casualties on that fatal day 
still remain in dispute; it was officially declared that only 16 students 
had been killed, but there are claims that the number of dead was well 
over 100.  The tragedy of Rangoon University culminated at dawn the 
next morning: the Students' Unionbuilding, which had been the proving 
ground for young nationalist politicians who later led the country to 
independence, was dynamited by order of the authorities and reduced 
to rubble.  Some say the building was full of students, all of whom 
were killed in the blast.
        
Twenty-six years after the destruction of the historic Union building, 
the actions of the students of Rangoon University once again led to 
an event of national importance.  As a result of student unrest, the 
Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), which had dominated the 
country for a quarter of a century, held an emergency congress on 
July 23, 1988.  It was the first peal in the death knell of one-party 
dictatorship.  At this congress, the top leaders of the BSPP resigned 
and the outgoing Chairman U Ne Win announced it was time to 
decide whether or not the system should be changed to one that
recognized the validity of more than one political party.  The 
refusal of the BSPP to put an end to its authoritarian rule triggered 
off the nationwide public demonstrations which were the beginning 
of the movementfor democracy.
        
July is an eventful month for me personally as well.  It was on the 20th 
of July, 1989, that I was placed under house arrest.  We received the first
intimation of what was about to happen when a neighbor came early in the
morning to tell us that our road was full of troops.  Soon after, U Tin U's
son drove over to let us know that their house too was surrounded and that
his father had been prevented from going out for his usual morning walk.
That was the beginning of six years of detention.
        
And it was on July 10 last year that I was released.  When U Aung Shwe, 
U Kyi Maung, U Tin U and I met that evening we simple decided to pick 
up where we had left off six years ago, to continue our work.  It remains 
in my memory as a quiet day, not a momentous one.

***********************************************************

REUTER: MARTYRS' DAY MORE THAN A COMMEMORATION 
July 14, 1996
From: John Scherb <mcs@primenet.com>

         RANGOON, - Burma marks Martyr's Day this week and it is being 
seen as a key test in shaky relations between the country's military rulers 
and the opposition, led by Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
         Many were waiting to see if Suu Kyi would hold an
alternative ceremony to mark the national mourning day to mark
the July 19, 1947 assassination of her father, independence hero
General Aung San, and eight others who were killed as they
planned for the handover of an independent Burma from Britain.
         Suu Kyi, who participated in the military government's
official ceremony last year only days after being released from
six years of house arrest, has not said if she will attend this
year's function or stage a separate one.
         On Saturday she said formal ceremonies were not necessary to
honour the country's national heroes.
         ``In my opinion, we honour our dead leaders, not by holding
formal ceremonies, but by doing what they would have wished us
to do,'' Suu Kyi told a gathering at her front gates which has
become a weekly weekend feature.
         Government officials would not say if Suu Kyi had been
invited to participate in this year's ceremony. Traditionally,
the children or relatives of all the assassinated ``martyrs''
are invited to lay a wreath at the Martyrs' Mausoleum.
         Last year Suu Kyi made a subdued appearance at the ceremony
and quietly placed baskets of flowers at the mausoleum that
commemorates her father and six of his ministers, a secretary
and bodyguard who were slain as they held a cabinet meeting.
         In the year since then Suu Kyi and her National League for
Democracy (NLD) party have been in a war of words with the
ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC).
         Last week, Suu Kyi defiantly vowed to go ahead with the
party's plan to draft a new constitution despite a sweeping new
law introduced by the SLORC last month forbidding such a move.
         Suu Kyi told Reuters in an interview last week the NLD had
instructed her and other party leaders to draft an alternative
charter to the one being drawn up by a military-appointed
convention.
         ``The party congress gave us the responsibility of drawing
up a draft constitution and we will go ahead with that,'' she
said.
         The government-appointed convention has been meeting since
January 1993 to draft guidelines of a pro-military charter. Suu
Kyi angered the SLORC in November when she pulled the NLD out of
the talks, saying they did not represent the will of the people.
         Over the past few months the SLORC has cracked down on the
NLD with arrests and regular criticism of the party and Suu Kyi
in the official media and at government-sponsored mass rallies.
         Its new law, passed just after the NLD's May party congress,
also prohibits anyone from doing anything seen likely to disrupt
national unity or the constitutional process.
         Diplomats and observers said they were watching to see if
Suu Kyi would hold any sort of alternative Martyrs' Day ceremony
this year, which could be seen as a direct affront to the SLORC.
         ``We are just waiting to see what she does. That's all we
can do here is wait,'' said one Rangoon resident.
         The events of Martyrs' Day six years ago appeared to be the
impetus behind Suu Kyi's arrest on July 20, 1989.
         Instead of laying a wreath that day, Suu Kyi, who had
criticised the military and said she doubted they would ever
keep their promise of transferring power to a civilian
government, and the NLD had planned a march to pay tribute to
the martyrs.
         After authorities quickly filled the streets with troops,
Suu Kyi called off the march because she feared bloodshed. The
next day she was placed under house arrest.

*******************************************************

PRESS CONFERENCE: BY ANTHONY LAKE IN BANGKOK
July 11, 1996 (excerpts)
From: John Scherb <mcs@primenet.com>

(U.S. will remain deeply engaged in Pacific region)  

Bangkok -- The United States is and will remain deeply engaged in the
East Asia and Pacific region, according to National Security Advisor
Anthony Lake.

ANTHONY LAKE
 
A purpose of the trip is to underline the point that the United States
is and will be a deeply engaged power in the Pacific. This is very
true on the security side, where we are maintaining and will maintain
a force of 100,000 troops, which is for the first time since the end
of the Vietnam War approximately the same number of troops as we have
in Europe. In fact, it symbolizes the balance that we see in our
relationship with Asia.

Q (Television Corporation of Singapore News): Will the issue of Burma
and Cambodia be raised at the ASEAN Regional Forum in light of
domestic political developments taking place in both countries?

LAKE: Certainly these are both very important issues to us, as we know
they are to the government of Thailand. As I said, I look forward to
discussing both issues with the Prime Minister this afternoon and
gaining his views on how we can best proceed, both governments,
towards what are in each case a common goal.

In Burma, we were very pleased with the statement that the Thai
Foreign Minister -- I think about ten days ago or so -- wants Thai
diplomacy, as with our own, to try to encourage a dialogue between the
SLORC and Aung San Suu Kyi. I will be discussing with the Prime
Minister the best ways that we can work towards that goal as well.

It is very hard to have in a region such as this, which has such
wonderful growth, countries and areas that are potentially a drag on
others through their own internal difficulties. We want to work on
both problems for the sake of the whole region.

Q (TCS News, follow on): You just mentioned that you will be
discussing this with the Thai Prime Minister. What about the
possibility of raising this issue at the ASEAN Regional Forum? Any
intentions to do that so that there could be a dialogue on this among
not only ASEAN participants, but other dialogue partners as well?

LAKE: I don't think this is a formal agenda item, but I have no doubt
that there will be overtures when the time comes.

Q (VOA): I was wondering, sir, if the United States is in a process of
constructive engagement with China, why is it not doing that with
Burma? How does this affect the question of sanctions? Will Secretary
Christopher be meeting with the Burmese Foreign Minister on the
margins of the ASEAN Regional Forum?

LAKE: I don't think that is scheduled. We will have to see. Perhaps he might
have answered the question, which I would be more than happy about.

In both cases, China and Burma, the question of economic consequences
does arise, as we have seen in China in our negotiations -- happily
successfully concluded -- over IPR and over non-proliferation issues.
There is also a difference here in that in Burma, we do have a
democratically-elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has not been
allowed to fulfill the role that we believe she deserves within that
society. We will have to see what happens with regard to possible
sanctions in Burma. We think it is a useful tool to have in our
pocket, the point we are making, as we discuss the issue with
those most concerned in the Congress. We will just have to see.

Again, I look forward to a discussion with Thai government officials
on how we can most usefully work together on the issue.


Q (Australia Broadcasting Corporation): Sir, I just wondered if you
could expand a little? Could you elaborate a little more the
Administration's current thinking of the impact or possible effect of
economic sanctions on the administration in Burma? Because we have
received different signals about that. How do you see the best way to
proceed to effect some sort of change there?

LAKE: As I said, our view is that the sanctions might be a useful
tool. Obviously, there is a question of whether that tool would ever
be used in that context in Burma. We already do place some
restrictions on our relations with Burma, for example with regard to
arms supplies. We do believe that it is very important to the future
of the people in Burma as well as the future of the region that there
be a resolution of the crisis there.

********************************************************

STATE DEPT.DISCUSSION: CHRISTOPHER ON BURMA
July 12, 1996
From: John Scherb <mcs@primenet.com>

Washington -- Secretary of State Warren Christopher welcomed Danish
Foreign Minister Niels Helveg Petersen at the State Department July 11.

QUESTION:~ Mr. Secretary, you both referred to that situation in
Burma, is it the administration's position that the sanctions should
be applied (inaudible)?

~CHRISTOPHER: I'd like to have the minister comment on that as well.
At the present time, I look forward to consulting with the countries
in the neighborhood of Burma when I am in Jakarta about ten days from
now. Their strong position has been important to the maintenance of
dialogue, and I understand that's the position that's being taken
among those who are seeking freedom in Burma as well. Nevertheless,
I'm sure there will be some consideration of sanctions given. I'd like
to ask the minister to comment on that subject himself.

~PETERSEN: I see a variety, a whole range of possibilities in order to
~express~ dissatisfaction~~ with the present regime. One, of course,
is economic sanctions. I think that is an idea which should be on the
table, but I don't see that idea being carried out right now. But I do
see a number of possibilities to focus on de~~velopments in human
rights in Burma.

I think we should activate, for example, United Nations possibilities
of making use of the offices of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights, of sending the United Nations ~representatives from the
Commission on the tension down there and study the human rights
situation. There is a whole range of possibilities that I would like
to discuss with Mr. Christopher and which we will be ~discussing in
the European Union on Monday.

********************************************************

PRESS RELEASE: RANGOON-DAW SUU SENDS MESSAGE TO EU
July 12, 1996
From: nin@ihe.nl
by Mrs. Glenys Kinnock Member of European Parliament

Glenys Kinnock MEP has, through an intermediary who travelled to 
Rangoon, made contact with Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the 
National League for Democracy in Burma.

Members of the European Parliament have watched recent events in 
Burma with growing concern and Glenys Kinnock invited Aung San 
Suu Kyi to address the Parliament through a filmed interview. A letter 
from Glenys Kinnock was taken secretly to Burma and a filmed interview 
has taken place. The video will be shown at the Development Committee 
of the European Parliament on July 24th.

Speaking from Brussels, Glenys Kinnock MEP said:

"Today we have heard the wonderful news that Heineken has pulled 
out of Burma, as a result of pressure from citizens of Europe and the 
United States. This is a considerable achievement, following as it does a 
similar decision which has been made by Pepsi-Cola and Carlsberg."

"Today too we have heard that the video has been successfully smuggled 
out of Burma. Next week in Strasbourg a strong condemnation of the 
Government in Rangoon will be made by Parliamentarians, and we will call 
for action from the Commission and the Council. Action which reflects 
the views of the leader of the democratic opposition in Burma - Aung San 
Suu Kyi - who calls for economic sanctions, and an end to foreign 
investment and tourist visits to Burma."

*********************************************************

REUTERS: SUU KYI COULD NOT GO TO DENMARK 
July 12, 1996
From: ktint@earthlink.net
By Steve Weizman

COPENHAGEN, - Danish Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen's 
Social Democrats said on Friday that Burmese democracy campaigner 
Aung San Suu Kyi declined an invitation to speak at their party 
congress, saying she was unable to travel.

     A party spokesman quoted a letter from Suu Kyi to Rasmussen saying
that the Nobel peace laureate could not go abroad, "due to the present
circumstances." He said that her letter did not give further details.

     "It is with sorrow, but no great surprise, that I have received Aung
San Suu Kyi's regrets. This only underlines how intolerable conditions are
in Burma," Rasmussen said in a statement.

     Copenhagen and Oslo have led protests since Nichols' death in a
Rangoon jail last month.

     Denmark is campaigning for international sanctions against Burma. EU
president Ireland on Monday took up Denmark's call for "a full and
satisfactory explanation" of Nichols's death and an investigation by the
United Nations.
    
 Denmark has placed the matter on the agenda of the EU foreign
minister's meeting in Brussels on July 15.
     
On Thursday Norway said Nichols' jailers tortured him and it held the
military government responsible for his death.
     
Both Denmark and Norway have called Rangoon's London ambassador, who
covers Scandinavia, to their capitals. He was expected at the Norwegian
foreign ministry on Monday,  Deputy Foreign Minister Jan Egeland told
Reuters.
     
"We will tell the ambassador that the human rights situation in Burma
must be drastically improved. We will ask for an official explanation into
Mr Nichols death and we will renew our request for an independent autopsy,
which so far has been denied," Egeland said.
     A Copenhagen pressure group - The Danish Burma Committee - on Friday
said it planned an extensive consumer boycott campaign against major Danish
companies operating in Burma.
     "We plan to mount a major media campaign starting mid-August, bringing
the public's attention to Danish companies operating in Burma and urging
consumers to boycott their products," committee chairman Anton Johannsen
told Reuters.
     Johannsen said the campaign, mainly in Danish newspapers, would
initially be aimed at shipping and wholesale group East Asiatic Company,
toymaker Lego and timber importer DLH.

*********************************************************

BKK POST: THE END DRAWS NEAR FOR BURMESE JUNTA 
July 12, 1996 (abridged)
by Myint Thein

THE US recently sent two special presidential envoys to Japan and 
four Asean countries to consult and inform them of the new US 
policy on Burma. After their visit to Singapore, senior statesman 
Lee Kuan Yew made the statement that if "the US government wants 
to bring down the Burmese military government, they must be 
prepared to help manage the country".

The appointment of special presidential envoys was a first 
important step in resolving the conflicts in Haiti and Bosnia. 
Not all their subsequent steps were in the right direction - a 
trait of the Clinton administration, but in the end they 
accomplished their mission. The same will happen in Burma.

The Washington Post, which is very well connected to 
administration sources, stated in an editorial on June 24 that: 
"If the Clinton administration wants time to enlist or inform 
other nations, Congress should listen: US action should not be 
needlessly unilateral. But there can be no doubt that stronger US 
action is called for in Burma.

The Clinton administration will take the lead in bringing down 
the Burmese military government if it refuses to participate in 
tripartite meetings with the National League for Democracy (NLD) 
and the ethnic leaders. Asean collectively has given 
unconditional political support to the Slorc generals in exchange 
for economic benefits. But one by one, Asean countries will 
slowly follow the lead of America if the Clinton administration 
takes strong, decisive and effective action against the Burmese 
military government.

There is now growing support for sanctions and even military 
action against the Burmese military government.

The heads of the FBI and Drug Enforcement Agency have recommended 
the use of multinational military forces against countries that provide 
refuge to drug warlords.

There is significant grassroots backing and growing support in 
Congress for Economic and diplomatic sanctions against Slorc. The 
McConnell-Moynihan Bill, which will be hotly contested by Unocal, 
will ban American investments in Burma. We expect a dogfight with 
Unocal, but at the end of the day we will have more votes than Unocal.

**********************************************************

PRESS RELEASE: BURMESE MP IN SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION
July 12, 1996
From: caroline@ksc.net.th

U Hla Than, elected MP of the Coco Island, Rangoon Division was
taken into Rangoon General Hospital on July 9, 1996 for unknown
health reason, according to the reliable souce from inside Burma. He
was an elected NLD MP in 1990 general election and was a chairman 
of Kyimyindain Township, Rangoon Division. He was arrested in October 
1990 and put in infamous Insein jail. He was among the 21 political 
prisoners who were sentenced additional long terms of imprisonment in 
last March for passing information to the UN Human Rights Special 
Rapporteur.

        Prisons and jails in Burma are notorious for ill-treatment
including torture, prolonged shackling, lack of proper medical care and
insufficient food to the prisoners especially to the political prisoners.
Political prisoners face beating, sometimes to the point of
unconsciousness; being forced to crawl over sharp stones; sleep
deprivation;  being held in the hot sun; being held in the solitary
confinement cells or in the military dog cells for prolonged periods.

        Many political prisoners were reportedly died of ill treatment and
torture during their time in the prisoner.  Recently, Myint Swe, suspect
of former ABSDF member died on June 13, 1996 in Theyet prison in the
middle of Burma.  As he was a Muslim, his body was allowed to be 
cremated on the same day of his death. His family later found out that 
his skull bone and jaw were broken. It was believed that he was seriously 
tortured before he died. However, no explanation was given by the prison 
authorities.

        Similarly, on June 22, James Leander Nichols, an unaccredited
representative for Denmark, Finland, Norway and Switzerland died in
prison. London-based Amnesty International said Nichols reportedly had
been deprived of sleep for several days before dying. 

************************************************************

THE NATION: BURMA UNRUFFLED BY TOURISM BAN
July 12, 1996

RANGOON - Burma said it was confident its tourism promotion year, 
set to begin in November, would not be affected by a standoff 
with Aung San Suu Kyi and calls for a tourist boycott.

"They don;t affect out plans at all. The call for a boycott is 
known only to a small group of people. We hear there are people 
queuing up to come here," Minister of Tourism Kyaw Ba said.

The detention of more than 250 members of Suu Kyi's NLD who were 
planning to attend a party congress at her Rangoon home in May 
was merely aimed at determining the democracy activists motives, 
Kyaw Ban said. Most had since been freed, he added.

The EU and the US denounced the arrests and subsequently said 
economic sanctions might be imposed on Burma if it continued to 
ignore human rights. Some rights groups and exiled Burmese 
dissident groups have called for a tourist boycott of the 
country, as well as for trade and investment boycotts.

Facing the threat of a consumer boycott, Danish brewer Carlsberg 
said on Tuesday it was drooping plans to invest in Burma. Pepsi-
Cola of the US withdrew its stake  from a Burmese venture earlier 
this year.

Kyaw Ba said Burma expected about 300,000 visitors during its 
"Visit Myanmar Year" - a forecast that is down substantially from 
an original target of 500,000 tourists.

Some 150,000 visitors arrived in the country last year, according 
to official statistics.

Domestic airlines were being strengthened and a new local airline 
in partnership with Thai investors, Yangon Airlines, was being 
finalised. Burma has one international and two  domestic 
airlines.

About US$1 billion (Bt 25 billion) has been invested by 
foreigners in 34 hotel and tourism projects to cater to the 
tourist influx. Kyaw Ba said the country was putting touches to 
several new hotels to accommodate more visitors. (TN)

********************************************************

THE NATION: HEINEKEN WITHDRAWS FROM BURMA
July 12, 1996
JENNIFER SCOTT

After months shrugging off protests by human rights activists and 
global threats to boycott the world's most widely available beer 
because of its pressure in military-ruled Burma, Heineken said 
potential damage to its reputation had forced it to capitulate.

"Public opinion and issues surrounding this market have changed 
to a degree that could have an adverse effect on our brand and 
corporate reputation," Heineken chairman Karel Vuursteen said in 
a statement.

"Heineken has a heritage of good corporate citizenship in many 
markets around the globe," he said.

"On the basis of these changed circumstances we have re-assessed 
the situation and have concluded we are no longer in a position 
to realise this ambition."

Heineken's decision coincided with the anniversary of Burmese 
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's release last year from six 
years in detention.

In an interview, Suu Kyi repeated her call for economic sanctions 
against Burma, saying that the benefits of foreign investment 
went only to a privileged few in the country.

Heineken had planned to build a brewery in Rangoon through a 
venture between its Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) unit, which was 
to have a 60 per cent stake, and Myanmar Economic Holding Ltd, a 
public company which the Dutch brewer acknowledged was 
essentially controlled by the military.

He added that the brewer was also ending all exports to Burma. 
"Not only have we withdrawn, we will not have any interference in 
Burma at all. Out means out."

Heineken has expressed concern about human rights violations in 
Burma but defended its investment, saying it felt an obligation 
to its workers and the environment in the region.

Pressure groups welcomed the Dutch brewer's withdrawal, saying it 
should encourage other companies investing in Burma to reevaluate 
their plans.

"The worst damage for the (Burmese) regime is that they have set 
an example to the government that companies can come under 
pressure from the consumer and that it's not a good idea to 
invest in Burma," said Tom Kramer, spokesman at the Dutch-based 
Burma Centrum lobby group. (TN)

********************************************************

NATION: CARLSBERG HALTS BEER EXPORTS TO BURMA
July 14, 1996

COPENHAGEN - Denmark's Carlsberg Brewery has halted all its beer
exports o Burma, as a Danish pressure group unveiled plans to
stage a consumer boycott campaign against Danish companies
operating in the country.

"Minimal quantities of Carlsberg beer produced in Carlsberg
breweries in the region have been sold in recent years in Burma,
this export has now been terminated," Carlsberg said.

"Carlsberg exports to Burma will only be resumed if beer products
from its international competitors  are found to be on sale
there. We cannot countenance any long-term weakening of our
market position in Burma," it said in a statement.

Following boycott threats by the Danish Burma Committee, which is
outraged by the Burmese military government's crackdown on
democracy campaigners, Carlsberg on Tuesday dropped plans for a
Burmese joint venture.

The Carlsberg move was followed on Wednesday by rival Dutch
brewery Heineken which announced it was ending all business
activity in Burma.

Earlier on Friday the Danish Burma Committee announced plans to
mount a major media campaign starting mid August, bringing the
public's attention to Danish companies operating in Burma and
urging consumers to boycott their products.

Committee chairman Anton Joharnsen told Reuters that the
campaign, mainly in Danish newspapers, would initially be aimed
at three Danish firms trading in Burma - shipping and wholesale
group East Asiatic, toymaker Lego and timber importer
DLH.

Although the Danish committee dropped boycott threats against
Carlsberg after the brewer cancelled its Burma investment plans,
it warned that the brewery could again become a target unless it
ended all beer sales to Burma.

Denmark is demanding European Union sanctions against Burma's
military rulers in the wake of the death last month in a Rangoon
jail of James Leander Nichols, honorary consul for Denmark,
Finland, Norway and Switzerland.

EU president Ireland earlier last week took up Denmark's call for
"a full and satisfactory explanation" of Nichols's death and an
investigation by the United Nations.

Denmark has placed the matter on the agenda of the EU foreign
minister's meeting in Brussels on July 15.

Speaking to reporters in parliament Danish Foreign Minister Niels
Helveg Petersen warned firms against investing in Burma.

"Companies should be well aware of the risks they run if they
invest in a country whose citizens have no rights. Such countries
are not places in which to invest," he said.

Denmark exported goods worth Dkr 16.9 million (Bt 71 million) to
Burma last year, while it imported Dkr28.3 million worth of teak
wood.

********************************************************

NATION: PEPSICO FACING NEW PRESSURE
July 14, 1996 (abridged)

GENEVA - A major international labour union grouping said it
would focus fire on the US beverage firm Pepsico to force it out
of the Burma market now that two big European companies had
withdrawn.

The International Union of Food, Agricultural and Allied Workers
Associations (IUF) issued its statement on Friday as Denmark's
Carlsberg Brewery announced in Copenhagen it was halting all beer
exports to the military-ruled country.

"This is a remarkable victory for the IUF and the international
campaign for businesses to pull out of Burma. We will now be
focusing our attention on Pepsico," said the labour body's
spokesman Peter Rossman. "The IUF will actively pursue all the
means at its disposal to ensure that Pepsico follows the brewers'
example and quits Burma for as long as the generals remain in
power," a statement from the Geneva-based body said.

The IUF links 322 trade unions in a wide range of service and
light industries with a combined membership of 2.6 million in 107
countries. Affiliate organisations waged the fight against
Carlsberg and Heineken's links with Burma.

Rossman said the rival Danish and Dutch firms had justified
trading links with Burma -where opposition leaders Aung San Suu
Kyi has called for an economic boycott of the country by arguing
that if one did not trade the other would.

"They also said that if they didn't, Pepsico would. Now Pepsico
is alone," he added.

In April this year the US company, which produces one of the
world's most popular non alcoholic drinks, said it would divest
itself of direct ownership in its Burmese bottling operation a
move the IUF said came in response to a global pressure campaign.

But Pepsico continued to supply concentrate and license the brand
name, thereby continuing "to directly profit from the agony of
the Burmese people," the IUF statement declared.

*********************************************************

DP: WORLD'S CONSCIENCE TURNS TO MYANMAR 
July 7, 1996 (The Denver Post)
John Scherb <mcs@primenet.com>
by Ved Nanda

The military regime in Myanmar remains defiant in the face of worldwide
disapproval of its violations of basic human rights.  It refuses to enter into
dialogue with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace
Prize laureate, whose national League for Democracy won a landslide
victory in the 1990 general elections.  The military government, the State
Law and Order Restoration Council, declared the result invalid, placed Suu
Kyi under house arrest for "endangering the state" and imprisoned or
exiled opposition leaders.  Its ruthless rule and oppression of dissenters
continues.  Suu Kyi was released in July of 1995.

The latest crackdown occurred in May when the junta arrested 262 NLD
activists who were planning to hold a convention to commemorate the sixth
anniversary of the party's victory in the 1990 general elections and to
draft a new constitution for Myanmar.  More than 100 of those arrested
remain in detention apparently without trial or charges.  Suu Kyi
continues to hold public meetings in the compound outside her home, where
the usual crowd of about 5,000 people listen to her talk about her efforts
to move Myanmar toward democracy.

Disapproval abroad of Myanmar's human rights record isn't reflected in
tangible international action aimed at bringing about change.  Among
Myanmar's neighbors, the Association of South East Asian Nations has opted
for "constructive engagement."  China, Japan and Thailand have encouraged
investment in Myanmar, especially in its rich natural resources sector.
India has publicly kept mum, mainly because of the apprehension felt by a
large number of people of Indian origin in Myanmar, that they would
suffer retaliatory action were India to take a critical stand against the
country.  Also, in Asia, a hands-off policy in internal affairs suits all,
especially many with skeletons in their own closets.

Recently, however, Myanmar has felt some international pressure
following the death in a Rangoon jail last month of the honorary consul of
Norway and Denmark, James Leander Nichols, who also represented
Finland and Switzerland.  Nichols was sentenced in April to three years
imprisonment for operating a telephone and fax machine from his home
without government authorization.  Nichols was Suu Kyi's supporter and
friend.

Denmark has asked the European Union to impose economic sanctions
against the military regime and has demanded an independent autopsy on
Nichols, 64, who was suffering from high blood pressure and a heart
condition.  The U.N. has now appointed a new rapporteur on human rights
in Myanmar.  He is Ragsoomer Lallah, a former judge and minister of
justice in Mauritius who monitored human rights in Chile from 1983 to
1994.

In the United States the momentum is growing for sanctioning Myanmar.
Several American companies, including Levi Strauss, Reebok and Liz
Clairborne, have withdrawn from the country.  Pepsi is cutting back.  Ten
days ago, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved by a 27-0 vote a
bill that would bar any U.S. air service to or investment in that country.
The sanctions would remain in force until SLORC hands over the power to
an elected government.  A fortnight ago Massachusetts became the first U.S.
state to ban state contracts with companies having commercial ties to
Myanmar.  Earlier, half a dozen U.S. cities passed similar regulations.

The Clinton administration hasn't been keen to impose trade and investment
sanctions against Myanmar.  But now it appears to be willing to work with
Congress to design a legislative approach.  It recently sent two envoys to
the Southeast Asian countries to persuade them to take concerted action
aimed at pressuring the junta to step down.  Commerce Secretary Mickey
Kantor has said he believes economic sanctions could be effective, citing
"times when economic restrictions done in an appropriate fashion...can be
very helpful."  American oil companies operating in Myanmar, on the
other hand, are lobbying hard against sanctions.

Burmese exiles and dissidents have recently launched a grass-roots
campaign over the Internet in support of sanctions.  Burmese students at
U.S. universities have been creating awareness and seeking support for
democracy in Myanmar for quite sometime.  The human rights law clinic at
the University of Denver presented a petition against the military junta to
the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva.

The world community must send a strong and clear message to the junta
that it has no choice but to restore democracy in the former Burma.  ASEAN
countries must move beyond the policy of "constructive engagement."
Japan, Europe and the U.S. must impose economic sanctions.
Comprehensive and universal sanctions all work in Myanmar as they did to
help dismantle apartheid system in South Africa.

(Ved P. Nanda is director of the international Legal Studies Program at the
University of Denver College of Law.)

