Students Protest UW Investments in

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Subject: Students Protest UW Investments in Burma


Coban
would you please post the following article on soc.culture.burma?  I am 
having trouble posting.
thanks
t
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University of Washington Daily 12/7/94
Students Protest UW Investments in Burma
By NANCE CUNNINGHAM
Daily Staff

	Students leading the effort to have the UW take action on 
investments of Burma learned that the UW portfolio contains approximately 
$2-3 million worth of stocks in firms doing business in that country.
	The present military government in Burma, known as SLORC, is 
notorious for human rights violations. The UW students who met with the 
administration are concerned that foreign investments give SLORC 
legitimacy and provide the money SLORC needs to stay in power and buy 
weapons to use against the Burmese people.
	These students would like to see the UW use its votes as a 
stockholder to influence the firms to get out of Burma.
	"The UW has about $1.7 million invested in Pepsi. A stockholder 
resolution from an investor with that many shares could make a strong 
statement," said Timothy Landon, one of the students at the meeting. 
PepsiCo has an interest in a bottling plant in Burma, (officially renamed 
"Myanmar" by SLORC) and sells its products there.
	"It is not easy to get a handle on what companies are doing 
business in Burma, as it is in flux," said V'Ella Warren, Board of 
Regents treasurer. "I felt [introducing a stockholder resolution] was a 
very interesting proposal."
	The UW had asked a research agency, the IRRC (Investor 
Responsibility Research Center) to look into what companies were in 
Burma, but so far had only preliminary results. More complete results are 
expected in January, said Warren.
	Aside from having stock in several firms doing business in Burma, 
the UW has a purchasing contract with a distributor which makes Pepsi 
products available on campus.
	"As I understand it, cancelling that contract would require a 
change in the state purchasing laws," Warren said.
	The students are planning to work on changing the state law, and 
a potentially quicker way to end the contract:  the distributor might 
withdraw is campus sales were too low.
	"Our next step will be to educate people on campus not to drink 
Pepsi," said Pwint Htun, another of the students involved.