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OCAW SLAMS UNOCAL HEROIN COVER-UP



PRESS RELEASE    PRESS RELEASE

FREE BURMA: NO PETRO-DOLLARS FOR SLORC


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 27, 1997

CONTACT:        Rod Rogers (OCAW): (303) 987-2229
or Pamela Wellner: (415) 695-1956

UNOCAL TRIES TO BLOCK UNION REQUEST FOR AN
INVESTIGATION OF LINK TO BURMESE HEROIN TRADE
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What is Unocal's Dirty Secret?

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 27 -- The Free Burma: No Petro-dollars for SLORC
campaign today condemned Unocal's attempts to exclude a shareholder
resolution submitted by a retired member of the Oil Chemical Atomic Workers
International Union (OCAW). The resolution asks Unocal's external board
members to investigate an allegation of heroin money laundering by Unocal's
Burmese partner, in a natural gas pipeline project in Burma (Myanmar).

The partner, the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), an agency of Burma's
military regime, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), was
accused of drug money laundering in the Dec. 16, 1996 issue of The Nation.
The article reported on findings from an investigation by the Paris-based
Geopolitical Drugwatch that MOGE is a major channel for laundering the
revenues of heroin produced by the SLORC army.

Unocal, in a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to
legally exclude the resolution from its proxy statement, claims that
conducting the investigation would be illegal under Section 3.(1) of the
Myanmar Official Secrets Act . This law  "makes it illegal for any person,
for purposes prejudicial to the safety or interests of the State to obtain,
publish or communicate to any other person information which might be
directly or indirectly useful to an enemy."

Unocal's stance drew a strong response from the OCAW, the labor union which
assisted one of its retired members in crafting the resolution. "One would
think if your business partner was accused of being a conduit for drug
money in a country which is the world's largest heroin producer and
provides 60% of the heroin in the US, you would want to look into it," said
Joe Drexler, OCAW Special Projects Director, whose union represents some
40,000 oil workers in the US. "Unocal should get it straight--Burma's junta
is the enemy, not their workers, shareholders, or the communities across
the US who are affected by a rise in heroin use," he added.

According to Robert S. Gelbard, US asst. Secretary of State for
International Narcotics, "Drug traffickers and their families are among the
leading backers of high-profile infrastructure projects in Burma. They
launder their money with impunity in banks controlled by the military." A
1996 US Embassy, Rangoon report, says  "The lack of vigorous enforcement
effort against money laundering leaves Burma vulnerable to the growing
influence of traffickers who will use drug proceeds in legitimate business
ventures."

"Unocal's letter implies that it's a crime under SLORC's Draconian laws to
conduct an internal investigation of any company knowledge of MOGE's drug
money laundering. Is this the dirty secret they don't want uncovered?" said
Pamela Wellner of the Free Burma campaign.

"The resolution calls for an investigation of an allegation. If it's
unfounded, Unocal has had ample opportunity to provide evidence. But they
have done nothing, which only gives the allegation more credibility," said
Larry Dohrs of the Seattle Campaign for a Free Burma.

Unocal is the target of widespread criticism due to its investment in the
controversial Burma pipeline which is linked to forced labor and other
human right abuses. The OCAW and the AFL-CIO have joined university
students and others in pressuring Unocal to end its Burma project. The New
York Times  has called "Unocal the shameful exception," in reference to
other companies such as PepsiCo, who have withdrawn their Burma operations.
Last week the Executive Council of the 12.9 million member AFL-CIO passed a
resolution calling on the Clinton Administration to invoke economic
sanctions on the SLORC regime.