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Legislators urged to punish compani



Subject: Legislators urged to punish companies doing business in Burma

Legislators urged to punish companies doing business in Burma
Maxine Bernstein, The Hartford Courant, 25 March 97, pA10

Republican state Rep. Ronald San Angelo's constituents in Naugatuck would
probably be surprised to lea rnthat their representative was deep into a
debate Monday about, of all things, Burma, rather than property tax relief
or the state income tax.

Even San Angelo was a bit perplexed.

"To be totally honest with you, I don't know a heck of a lot about Burma,"
San Angelo said during a legislative hearing on a topic that took lawmakers
far beyond the state's borders.

The documentation of human rights abuses, forced labor and the production
of heroin under Burma's repressive military regime has prompted some
lawmakers to propose a bill that would bar the state from buying goods or
services from companies that do business in Burma. Their statements stood
in stark contrast to the dry testimony of state government employees who
commented on the governor's data processing privatization plan at the same
hearing.

"You make us appreciate the freedom that we have in this country," state
Rep. Susan Byslewicz, D-Middletown, told one of the Burmese speakers.

Supporters of the Burma bill say that foreign investment in Burma supports
the brutal military regime in power there. They contend that the bill would
send a message to the military junta that its repressive policies are
unacceptable.

But opponents, from the president of United Technologies Corp. to
international trade investment officials, criticize the measure as a
"feel-good" gimmick that could discourage companies from relocating to the
state. Bill critics, largely free-trade advocates, say the state should not
play a role in foreign policy.  "If the United States is going to do
something, it should come from Washington," said Joseph F. Brennan, vice
president of legislative affairs for the Connecticut Business and Industry
Association.

"There are human rights violations elsewhere," he said. "Does that mean
there will be similar proposals for China, Indonesia and Northern Ireland?
Where do you draw the line? Foreign policy gets just a little dicey when
you get individual states passing these laws."

San Angelo agrees. "Somehow, I don't think we're foreign affairs advisers
here on the [government administration and elections] committee," he said.

State Rep. Jessie G. Stratton, D-Canton, introduced the bill, and 12
Democrats and one Republican are co-sponsors. If it becomes law,
Connecticut would become the second state in the nation to pass sanctions
against Burma. Massachusetts adoped a similar bill last year.

At a bill-signing ceremony in June, Massachusetts Gov. William F. Weld
estimated the Burma restrictions would affect more than $1 million in state
contracts. Connecticut state officials said they did not have a listing of
companies with business ties to Burma.

"One law passed by one state will not end the suffering and oppression of
the people of Burma," Weld, a Republican, said, "but it is my hope that
other states and the Congress will follow our example, and make a stand for
the cause of freedom and democracy around the world."

Bill proponents argue that state actions do have an impact on companies.
Several major companies, such as Apple Computer, Motorola and
Hewlett-Packard, have cited the Massachusetts law in pullling out of Burma.
Backers of the bill also point to pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi,
a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner, who has called for stiff sanctions against
her country's government.

"Political momentum at the grass-roots level builds for action at the
federal level," said Simon Billenness, an analyst with the Boston-based
Franklin Research & Development Corp. who spearheaded the push for the
Massachusetts bill and was in Connecticut Monday.

Bo Hla-Tint, who was elected to Burma's Parliament in 1990, but has not
served because the military refused to recognize the election results, told
lawmakers that foreign investment only strengthens the military regime.

"Investing in Burma today will only prolong military rule," Hla-Tint said.

Some international trade and investment officials disagree. UTC President
George David led a delegation of US companies to Southeast Asia this month
and criticized economic actions that would isolate Burma.

"We feel that the policy of engagement is a better way to produce change.
We're better off having engagement, participation and investments," David
said. David heads the US-ASEAN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Business Council, which is expected to accept Burma as a member this year.
UTC has no holdings in Burma.

"What this does is diminish the state's effort to attract new companies to
Connecticut," said Todd M. Malan, executive director of the Organization
for International Investment.

Gov. John G. Rowland and the state Department of Economic and Community
Development have not taken a position on the bill.

Several other Connecticut companies oppose the measure. Bruce Talley,
director of government affairs for ABB Corp., a Swiss engineering company
with offices in Norwalk, is worred about the proliferation of state and
local purchasing laws.

"A lot of these things are done for domestic political consumption," Talley
said. "It's a nice 'feel-good' step, but their ability to affect the
problem in the country where there is a human rights problem is next to nil."