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U.S. To Limit Investment in Burma

In a message dated 97-04-22 01:16:26 EDT, you write:

>Subj:	U.S. To Limit Investment in Burma
>Date:	97-04-22 01:16:26 EDT
>From:	AOLNewsProfiles@xxxxxxx
>
><HTML><PRE><I>.c The Associated Press</I></PRE></HTML>
>
>      By GEORGE GEDDA
>      WASHINGTON (AP) - The State Department is expected to announce
>limitations on U.S. investments in Burma on Tuesday in response to
>persistent rights abuses by that country's military authorities, an
>administration official said Monday night.
>      The sanctions would be applied under terms of a law enacted last
>year that authorizes sanctions under certain conditions.
>      Secretary of State Madeleine Albright hinted at sanctions
>against Burma during a speech at the U.S. Naval Academy last week.
>      American entreaties have failed, she said, and the Burmese
>government has placed even greater limits on political expression
>and has thrown peaceful demonstrators in jail.
>      ``Unless the clouds of repression are lifted, they will face
>investment sanctions under U.S. law,'' she said of Burma's leaders.
>      In February, Burmese Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi
>appealed for international sanctions, saying the military
>government has arrested scores of pro-democracy supporters since
>quelling a student uprising.
>      The law, which was sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.,
>and former Sen. William Cohen, R-Me., now secretary of defense,
>authorizes the administration to apply sanctions if repression
>against Burma's pro-democracy movement persists.
>      U.S. efforts to make the pressure on Burma multilateral haven't
>worked, and the president believes taking unilateral action now not
>only fulfills the law, but might stimulate pressure by other
>countries, an administration official told The New York Times.
>      Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have warned
>against unilateral sanctions, the Times said in Tuesday's editions.
>It said the United States is the fourth-largest investor in Burma.
>The largest U.S. investor is Unocal Corp., which has a $1.2 billion
>partnership with Total of France to explore and develop natural gas
>fields off the coast. 	   
>      AP-NY-04-21-97 2309EDT