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US Probes Data on Burma Slave Labo
- Subject: US Probes Data on Burma Slave Labo
- From: moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 30 Jun 1997 14:54:00
Subject: US Probes Data on Burma Slave Labor
US Probes Data on Burma Slave
Labor
By Gene Kramer
Associated Press Writer
Friday, June 27, 1997; 11:57 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Burma's military rulers have created
a slave labor system comparable to World War II
concentration camps, human and labor rights groups
told a
U.S. Labor Department panel Friday.
``Other countries have used forced labor but not
since the
concentration camp system of Nazi Germany has a nation
instituted such an extensive system,'' said Douglas
Steel of the
International Labor Rights Fund, a private advocacy
group.
But ``unlike World War II where Americans fought
against a
slave labor system,'' Steel said, ``some Americans
are now
profiting from Burma's free-market, forced labor
economy.''
Specifically, he mentioned the Burma-Thailand
Yadana gas
pipeline project, a partnership of the two
countries' government
oil companies with two multinational companies,
U.S.-based
Unocal and Total S.A. of France.
``That's absolutely false regarding the project,''
said Barry
Lane, a Unocal spokesman in Los Angeles.
``First of all, we're not an operator of the
project; we're an
investor, but we monitor it,'' Lane said. ``There
are no
improper labor practices. All of the workers are
paid above
the going rate for the region. The State Department
has looked
into it and not found any labor violations.''
Burma's military junta -- the State Law and Order
Restoration
Council -- has also disputed the forced labor charges,
maintaining that voluntary work is party of the
country's cultural
tradition.,
Steel was several witnesses testifying Friday
before the U.S.
panel, which is gathering evidence as part of a U.N.
International Labor Organization probe of
allegations that
Burma is violating the 1930 Convention Against
Forced Labor.
The United States and other member governments have
been
asked to provide all available data on the issue
for the ILO's
ninth such formal inquiry since its founding 78
years ago, said
Andrew J. Samet, an acting deputy Labor Department
undersecretary.
Bo Hla-tint of the Washington-based group claiming
to be a
Burmese exile government said unpaid forced labor
in Burma is
widespread and carried out on a national scale to
build roads,
railways, bridges and tourist facilities.
``Whole villages are ordered to send at least one
person per
household,'' Hla-tint told the Labor Department
panel. ``The
practice is for soldiers to suddenly appear at
public places and
drag people onto military trucks ... to carry arms and
ammunition and serve as minesweepers.... The old
and the
weak, slow on the move, are beaten and shot on the
spot.''
Amnesty International has repeatedly documented Burma's
forced use of civilians as porters and for other
hazardous work,
said T. Kumar, the organization's advocacy director
for Asia
and the Pacific.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Gare A. Smith said
``credible allegations of forced labor'' in the
construction of the
pipeline, roads, railroads and hotels ``contributed
to the
decision'' by President Clinton in May to ban new U.S.
investments in Burma said
Such information also contributed to the European Union
decision to join the United States in denying
certain trade
preferences to Burma, said Smith, who co-chaired
Friday's
hearing with Samet.
The ban did not halt existing investments but after
it was
ordered, Unocal its was pulling out of m some planned
Burmese oil exploration ventures.