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Teak in Norway



To all those working on the boycott of teak from Burma (or those who would
like to start) --

Below is the latest info I have from Norway on the situation there.

Let's all gather around the trend that the Norwegians are setting and start
targeting companies in our respective countries/cities that sell, import or
distribute teak from Burma.

The Norwegians have taken the ball and have run with it, at much risk to
themselves and their organizations, as they have had threats of law suits.
This has already had an effect on the SLORC's bottom line. Let's all work
together to let the world know the horrors of the production of teak in
Burma and the income it provides to the illegal regime. The best help we
can give the Norwegian groups is to not let them do this alone. Large-scale
and dispersed actions around the world will show the Norwegian government
that they are not alone, and also show the head of the companies there that
the world is watching and supports the boycott.

Rainforest Relief is planning for a second International Teak Week of
Action for 1998. You can participate by targetting furniture stores selling
teak, yacht and boat builders or sellers, flooring companies or
distributors, and/or wood wholesalers. We have not yet picked a date for
the week(s). I was hoping to get input from all of you as to what dates
might be best (and perhaps have some special significance in Burma or to
the Burmese -- i.e., is there any kind of celebration of nature or trees,
etc. in Burma?).

Please let me know of your interest in participating and let's coordinate
actions around the world against the use of teak from Burma!

For Earth,
tim keating
718-832-6775
relief@xxxxxxx

=========================
>From: Camilla Buzzi <camilla.buzzi@xxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: Teak in Norway
>
>Hi!
>
>This is briefly the state of affairs right now when it comes to
>Burmese teak in Norway:
>
>Norwatch and the Norwegian Rainforest Foundation has conducted a quite
>succesful campaign this automn against companies selling teak from Burma.
>In the latest issue of Norwatch magazine (January 1998), 2 of the larger
>Norwegian furniture stores declare that they will stop selling Burmese teak
>(Ide Skeidar and Det Norske Møbelsenter). They said so earlier this automn
>too, so I don't really know yet what is different this time. I'll check it
>up more closely.
>
>The government, led by Mr. Bondevik (former chairperson of PD Burma), and
>the Minister of Human Rights and Development stated in December that they
>would write to every Norwegian company dealing with Burma to ask them to
>refrain from doing this. They were stopped by their own administration
>though, that didn't want to give the Ministries such detailed information
>on the ground that this is confidential for business purposes, so in the
>end, they had to write to the branch organisations instead. The issue of
>the refusal of the administration is being followed up by politicians
>though (I guess they will bring it up in Parliament if nothing happens) as
>it was also said to be a wrong interpretation of the law. The first figures
>for 1998 will come in April, so it's going to be interesting to see whether
>the figures for import/export are really going down.
>
>Arve Varleite, owner of Scansia Myanmar, a factory for the production of
>teak furniture, based in Rangoon, that Norwatch and several other Norwegian
>newspapers have written about earlier, seems to be the biggest loser in
>the Norwatch/RF campaign. He is said to be the major supplier to those 2
>furniture stores (in Norwatch, and, I believe, by the stores themselves),
>even though (if I remember well) he denies this himself. He is the best
>known among Norwegian businessmen involved in Burma and is a spokesman for
>engagement in Burma, with very much pro-SLORC/SPDC arguments. To
>politicians we have been in touch with, he has told that if Norway decides
>for a law to boycott Burma, he will ridicule it by claiming most of the
>trade will continue from third countries. I don't think he will manage to
>stop the tendency here though, and, paradoxically, he can become quite
>useful in raising the awareness here, I think, because he enables us to
>"point out" an "enemy" within Norway, so that all the "bad guys" don't
>turn out to be only foreigners.
>
>Kind regards
>Camilla
>

          __________________________________________________

          R   A   I   N   F   O   R   E   S   T        R   E   L   I   E   F

         Dedicated  to  the  Preservation  of  the  World's  Rainforests

      Rainforest Relief works to protect the world's remaining tropical
   and temperate rainforests by reducing the demand for the products
             and materials of rainforest destruction such as timber,
        plantation agricultural products such as bananas, beef, coffee,
                   chocolate, and cut flowers and mining products
                              such as gold, oil and other metals.

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                        http://www.envirolink.org/orgs/rainrelief
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