NEWS - COSATU AGAINST BURMESE TRADE

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Subject: NEWS - COSATU AGAINST BURMESE TRADE PARTICIPATION 

COSATU AGAINST BURMESE TRADE PARTICIPATION 
JOHANNESBURG October 20 1999 Sapa

    Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi is expected to join a
picket on Wednesday in protest against the participation of the
    Myanmar delegation currently attending the South African
International Trade Exhibition (Saitex) at Nasrec in Johannesburg. 

    The picket was scheduled to begin at 12pm outside Nasrec's
exhibition venue in protest against the Myanmar regime, described by
    the Congress of SA Trade Unions as "the Burmese military junta". 

    Cosatu on Tuesday expressed its disapproval of Myanmar's
participation at the exhibition and called on the South African
    government to cut ties with the "guillotine regime". 

    In a statement the organisation said it was shocked to learn that
"representatives of the Burma military junta" were participating in
    Saitex. 

    "The Burmese military junta forcibly overthrew a democratically
elected government after the country's democratic elections in May
    1990. Since then, the Gestapo has inflicted untold misery on the
people of Burma," Cosatu said. 

    The regime's ill-treatment of its citizens, according to Cosatu,
included forced slave labour, child labour, arrests of political
activists,
    extra-judicial killings and the banning of all political and labour
organisations. 

    Cosatu said it was "disturbed' by exhibition director Johan Theron's
remarks which were "driven by commercial interests". 

    Theron reportedly said: "We are pleased to have attracted Myanmar
(the name the military gave Burma after the overthrow of the
    democratically elected government in 1990). This is a breakthrough,
a link up from Africa to a potentially lucrative developing country
    that until now has been a closed book to us." 

    Cosatu called for the expulsion of the Burmese representatives from
the exhibition and the condemnation of the military's "cruel
    deeds against the people of Burma". 


source: gopher://gopher.anc.org.za/00/anc/newsbrief/1999/news1021 
processed Thu 21 Oct 1999 09:33 SAST.