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The NewYork Times
June 24, 2000 PUBLIC LIVES After Defeat, Campaigner for 'Free Burma' Begins Anew By CAREY GOLDBERG
OSTON -- So sanguine is Simon Billenness that he seems not the least bit
downcast by this week's United States Supreme Court decision overturning the
Massachusetts "Burma Law," which he co-wrote.
There are, after all, so many other economic tools to use against companies that support the totalitarian regime of Myanmar, formerly Burma. And as a super-specialist in just this kind of battle, using financial pressure to fight foreign oppression, he knows all of them: divestment campaigns, consumer boycotts, shareholder resolutions, the whole gamut. Mr. Billenness enumerated them as he sat surrounded by two-foot-high stacks
of paper ("Here I am working to topple a military dictatorship, and I have
trouble finding things on my desk!" he lamented in the cheery clip of his native
Britain) and books with titles like "The Anguish of Tibet" and "Corporate Crime
and Violence."
The desk belongs to Trillium Asset Management, a Boston concern that, with
$675 million in client money, labels itself the nation's largest and oldest
independent investment firm dedicated totally to "socially responsible"
investment.
Most of Trillium's employees actually work investing money, but Mr.
Billenness, 35, a senior research analyst, has the particular luxury of spending
virtually all his time on social advocacy, like figuring out how best to support
the democracy movement in Myanmar, whose leaders are accused of torture, forced
labor and brutal repression.
To wit: With nary a pause after the Supreme Court decision, Mr. Billenness
and other members of the Free Burma Coalition, a national umbrella group, plan
to begin a push this summer to get cities and states to pass new laws penalizing
companies that do business with Myanmar, he said.
The Supreme Court's ruling against the Massachusetts law, which largely
barred the state government from doing business with companies that trade with
Myanmar, was narrow enough that it left room for states and cities to pass such
home-grown foreign policy measures, Mr. Billenness said. Provided, that is, they
are not pre-empted by federal law, as the Massachusetts measure was.
So there is room for a continued local-global campaign that is, not
coincidentally, highly reminiscent of the movement to fight South African
apartheid using economic means like divestment.
Here is the Massachusetts link: In 1993, Mr. Billenness, a freshly minted
M.B.A. from Boston College, went to watch a news conference about the end of
economic sanctions against South Africa. There he met Byron Rushing, a prominent
legislator who had written the state's law on anti-apartheid sanctions. And he
suggested that Mr. Rushing do something similar for Myanmar.
Mr. Rushing said he would need more information on the country. Mr.
Billenness provided it, including a statement by Nobel Peace Prize laureates
calling for sanctions.
Mr. Rushing eventually gave Mr. Billenness a copy of the bill he wrote on
South Africa sanctions and asked him to adapt it for Myanmar. So Mr. Billenness
went home, he said, "and typed it out word for word, except that whenever I came
to 'South Africa,' I put in 'Burma.' Then I gave it back to him on a disk, and
that's how I 'co-authored' the law on Burma."
Mr. Rushing introduced the bill in 1994, and it passed in 1996. Citing the
Massachusetts law, a number of companies pulled out of Myanmar, among them Apple
Computers and Hewlett-Packard, Mr. Billenness said.
But by 1997, a backlash began as well. There was, he said, "quite a
kerfuffle."
The European Commission formally protested, and in 1998, the National
Foreign Trade Council, a Washington-based association, brought suit. The law's
opponents said it violated international trade agreements and interfered with
the federal government's function of making foreign policy. They won in federal
court. And now again in the Supreme Court.
Why was the Myanmar law challenged, while the South Africa laws never were?
The economy has become so globalized, Mr. Billenness said, that more than ever,
"if you pass a selective purchasing law in any city in the world, it will have
import far beyond its borders."
That brought trouble for the Massachusetts law, but "it shows how we as
consumers, as investors, can use our freedom in the marketplace to effect
political and social change."
Mr. Billenness said he believed "the battle has been more important than
the result" in that the Massachusetts law helped bring talk about Myanmar to the
forefront. Seventy-eight members of Congress expressed support for the law, as
did 22 state attorneys general.
The movement is growing, as reflected in the thousands of names on his
e-mail lists, all collected over the last few years.
M R. BILLENNESS himself came to the "Free Burma" cause in
a rather researched, though by no means cold-hearted, way. A native Londoner, he
is the second son of parents who met at a Young Liberals conference and who both
remain very active in Britain's Liberal Party. He became actively Liberal
himself by the age of 14, even resuscitating a local Young Liberals chapter.
When he finished Loughborough University in 1985, he married an American --
he has since divorced -- came to the United States and began working in finance
from the ground up, as a bank teller. He quickly overcame his initial confusion
between the American dime and the nickel, he said.
He gravitated toward "socially responsible" investing (to this day, he has
a Working Assets Visa card -- "plastic with purpose" that contributes a
percentage of purchases to causes) and ultimately worked his way up to his job
as one of two employees at Trillium who devote all their time to social
advocacy. In 1992, when he was still an intern at the firm, he wrote a report on
which human rights issues most needed attention from concerned investors, and
Myanmar was one of them, along with sweatshops and China. So it began.
And so it continues. Last year, Mr. Billenness noted, Hootie & the
Blowfish, a rock band and client of Trillium Asset Management, was playing at a
San Diego concert sponsored by Suzuki, which is the target of a consumer boycott
for investing in Myanmar. Guess who provided the T-shirts that some of the band
members wore reading "Suzuki Out of Burma"?
Saturday, June 24 9:10 PM SGT
Nipah Virus Found In Southeast Asian Fruit Bat -ReportKUALA LUMPUR (AP)--A deadly virus that killed about 100 people and ruined pig farms across Malaysia last year has been discovered in a fruit bat found in most parts of Southeast Asia, news reports said Saturday.A team of scientists from Malaysia's top research institution, the University of Malaya, has isolated a strain of the Nipah virus from the Island Flying Fox, a fruit bat that roosts in palm trees in Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia, said The Sun newspaper. Lam Sai Kit, a microbiology professor, said his research team has so far discovered the virus in two of 1,000 urine specimens collected from the flying foxes. Lam could not be reached for comment. The virus, which swept through a large part of Malaysia early last year, first surfaced in a pig-farming district in Negri Sembilan state, 50 miles south of Kuala Lumpur. It killed 84 people in that area alone and infected hundreds. The virus also sickened and killed thousands of hogs. Lam warned that since the flying foxes are migratory, it is likely that the virus will spread to other countries. It is also possible that other species of bats or wildlife harbor the virus, he said. Nevertheless, Lam added that his team had not found any cases of the virus being transmitted directly from fruit bats to human beings. "There seems to be an inadequate amount and strength of the virus present in the flying foxes to enable them to infect humans directly," he was quoted as saying in the New Straits Times daily. "Perhaps the virus needs to multiply in the pig before it becomes infectious to humans," he said, noting that the virus died quickly without a host. In cases where transmission to humans does occur, however, the damage is severe. The Nipah virus is lethal to about 40% of human patients, causing severe encephalitis. The virus is transmitted from fruit bats to pigs, horses and goats when such livestock come into contact with urine from the flying foxes, or consume fruits from which the bats recently ate, Lam said. Humans, in turn, are infected through direct physical contact with semen and urine from the infected animals. To prevent its spread last year, the government ordered the destruction of about 1 million pigs in Malaysia, the region's biggest pork producer. The viral epidemic was declared over in October but in recent weeks, health authorities have once again begun culling more than 1,700 pigs in the central Perak state to prevent a recurrence. Any hog farm found with even one infected pig must destroy its entire stock. Because the virus was now found in fruit bats, Lam said it was important not to grow fruit trees near farms that kept pigs, horses and goats. Bangkok Post - June 25,
2000.
MEDIA Veteran Burmese journalist dies at 72 Ralph Bachoe Veteran Burmese journalist U Saw Chit has died of colon cancer after a
six-year illness. He was 72.
The well-respected journalist was a former production manager of the
Bangkok World during the days of its founder Darrel Berrigan, before it was
taken over by the Bangkok Post in 1970.
He has worked in the production departments of the Post, The Nation and
Business Times.
He was also the production manager of The Nation in Burma and worked with
the late U Law Yone, editor, publisher and founder of the paper.
Witty and jovial, he was well-loved and respected by his colleagues and was
the life and soul of the party.
Born in Burma, Saw Chit, or Somkid, was a Thai national and a son of Luang
Pichit, a Thai forestry official. He was also known as Danny Saw Chit.
He is survived by his wife Suree, children Marla, Zarli and Nam Phoon, and
three grandchildren.
His cremation will take place on Tuesday at Wat Cholaprathan Rangsarit, Pak
Kret, at 4.30pm.
Bangkok Post - June 25,
2000.
BORDER Troops to stop visits to Burmese casinoThirawat
Khamthita The Third Army has deployed troops at a border
pass in Chiang Saen district to stop local people from frequenting a casino in
Burma, a local police officer said yesterday. Pol Col Adul Narongsak, superintendent of Chiang Saen police, said troops
were sent yesterday at the order of Lt-Col Amornrit Lakkrot, the commander of
133rd Cavalry. Thai people are not allowed to cross the border via this border pass located
at Ban Sopruek where the Ruek River forms a natural border between Thailand and
Burma. The temporary checkpoint is open for local trading and is accessible by
Burmese and Lao people only from 6am to 6pm. Pol Col Adul said Thai people were being warned against crossing the border
to the casino known as the Golden Triangle and Paradise Resort. The casino is reportedly operated by Prasit Phothasuthon, brother of
Agriculture Minister Prapat Phothasuthorn. It has reportedly attracted a large number of customers since it opened in
October last year. Customers need 5,000 baht cash to play. The casino made headlines earlier this year following an allegation that a
floating landing built to facilitate the crossing of the Ruek River was illegal.
Concerned authorities promised action but nothing has happened. The allegations have been considered politically motivated as the casino
operator and his son have announced intentions to contest elections. Vithawas
Phothasuthon, son of Mr Prasit, recently announced he would stand in the general
election, contesting against NAP MP Samphan Lertnuwat. The NAP MP last year called for the closure of the border pass, claiming it
only benefited gamblers. The officials claim the rise is the fault of the Burmese authorities, who
have moved tens of thousands of people into the border area in a mass relocation
programme.
A Thai military spokesmen said the relocation had led to about 50 new
methamphetamine (speed) factories springing up along the border.
Military officials believe each of the factories could produce up to 100,000
tablets of the drug per day, more than three times the current production rate.
"This means that by next year they can produce more than two billion tablets
of Yaba," (speed) he added.
The army's comments came followed an inspection of Thailand's borders with
Burma and Laos, which are seen as an easy entry point for Burma-produced drugs.
The relocation which has angered the Thai authorities began in March. Burma's
semi-autonomous United Wa State Army (UWSA), with help from the government,
began relocating 50,000 people south from the Chinese border to towns in the
eastern Shan state.
Stamp out
About 100,000 people are said to have been moved so far.
At the time, Burma's military government said the mass migration was aimed at
helping to stamp out opium production by moving people away from areas where
they used to grow poppies.
But Thai officials claim the relocation programme is a thinly disguised move
to boost the drug industry by bringing the supply closer to the markets in
Thailand.
They also suggest that some Burmese ethnic groups, in particular the Wa, are
using the drugs trade to raise quick money to fund the building of new towns in
their territory. But the United States and many other Western states remain unconvinced and
have refused to fund any anti-narcotics programmes in Burma.
They have also imposed economic and political sanctions on Burma because of
its military rule, alleged human rights violations and accompanying tolerance of
the drug trade.
US drugs czar Barry McCaffrey, who has just completed a tour or the region,
praised Thailand's efforts to fight the drugs trade.
Thailand was, he said "one of the few countries with "the political will and
means" to tackle the issue.
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