WASHINGTON -- A Los Angeles judge Thursday granted a request
by Unocal to ask the State Department to intervene in a lawsuit by Myanmar
villagers who allege that the Myanmar military protecting a Unocal pipeline
project dragooned villagers into slave labor, attorneys said.
The Unocal
request comes on the heels of a State Department letter urging dismissal of a
similar lawsuit involving an Exxon Mobil project in Indonesia.
The
government said letting that case go to trial would harm the national interest,
including the war on terrorism, and efforts to improve the Indonesian military's
record of human rights abuses.
The suit against Exxon Mobil is on behalf
of 11 Indonesian villagers who claim that Indonesian government troops
protecting an Exxon plant conducted torture, rape, kidnappings and
murder.
Human rights advocates blasted the State Department's letter as a
sellout of human rights in the name of the global war on terrorism and warned
that it would set a dangerous precedent in other litigation. The California
decision suggests that such a precedent has been set, and opens the possibility
that other companies being sued for alleged overseas abuses also may seek
support from the State Department.
In court papers, Unocal argued that
the cases are similar in their efforts to hold U.S. corporations accountable for
misdeeds of foreign militaries in foreign lands.
"As in Exxon Mobil, the
litigation seeks to penalize an American company for investing in a country with
a record of human rights abuses," Unocal said. "It could have a chilling effect
on investment and efforts to induce the host country to improve human
rights."
In 1997, when Unocal was being sued in federal court over the
same issues, the company also requested a State Department opinion. Noting that
evidence was limited because the case had just begun, the government issued a
letter, saying, "The adjudication of the claims based on allegations of torture
and slavery would not prejudice or impede the conduct of U.S. foreign relations
with the current government" of Myanmar.
"I would be very surprised if
the State Department would take a position contrary to what it did" in the 1997
Unocal case, said Paul Hoffman, a Los Angeles lawyer representing some of the
Myanmar plaintiffs in the Unocal case.
"There's just no basis for the
State Department to say that a judgment against Unocal in this case would
undermine U.S. foreign policy in any way," Hoffman said.
Unocal succeeded
in having that case dismissed in 2000, after Judge Ronald Lew found no evidence
that Unocal sought to employ forced or slave labor and that it had expressed
concern about the practice.
Unocal now is being sued in state court, with
the issues revolving around whether a California corporation can be sued over
acts of a foreign government.
Like Exxon Mobil, Unocal does not confirm
or deny that violations took place at the hands of foreign militaries, but says
the company did nothing wrong. "Unocal was simply an investor along with three
others in the project," spokesman Barry Lane said.
Once it receives the
court's request, the State Department has 30 days to issue a letter. As in the
Exxon case, the court is not bound to follow the government's
position.
Judge Victoria Gerrard Chaney also moved the Unocal trial from
Sept. 26 to Feb. 4.
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Bangkok Post - Saturday 10
August 2002
Closure sparks increase in cattle
smuggling
Paiboon Jongcharoen
Up to 9,000 head of cattle per month have been smuggled into
the country through one checkpoint alone since Burma closed the common border in
May, said a source close to customs authorities.
Cattle were also
reportedly being smuggled through more than 40 other border
passages.
``Not all the cattle originate from Burma,'' he said. ``Several
are from as far afield as Bangladesh.''
The source said many smugglers
possessed official documents, which may have been issued by either an assistant
district chief, or a livestock official.
``If anyone cares to examine
this, they'll find the documents issued by authorities do not tally to the
number of registered cattle in the province,'' he said. ``Thousands of head are
moved each month.''
Cattle traders have long resorted to smuggling to
avoid import taxes and quarantine regulations.
The profit margin on
smuggled cattle was up to 1,500 baht per head, compared to 600 baht per head for
legitimately imported cattle.
Aside from the losses in tax revenue,
cattle smuggling threatened to expose the country to diseases such as anthrax,
or foot and mouth, the source said.
A plant manufacturing meat balls in
Pathum Thani was allegedly heavily involved in the smuggling of
cattle.
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Bangkok Post
Terror came at night
PHIL
THORNTON
August 9, 2002
One minute they were
sleeping peacefully. Moments later, Burmese soldiers had slaughtered seven of
their children.
In its latest efforts to convince the international
community that it is ready to embrace political change, the Burmese military
dictatorship has released democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. United Nations
special envoy, Razali Ismail is due in Rangoon this week to discuss human rights
issues and economic sanctions with Burma's military.
At the Asean meeting
in Brunei, member nations included the regime's human rights record for
discussion and the US slammed the Burmese army for the systematic rape of ethnic
women. Evidence of atrocities committed by the Burmese army against Karen
villagers along the Thai- Burma border shows the killings are still happening.
Phil Thornton talked to survivors on the Thai-Burma border of a recent mass
killing that took place on 29 April 2002.
They came creeping through the
night spreading terror and death to the villagers of Htee Law Bler. Their
movements, silent and precise as they worked their way up the jungle
slope.
Their target _ two bamboo huts hiding a group of villagers who had
disobeyed relocation orders to move to a piece of barren land at Lay Wah Kha.
Inside the huts women and children lay together, some had babies at
breast. Lack of room had forced the men to sleep outside under the trees. Wisps
of white smoke still curled around a blackened rice pot sitting next to the
remains of a fire.
It was silent except for a child coughing and the
rustle of leaves as the heavily armed soldiers prepared to storm the huts. As
they unslung and armed their automatic weapons, mortars and rocket propelled
grenades, the soldiers got in position and waited for their commanding officer
to give the orders to shoot.
Naw Heh Hser was asleep when the shooting
woke her. ``I panicked and ran. Bullets and splinters [shrapnel] were flying
everywhere. I couldn't think. I was outside and running when I remembered my
children,'' she recalls in a talk with the reporter.
In spite of being
eight-months pregnant and getting hit in the face Naw Heh Hser ran back inside
the burning hut to search for her five children.
``I could only find
three. I didn't know where the others were,'' she says. What Naw Heh Hser did
not know at the time was that her eldest daughter, 12, her second youngest, 5,
and her mother and father were slaughtered in the first barrage of bullets and
shells.
Naw Heh Hser's children were not the only ones to die that
night. When the soldiers led from 88 Division had left the survivors crept back
out of the jungle to search for their missing grandparents, mothers, fathers,
sisters and brothers.
The soldiers, using mortar, grenades and automatic
assault weapons, had killed seven children and four adults and wounded another
nine people. Farmer Saw Kho Noc had three of his five children killed and his
eight-month pregnant wife, Naw Dalare _ also known as Pele.
Tears spill
from his eyes as he recounted how he tried to help his wife:
``Pele
could have been saved. She was shot in the chest and thigh. I made a stretcher
for her and with help from my neighbours we set out for the clinic at Mitan.''
A desperate Kho Noc says that as there was no medicine or medical help
in the village the daylong trip was the only option.
While other
villagers looked after his surviving children Kho Noc and friends carried the
badly bleeding Pele in a bamboo and plastic sheeted stretcher.
To get to
the nearest medical help the men had to cross a number of flooded streams and
slippery mud tracks. ``We had been walking for nearly six hours when an army
patrol stopped us and sent us back to our village.
``We wasted a day.
Pele was in a lot of pain. We had no drugs, nothing we could give her.''
On hearing that a local medic was going to the nearest large town Kho
Noc gave him his life savings (20,000 kyat about 800 baht) to buy medicine. But
the medic did not return for four days and by then it was too late.
``Pele died giving birth to our baby. I don't know what their reasons
were for shooting her. We're just poor people.''
Kho Noc says his
surviving children, Kar Kur, 12, and Dih Klee, 8, dream about their mother.
``They really miss her. I miss her.''
His daughter Kar Kur, 12, was also
shot. A bullet smashed her right arm breaking the bone. She cradles it,
protectively in its bamboo shield. As her mind slips back to the night of
screams, bullets, pain and the slow death of her mother she cries.
``We
ran away when the shooting started. All the people were crying and screaming. I
got knocked over by a big bang and my face filled with dust and stones when I
fell.''
The villagers of Htit Law Bler do not understand why the Burmese
soldiers came killing. Genocide is a term that should not be used lightly, but
if applied to these murders it fits the definition laid down by the
International Criminal Court.
The European Union, the US and many
international human rights agencies have slammed Burma's military dictatorship
for using forced labour; torturing its citizens, killings and jailing political
opponents.
The regime is at war with its own people. It uses its vast
army to force ethnic people out of their villages and into relocation camps
where they can be used as forced labour to build railways, airports, hotels and
factories. Many die from torture, exhaustion or landmine injuries.
Many
villagers escape from relocation camps to avoid being used as forced labour.
Homeless, broke and hungry they make their way, avoiding soldiers and land
mines, to the borders of India and Thailand where they hope to find safety.
The general secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU), Padu Mahnsha,
said that at the same time as talks between Aung Suu Kyi and the regime are
going on in Rangoon ethnic villagers are being slaughtered and used as slaves by
the military. ``These killings are used by the regime to terrorise our people
and force them off their land,'' he says.
According to Mahnsha, if the
``talks'' were serious and if they are to achieve peace in Burma they will have
to include ethnic groups.
``These talks are nothing more than a sham. We
will only take them seriously when they stop the killings.'' After he buried
Pele, Koh Noc took his two surviving children and joined a large group of
internally displaced people planning to cross the border into
Thailand.
From April to June this year 1,273 Karen refugees have fled
from this small Burmese region to Noe Poh refugee camp in Thailand. To do so
they have had to trek across tough country: crossing flooded rivers, avoiding
mine fields and soldiers.
Kho Noc says even though the trek was hard it
has been worth it. ``Back in the jungle we had a lot of trouble just living _ no
medicine, no food and no shelter. Everybody caught malaria. Children had
typhoid.''
Naw Heh Hser has mixed feelings about leaving her jungle
hideout.
``I'm happy my children can go to school here, but my memories
are back in the jungle. My children and my parents are buried there.
She
adds, ``But I have to be strong for my new baby.''
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The Nation
EDITORIAL I:
Patch up ties but clarify difference
Published on Aug 10, 2002
Like it or not, things appear to be moving in the right direction
for the generals in Rangoon. And for better or for worse, it's also music to the
ears of the Thaksin administration which is bent on improving bilateral ties
with the neighbouring country - apparently at all costs.
First, it was the Asean Ministerial Meeting where Burmese
Foreign Minister Win Aung came out nearly scot-free, without undergoing the
wrath of traditional critics like the United States and the European Union over
the regime's treatment of its own citizens. Then there was the meeting between
the Thai and Burmese foreign ministers off to the side of the annual meeting. It
was the highest level meeting between the two nations since the May 20 border
clashes that brought bilateral ties to their lowest ebb in recent years.
Afterwards, there was the announcement that Army chief
General Surayud Chulanont - a man who has been credited with enhancing the armed
forces' international and domestic standing - would be kicked upstairs to the
ceremonial post of Supreme Commander. This move was deemed by many as a way to
open a path to improve relations with the Burmese junta because of Surayud's
firmness in handling the border troubles.
Incidentally, the announcement of Surayud's removal came
just days before Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai's fence-mending trip to
Rangoon - which has supposedly put bilateral relations back on track.
Moreover, news about the upcoming dialogue between Burmese
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the ruling junta, together with the
release of more Burmese political prisoners, was deemed as a positive
development.
And last but not least, the Thai and Burmese Cabinets are
planning to have an informal lunch gathering at a border town to show
solidarity.
But while the positive developments in Burma should be
welcome, Thailand and the international community cannot afford to be
complacent. They need to understand that this is just the beginning and that
real change in Burma is still nowhere in sight. Ffundamental problems between
the two countries - drugs, insurgencies, refugees and overlapping claims - have
yet to disappear.
Surely Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra understands that
it will take much more than putting on a big luncheon with the Burmese Cabinet
to improve the lives of the Burmese people. Because no matter how one looks at
it, the gathering will come across as an event that will only serve the
interests of a small group of people. And at the end of the day, only the
stomachs of those present at the table will be filled, not those of the Burmese
public who have too long been denied the rights that many of us take for
granted.
Sad to say, Thailand is on the verge of losing its moral
authority if it does not change course over its Burmese policy. Thaksin doesn't
seem to be aware that the reputation of the entire Kingdom is at stake with his
determination to help polish the tarnished image of a regime that came to power
by gunning down thousands of students and pro-democracy demonstrators.
About 1,500 political prisoners are still locked up behind
bars in Burma and the junta continues to court some of the world's most
notorious drug dealers, some of whom have been flooding Thailand with illicit
drugs for decades.
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VOA News
Asia Pacific Analysts Express
Concern Over Thai-Burma Agreements
Ron
Corben
Bangkok
9 Aug 2002 14:19 UTC
Thailand's government says border tensions with Burma have
been resolved after Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai visited Rangoon this
week. But analysts remain concerned the agreement may be short-lived and say few
details have been released to the Thai public. Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart
Sathirathai says the two countries will be working together on such areas as
drug smuggling, illegal immigrants and economic development.
Relations between Burma and Thailand have been tense for
more than two months. The dispute started with a Thai military crackdown on
illegal drugs smuggled into Thailand from Burma.
Bangkok blames the United Wa State Army, an ethnic
minority force in Burma, for the flood of illegal drugs into Thailand. The Wa
are linked to the Burmese government. Rangoon, however, accuses Bangkok of
backing ethnic Shan rebels, who have long fought the Burmese army along the
border.
To ease the tensions, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
shifted a top Thai general to a lesser post.
Thai political analysts and some opposition politicians
worry that warmer relations may have a cost to Thailand.
Aung Zaw is the editor of the Burmese opposition
newspaper, Irrawaddy. He says there are fears that the Thai army will take a
tougher stance with the 100,000 refugees from Burma. Aung Zaw fears Thailand has
paid a high price to end to the tensions.
"I think Thailand has been sold out to Burma because
whenever there are conflicts between the two countries Thailand always has to go
and bow, has to give in, has to go to Burma to strike a deal," he said.
He says there also are fears that a special anti-drug task
force Thailand, set up with support from United States, may be downgraded.
Somchai Homlaor is the spokesman for human rights group
Forum Asia which is critical of Prime Minister Thaksin's dealings with Burma's
military government - known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).
"We think the government of Thailand should be more
transparent in dealing with the SPDC leaders and we need the participation of
the people of Thailand in that decision-making," he said.
Forum Asia, along with other rights groups, is calling on
the Thai government to release more details about its agreement with Burma.
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Indian DIG : Burmese Junta provide
Arsenal to the militants in North-East India
By Surajit
Kund
August 9, 2002, Mizzima
News
Guwahati: Indian high-ranking officers said
yesterday that Burmese military regime is providing arms and ammunitions to the
militants in North-East India.
"We have come to know the fact following
the arrest of 20 United National Liberation Front (UNLF) militants from the
Indo-Burma border. They confessed that The Burmese Junta has been providing arms
to the militant groups from Laos from the international agencies," said the
Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Border Security Force (BSF), Mr. PK Mishra, to
the reporters in Manipur. Mr. Mishra further alleged that the three neighboring
countries - Burma, Bangladesh and China - have been providing arsenal to the
militant groups through some agencies. All the three countries have consistently
denied the allegation.
Burmese military regime is using a double-standard
policy with the militants and Indian government. Burmese Junta joined India in
1998 at the "Golden Bird Operation" in which many North East militants were
killed or arrested by Indian security forces.
Mr. Mrshra also said that
Burmese Junta has signed agreement with the militant outfits with the North-East
India to provide arms and ammunitions.
However, in recent visit to India
in July this year, Burma's deputy Home Minister Thura Myint Maung had assured
India of extending Burma's full help in containing the militancy problem in the
region.
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Shan Herald Agency for News
No: 08
- 04:
10 August 2002
Karenni warns Japan: Abuses go hand in hand
with assistance
The Karenni National Progress Party, one
of the three main groups fighting against Rangoon, has today cautioned Japan to
consider human rights issues before granting "humanitarian assistance" to
Rangoon.
"Before any assistance is given, we trust that the Japanese
government will look closely at all aspects of the forced labor and human rights
issues," counsels the letter written to Mr. Suto Nobuhiko, Director, Committee
on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives.
It recalls that during the
construction the Lawpita power plant in the Karenni State, also known as Kayah,
by Japan, some 36 villagers were forced to move with no compensation and
farmlands were confiscated by the authorities. "Whenever the Burmese authorities
implement a project like these, locals will be forced to move or forced to work
on them," says the message, pointing out that when the Mawchi mines, also in
Karenni, were opened, some 80 villagers were forcibly relocated.
In the
case of the Lawpita power plant, it argues that all villagers living close to
the power lines supplying electricity to Rangoon and Mandalay will be forced to
act as guards. "This will be an extremely dangerous job, as over 10,000
land-mines are laid within 20 miles of the power plant," it says.
Since
last year, reports have been circulating that Japan is considering a grant of
3.5 billion Yen for the repair of the Baluchaung Hydroelectric Power Station # 2
in Lawpita that was built 4 decades ago.
With regards to the NLD
spokesman U Lwin's three conditions for extending aid to Burma: Transparency,
Accountability and Monitoring, a senior member of the border-based Shan Women's
Action Network has commented that the stated terms fell short of the mark. "He
must have forgotten the main prerequisite: the consent of the local populace",
she says.
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