Julie Jones     Goons in Rangoon On August 8, 1988, 200,000 people gathered in Rangoon to participate in a non-violent demonstration, organized by students against the oppressive military regime, SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council). Surrounded by troops all day, speakers expressed the need for democracy. At midnight, the troops opened fire on the crowd without warning. They shot hundreds, killing anyone within range, including monks. The resulting riots lasted several days. When the crowds were finally silenced by the military almost 10,000 were dead -- four times the number killed in Tiennamen Square. Burma has had a turbulent political history since it declared independence from the United Kingdom on January 4th, 1948. After a brief period of parliamentary democracy, a military coup in 1962 led by General Ne Win wrested control. In 1988 the world was uninformed of the uprisings and self-imposed rule of SLORC due to the economic and social isolation imparted on Burma by the previous regime. So when the citizens rose up in 1988 to ask for democracy the world took no notice. After abolishing the constitution on September 18, 1988, and forcibly renaming the country Myanmar, SLORC began to severely curtail the rights of freedom of expression and assembly, and continues to subject citizens to arbitrary arrest and forced labor. Citizens are forbidden to publicly criticize the military or to gather openly in groups of more than five. They live under martial law that allows for up to five years of detention without a charge or trial. SLORC currently retains thousands of political prisoners. SLORC recently abandoned isolationist policy and opened Burma (as opponents to SLORC refer to the nation) to investments from foreign corporations. Economically the country grew and in 1990, SLORC allowed the first elections in three years, believing the people would support them. SLORC was wrong -- the National League of Democracy and its leader Aung San Suu Kyi won by a landslide: 392 of the 485 seats. Frightened and surprised by the results, SLORC ignored the democratic victory and placed Suu Kyi under house arrest. She was kept a prisoner by the military regime for six years. During this time she was not allowed to see or speak with her husband or her children. Her aides and supporters, especially members of the NLD, were either tortured, killed, imprisoned, or forced to leave the country. She was finally allowed to leave the house under surveillance in July 1995, but has not been allowed to rejoin her political party. Her release appears more a public relations maneuver than a genuine step towards respecting human rights. SLORC achieves its political legitimacy and maintains its financial independence through partnerships with foreign companies. Aung San Suu Kyi declares, "Until we have a system that guarantees rule of law and basic democratic institutions, no amount of aid or investment will benefit our people." Today Suu Kyi pleas for Washington's help to economically starve the Burmese government. All investments in Burma are regulated by SLORC. The presence of foreign companies in Burma, such as Unocal, ARCO, and Wal-Mart, serve only to endorse SLORC's campaign of terror. The money they receive from foreign sources is poured straight back into the military while the rest of the country collapses. Levi's declared after pulling out of Burma, "It is not possible to do business in Burma without directly supporting the military government and its pervasive violations of human rights." The military supplies their investors with cheap labor and limited environmental regulations. The oil industry is the prime example of how economic investment increases human and environmental abuses rather than curb them in Burma. In order to transport gas being drilled for in the Gulf of Martaban, they are building a pipeline through southern Burma to Thailand. A consortium of UNOCAL, Mitsui of Japan, and Total have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SLORC to be the joint venture partner in the "Three-in-One" project. For the citizens of Burma, the pipeline means only more hardship as the number of human rights abuses in construction areas of Burma increase. The army frequently seizes citizens as forced laborers for weeks or months at a time; they promise to pay them well but instead deny them sufficient food, rest, and basic living conditions. Laborers are often killed for "suspected" political oppression activities. If they refuse to work, they are beaten, raped, tortured, fined a year's salary by the government, or shot. The situation in Burma is atrocious and hard to imagine as we spend our daily lives in comfort and luxury at U.Va. Here we have the freedom to speak out without the fear of violent repression. As students, however, we have the unique opportunity to stand in solidarity with those in Burma who fight for such rights everyday. In answer to the demand for economic stress placed on SLORC, students around the world have taken up arms to fight with the National League of Democracy. People, especially students, across the world have organized successfully to force these companies out. Almost a year ago PepsiCo completely pulled out of Burma, thanks in great part to a Boycott Pepsi campaign lead by the Free Burma Coalition. Pepsi was shortly followed by Heineken. And just last week Texaco announced that it too is removing all of its business from Burma. This occured partly because President Clinton enacted a bill banning new US investments in Burma on April 22, 1997, which increases the threat of economic sanctions. The Free Burma Coalition was started by a student in Madison, Wisconsin. He was able to unite hundreds of student groups across the country and Canada to work together on the Pepsi boycott. Their motto is "one spider cannot tie a lion down, but if you have many it is possible." There is something you can do. Boycott companies such as UNOCAL and Wal-Mart, which markets "Made in Myanmar" clothing. To find out more about the situation in Burma check the web at http://sunsite.unc.edu/freeburma/contents.html. Get involved -- come to the next Student Environmental Action meeting, October 2 on the Lawn.

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