[Intl-tobacco] BURMA CRACKDOWN - BAT MUST GET OUT NOW

[Robert Weissman]

Media Release From Burma Campaign UK 9 June 2003BURMA CRACKDOWN - BAT
MUST GET OUT NOW

CRITICISM GROWS OVER JOINT VENTURE FACTORY WITH BURMA'S DICTATORSHIP

British American Tobacco (BAT) today faced renewed calls to pull out of
Burma following a brutal crackdown on Burma's democracy movement.  Last
Friday the regime's thugs attacked a convoy carrying Aung San Suu Kyi
and her supporters and attempted to kill her. As many as sixty people
were killed and many more injured. The regime has arrested Aung San Suu
Kyi and is refusing to reveal her whereabouts. It is reported she was
seriously wounded in the attack.

The Burma Campaign UK, Friends of the Earth, Christian Solidarity
Worldwide, members of parliament, and members of the Burmese community
in London demanded BAT close its factory in Burma, which is a joint
venture with the military dictatorship.

"We cannot continue to have a situation where one of the largest
companies in Britain is funding a dictatorship that is massacring its
own population" said John Jackson, Director of the Burma Campaign UK.
"BAT might not be pulling the trigger, but they helped pay for
it.""BAT's cosy relationship with Burma's dictatorship shows its claim
to be a socially responsible company is a total farce," said Craig
Bennett, Friends of the Earth's Corporate Campaigner. "Their behaviour
demonstrates why Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt must now
change company law to ensure that UK PLC does not collude with dictators
and put profit before people and the environment."

"If there was ever an excuse that economic engagement with this
monstrous regime could influence it for the better, it is now finished,"
said Vera Baird MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Burma.
"BAT have been in Burma for four years and last Friday the junta showed
that it is more brutal and repressive than ever.  Ultimately the regime
is grateful for the operations of companies such as BAT."Mervyn Thomas,
Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said: "The Burmese
regime's latest attack on the internationally-respected Aung San Suu Kyi
shows how little regard they have for the rule of law and democracy.

"Companies such as British American Tobacco fund a regime which believes
it can act with impunity. We join The Burma Campaign UK in calling on
them to pull out of Burma as soon as possible," he continued.

"I do not understand how BAT can be allowed to do this," said U Uttara,
an exiled Burmese Buddhist monk. "My people are dying because companies
like BAT help keep the dictatorship in power."

BAT refuses to admit how much money it gives to Burma's military
dictatorship, but the Burma Campaign UK estimates BAT has paid the
generals $16m in taxes alone since 1999.

For more information contact:

The Burma Campaign UK:
John Jackson, Director of the Burma Campaign UK on 020 7281 7377, mobile
07961 357 391, or Mark Farmaner, Media Officer, on 020 7281 7377, mobile
07941 239 640.

Friends of the Earth:
Craig Bennett, 0207 490 1555

Christian Solidarity Worldwide:
Richard Chilvers, Communications Manager, CSW 020 8329 0045
richard.chilvers@csw.org.uk or visit: http://www.csw.org.uk


NOTES TO EDITORS:

BURMA CRACKDOWN  - WHAT REALLY HAPPENED ON FRIDAY 30TH MAY?Evidence
compiled by the Burma Campaign UK from reliable sources shows Burma's
dictatorship is covering up a state-sponsored massacre.There were no
'clashes', what happened on May 30th was a pre-meditated attack. The US
state department has described it as an ambush. The British Foreign
Office support this assertion. The attack was carried out by a
pro-government militia. The Union Solidarity Development Association
(USDA) was set up by the dictatorship. Its patron is Than Shwe, the
dictator of Burma. It is used across Burma to intimidate the population.
This is not the first time USDA members have attacked Aung San Suu Kyi.
They have subjected her to regular intimidation since her release from
house arrest last year.
Many more than four people were killed. Eyewitness reports indicate the
figure is more likely to be between 60 and 100. The number injured is
many more than this. US embassy officials in Burma who visited the scene
found evidence of a large-scale attack. The attack was co-ordinated by
the dictatorship as part of a crackdown on the democracy movement. In
the past week the dictatorship has taken draconian steps against the
democracy movement. All the senior leaders of the National League for
Democracy (NLD) are under arrest. Amnesty International has evidence of
over 100 arrests and reports from inside Burma indicate the figure could
be much higher. All NLD offices have been closed, as have universities
and colleges.As thugs wielding bamboo stakes and iron bars charged at
Aung San Suu Kyi her life was saved by students placing their bodies in
front of her. One eyewitness said: "We did our best to protect Daw Suu.
In twos and threes we joined hands and stepped up to protect and replace
the fallen...the ground was awash with blood." Aung San Suu Kyi has been
seriously injured. Eyewitness reports agree that Aung San Suu Kyi
received a serious headwound in the attack. Aung San Suu Kyi is not in
protective custody, she is under arrest. If she is in protective custody
there is no reason why diplomats and the Red Cross are not allowed to
see her. Clearly they are no threat to her. The headwound could be one
reason why she is still being held by the military, rather than returned
to house arrest. The headwound was received when a brick or rock smashed
a window of her car. Some reports also say she was beaten by thugs with
bamboo stakes. Eyewitnesses say the attackers stripped women and beat
them, forcing them to flee naked into the jungle. Bloody clothing found
at the scene by US officials appears to corroborate this account. An
eyewitness has reported that the bodies of the dead were burnt by
soldiers in an attempt to hide evidence of the massacre. Horrifically,
the injured were also piled with the dead and burnt alive. Tin Oo, Aung
San Suu Kyi's 75 year old deputy, was reportedly shot and beaten in the
attack. He was last seen being dragged away by military police. In an
attempt to stop news about the attack reaching the outside world,
telephone lines to the area of the attack were cut. The telephones of
many NLD activists have also been cut. Hundreds of democracy activists
have been forced to go into hiding. In other parts of Burma it is
business as usual for the dictatorship. Attempts at ethnic cleansing of
ethnic minorities continues, as does the use of rape as a weapon of war,
and widespread use of forced labour, torture and intimidation. For more
information contact Mark Farmaner, Media Officer, on 0207 281 7377
mobile 0794 123 9640, or John Jackson, Director of the Burma Campaign
UK, on 0207 281 7377, mobile 07961 357 391.--
Mark Farmaner
Media and Campaigns Officer
Burma Campaign UK
Bickerton House
25/27 Bickerton Road
London
N19 5JT

Mobile: 0794 123 9640
Tel: 00 44 (0)207 281 7377
Fax: 00 44 (0)207 272 3559
E-mail mark.farmaner@burmacampaign.org.uk
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