SAN FRANCISCO: San Francisco, Oakland and Alameda counties are stepping up efforts to shun those US. Companies who do business with Burma which critics charge is the most notorious violator of human rights.
State Departments’ human rights office and Amnesty International have accused Burmese military government in the past massacring prodemocracy demonstrators, jailing thousands of dissidents, discriminating against minorities and drug trafficking.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Have backed a proposal to bar city contracts with companies doing business, having employees or invest ments in Burma also known as Myanmar, More daring steps by Oakland will withdraw city funds from. Financial institutions linked to Burma. Similar boycotts are also intended by Alameda County.
The first Burma resolutions were passed last year in Berkeley, Santa Monica and Madison, Wisconsin, Chicago, New York and Seattle will follow soon with similar measures.
Some companies like Eddie Bauer, Levi Strauss etc. have already’ with: drawn from Burma, some companies like Unocal, Pepsi, and United Parcel Service are not budging.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 22, 1996