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Companies that have continued to invest in Burma include Unocal, Total, Texaco, Caterpillar, Arco, Procter and Gamble, Mitsubishi and the Swedish firm Ericsson.

IRI returns fire over Slorc condemnation

“It’s Orwellian that the Slorc regime, guilty of forced labour, torture, execution of dissidents and myriad other human rights abuses, could term as ‘terrorism’ the non-violent work aided by IRI,” President of the International Republican Institute, Lorne Cramer said after Lt-Gen. Khin Nyunt accused the United States of sponsoring state terrorism attacks against top figures in Burma’s military.

IRI is a US-based nonprofit organisation which conducts educational activities for political parties, activists and governments in over 30 countries. Resistance methods taught by IRI include listening to banned broadcasts of the Voice of America or Radio Free Asia and disseminating information on democracy and human rights.

Burma’s Asean entry linked to currency attacks

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad made a thinly veiled attack on US financier George Soros, blaming him for Southeast Asia’s currency turmoil.

As he addressed a business group in Japan,Mahathir accused a foreign financier opposed to Burma’s Asean entry of upsetting currencies to pursue his own political agenda. Soros was clearly the target.

“We feel that there is some other agenda apart from making money. As you may have noticed, Asean countries are the targets,” Mahathir was quoted as saying.“If they want to attack the British pound, by all means do so. Britain is rich. Malaysia is a poor country and it is not right for people like these to play and speculate with our currency.”

UK clothing firm cuts Burmese ties

British High Street clothes retailer Burton ordered its suppliers to stop using factories with the Burmese military, the BBC said.

The Newsnight programme, using hidden cameras, uncovered evidence that workers in factories making clothes destined for the West earned $2 a day, but had to give $1 a day back to the Burmese army.

Investments in Burma increase

According to government statistics, foreign investment in Burma’s manufacturing sector soared during the past year to more than US$1 billion.

Foreign investment in the manufacturing sector at the end of fiscal 1996-1997 totaled $1.13 billion, up from $193.5 million at the end of fiscal 1995-1996.