Crude investment: the case of the Yadana Pipeline in Burma

Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars

Volumn 30, Issue 3, 1998, Pages 3-13

  Larsen, Jensine ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT; HUMAN RIGHTS; MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISE; NATURAL GAS;

MYANMAR;

EID: 0032422750     PISSN: 00074810     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/14672715.1998.10411049     Document Type: Article

References (99)

1. The SLORC renamed the country Myanmar in 1989. The name change is controversial, however, therefore Burma is used instead of Myanmar throughout this article.
2. Angus MacSwan, "No riches for oil firms in Burma's 'Golden Earth'," Bangkok Post, 10 December 1992.
3. The contract signed in 1995 was a sales contract. Shareholder interests in the project are as follows: Total = 31.24 percent, Unocal = 28.26 percent, PTT-EP = 25.5 percent, and MOGE = 15.0 percent. International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, "Burma, Total and Human Rights: Dissection of a Project," November 1996, p. 8.
4. US$400 million in revenue for the SLORC is the most frequently cited figure, but it is more likely between US$200 million and US$500 million. The Economist, 13 July 1996; Far Eastern Economic Review, 15 August 1996.
5. US$400 million in revenue for the SLORC is the most frequently cited figure, but it is more likely between US$200 million and US$500 million. The Economist, 13 July 1996; Far Eastern Economic Review, 15 August 1996.
6. Bangkok Post, 7 December 1996.
7. Unocal Corporation, "Unocal in Myanmar: Report to Stockholders," July 1994, p. 4.
8. About 60 percent of citizens in Burma voted in 1990. The National League for Democracy won by a landslide, capturing over 80 percent of parliamentary seats and over 90 percent of the vote.
9. Amnesty International, Amnesty International Report 1997 (London, Amnesty International, 1998), p. 238.
10. Convention Concerning Forced or Compulsory Labor, ILO no. 29, adopted 28 June 1930, 39 U.N.T.S. 55 (entered into force 1 May 1932). See article 1 (1) and article 10(1).
11. Karen Human Rights Group, "Summary of Forced Labour in Burma," 7 August 1997, p. 1.
12. As excerpted in Burma Debate for fiscal years 93/94 and 94/95. "Country Commercial Guide," July/August 1996.
13. Bertil Lintner, "The Collapse of Burma's Economy," The Nation (Bangkok), 4 August 1997.
14. Ibid.
15. John Bray, Burma: The Politics of Constructive Engagement (London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1995), p. 34.
16. Bertil Lintner, "Absolute Power," Far Eastern Economic Review, 18 January 1996, p. 25.
17. Ibid.
18. Bray, Burma: The Politics of Constructive Engagement, p. 36.
19. Mary P. Callahan, "Myanmar in 1994: New Dragon or Still Dragging?" Asian Survey 35, no. 2 (February 1995): 203.
20. UNICEF, "Children and Women in Myanmar: A Situation Analysis," 1995, p. 48. Unpublished report.
21. Ibid., p. 31.
22. Martin Smith, "Ethnic Groups in Burma," Anti-Slavery International, 1994, p. 119.
23. Richard J. Patard, U.S. Embassy, Rangoon, "Foreign Economic Trends Report: Burma," July 1996, p. 101.
24. As quoted by Michael Vatikitis, "Grim Reaping," Far Eastern Economic Review, 8 February 1996, p. 48.
25. Andrew Selth, "The Myanmar Army since 1988: Acquisitions and Adjustments," Contemporary Southeast Asia 17, no. 3 (December 1995), p. 238.
26. Ibid., p. 238
27. R. Jeffrey Smith, "Burma Road of WWII Fame Now Brings Arms from China," Washington Post, 1 June 1997.
28. Cited in International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, "Burma: SLORC's Private Slave Camp," June 1995, p. 15.
29. Edith Mirante, "Pressure on the Pipeline Plan," Eastern Express (Hong Kong), 18 May 1995.
30. At least three attacks have been documented in 1995 and 1996. Several Total employees have been killed and in at least one case the SLORC allegedly retaliated by arbitrarily arresting, torturing, and killing several people in a nearby village. International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, "Burma, Total and Human Rights," pp. 22-23; and interview with Brenda Belak from Images Asia, Human Rights Desk, in Chiangmai, Thailand.
31. David Brunnstrom, "Total's Burma Gas Venture May Cost US$1 Billion," Reuters Financial Report, Energy News, 16 October 1992.
32. Cited by Earth Rights International (ERI) and Southeast Asian Information Network (SAIN), "Total Denial," 10 July 1996, p. 13.
33. According to a spokesperson for Total, cited by International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, "Burma, Total and Human Rights," p. 16.
34. Dara O'Rourke, "Oil in Burma: Fueling Oppression," Multinational Monitor 14, no. 10 (October 1992): 8.
35. Karen National Union, "A Cry Left Unheard: An Appeal for an Independent Hearing into the Construction of a Gas Pipeline and Its Ancillary Works in Tenasserim Division, Burma," April 1995, p. 12.
36. Investor Responsibility Research Center, "Unocal Corporation Corporate Activity in Burma (Myanmar)" (Washington, D.C.: Investor Responsibility Research Center, 1994), p. 9.
37. Mon Information Service (Bangkok), "French Total Co.'s and American Unocal Corp.'s Disastrous Gas Pipeline Project in Burma's Gulf of Martaban," May 1996, p. 3.
38. International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, "Burma, Total and Human Rights," p. 25.
39. Investor Responsibility Research Center, "Unocal Corporation Corporate Activity," p. 9.
40. Yindee Lertchoenchok. "Burma Is in Need of Energy and Hope," The Nation (Bangkok), 25 December 1995.
41. Somsak Kardlap, "Myanmar Gas for Ratchburi Power Plant: The Good Impact on the Salween Dam," Bangkok Post, 17 April 1995.
42. Earth Rights International and Southeast Asian Information Network, "Total Denial," p. 14.
43. Karen Human Rights Group, "Effects of the Gas Pipeline Project," 23 May 1996, pp. 5-7. Total headquarters conditions confirmed by J. C. Ragot of Total in an interview published by the Far Eastern Economic Review, 15 August 1996.
44. Karen Human Rights Group, "Effects of the Gas Pipeline Project," 23 May 1996, pp. 5-7. Total headquarters conditions confirmed by J. C. Ragot of Total in an interview published by the Far Eastern Economic Review, 15 August 1996.
45. Karen National Union, Mergui/Tavoy District, "Report the Facts: The Yadana Gas Pipeline and Ancillary Road Construction in Tavoy District, Tenasserim Division," 1996, p. 8.
46. As quoted by Reese Erlich, "Reports of Slave Labor on Pipeline Rouse Critics of Military in Burma," Christian Science Monitor, 12 September 1995.
47. Investor Responsibility Research Center, "Unocal Corporation Corporate Activity," p. 9.
48. Karen Human Rights Group, "Effects of the Gas Pipeline Project," 23 May 1996, pp. 1-2. ERI and SAIN also confirm these practices in their 1996 report "Total Denial."
49. Karen Human Rights Group, "Effects of the Gas Pipeline Project," 23 May 1996, pp. 1-2. ERI and SAIN also confirm these practices in their 1996 report "Total Denial."
50. Amnesty International, "Myanmar, No Place to Hide," 1995, p. 27.
51. New Mon State Party, "Ye-Tavoy Railway Report," April 1994, p. 1.
52. International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, "Burma, Total and Human Rights," p. 21 , and "Rangoon Abuses Rights in Pipeline Area, Says KNU," Bangkok Post, 25 February 1995.
53. International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, "Burma, Total and Human Rights," p. 21 , and "Rangoon Abuses Rights in Pipeline Area, Says KNU," Bangkok Post, 25 February 1995.
54. International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, "Burma, Total and Human Rights," p. 21.
55. D. Steele. "Charges against the Pipeline 'Too Damn Many to List'," The Sunday Post (Edinburgh), 7 May 1996.
56. International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, "Burma, Total and Human Rights," p. 16.
57. Karen Human Rights Group, "Effects of the Gas Pipeline Project," 23 May 1996, p. 1.
58. Ibid., pp. 11-12.
59. Cited by R. Strider in "Blood in the Pipeline," Multinational Monitor, January/February 1995, p. 24.
60. Unocal Corp., "Unocal in Myanmar: Report to Stockholders," July 1994, p. 4.
61. "A Culture of Coercion," Burma Issues (Bangkok), January 1995.
62. Gregory J. Millman, "Troubling Projects," Infrastructure Finance, February/March 1996, p. 18.
63. Karen Human Rights Group, "Effects of the Gas Pipeline Project," pp. 3-4.
64. Unocal Corporate Communications Department, "The Yadana Project," November 1995, p. 19.
65. Unocal Corporate Communications Department, "Unocal in Myanmar: Report to Stockholders," p. 8.
66. For excerpted statements see Earth Rights International and Southeast Asian Information Network, "Total Denial," p. 4.
67. This hiring process has been confirmed by the Karen National Union, Karen Human Rights Group, Earth Rights International, and the \Southeast Asian Information Network. Also Total itself has mentioned villagers who were "hired by the army" on the pipeline worksite. See Gordon Fairclough, "Troubled Waters," Far Eastern Economic Review, 8 August 1996.
68. Total Communications Department, "The Yadana Gas Development Report," July 1996, p. 16.
69. Karen Human Rights Group, "Effects of the Gas Pipeline Project," p. 8.
70. Ibid., p. 7, and the Mon Information Service (Bangkok), "French Total Co.'s and American Unocal Corp.'s Disastrous Gas Pipeline Project in Burma's Gulf of Martaban," May 1996. Unpublished report.
71. Ibid., p. 7, and the Mon Information Service (Bangkok), "French Total Co.'s and American Unocal Corp.'s Disastrous Gas Pipeline Project in Burma's Gulf of Martaban," May 1996. Unpublished report.
72. Greenpeace, "Natural Gas: Bridging Fuel or Roadblock to Clean Energy?" November 1996. Unpublished report.
73. Ibid.
74. Karl Shoenberger. "Unocal Report on Myanmar Rejected," Los Angeles Times, 26 April 1996.
75. "Total Admits to Dumping Mercury," The Nation (Bangkok), 10 September 1996. "Unocal to Study Contamination around Its Rigs," Bangkok Post, 20 June 1996.
76. "Total Admits to Dumping Mercury," The Nation (Bangkok), 10 September 1996. "Unocal to Study Contamination around Its Rigs," Bangkok Post, 20 June 1996.
77. Interview with Steve Thompson, head of the environment desk at Images Asia in Chiangmai, Thailand. 20 September 1997.
78. Unocal Corp., "Unocal in Myanmar," p. 1.
79. Mya Maung, The Burmese Road to Poverty (New York, Praeger, 1991), p. 301.
80. "Petrodollars for Slorc," The Wall Street Journal, editorial, 10 February 1995.
81. Aung San Suu Kyi. Interview with Rev. Edmond Browning, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. 28 September 1995. Transcript on file with the author.
82. Mya Maung, The Burmese Road to Poverty, p. 286.
83. "Burma: The Men behind the Rigs," Manager magazine, September 1991, p. 66.
84. Gregory J. Millnan, "Troubling Projects," Infrastructure Finance, February/March 1996, p. 19.
85. Ibid.
86. International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, "Burma, Total and Human Rights," p. 28.
87. As quoted by Gregory J. Millman, "Troubling Projects," p. 19.
88. A U.S. Federal Court ruled that "the allegations of forced labor in this case are sufficient to constitute an allegation of participation in slave trading....These allegations are sufficient to establish subject matter jurisdiction under the Alien Tort Claims Act." Earth Rights International, EarthRights News 2, no. 2 (April 1997).
89. The state of Massachusetts and more than 20 cities, including New York City, San Francisco, Santa Cruz (California), and Madison (Wisconsin), have passed selective purchasing legislation.
90. Dennis Bernstein and Leslie Kean, "People of the Opiate," The Nation (New York), 16 December 1996, p. 12.
91. Ibid, p. 14.
92. Ibid.
93. Ibid.
94. "President of Energy Workers Union Calls for Investigation of Unocal's Link to Burmese Drug Laundering," 19 December 1996. Newswire. On file with the author.
95. International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, "Burma, Total and Human Rights," p. 15.
96. As quoted by John Bray, Burma: The Politics of Constructive Engagement, p. 51.
97. Aung San Suu Kyi in a videotaped message to an International Confederation of Free Trade Unions meeting to discuss human rights in Manila. Reported in Reese Erlich, "Reports of Slave Labor on Pipeline Rouse Critics of Military in Burma," p. 3.
98. Southeast Asian Information Network and All Burma Students Democratic Front, "Burma, Human Lives for Natural Resources," June 1994, p. 18.
99. N. Chan, "Investing in Democracy," Burma Issues, August 1995, p. 5.