More companies need to withdraw

Burma’s natural resources have been a major provider of the military regime, enabling it to survive through over a decade of economic sanctions from the US and EU. But survival is getting more difficult.

Since the military regime began killing and arresting participants in the monk-led peaceful pro-democracy protests, the extractive industries in Burma are coming under added scrutiny. Several foreign companies engaged in Burma’s natural resource sectors face pressure from their home governments, international NGOs and activists to suspend or stop their projects. Oil and gas companies have been the first target, as they are the largest boosters of the military regime, while other mineral companies such as gold and gem stone mining follow in a close second.

Pension funds have also weighed in. In the late October, Denmark’s largest pension scheme ATP announced it will shed its US$ 177 million share in French oil and gas giant Total, due to the company’s investment in Burma, which is the regime’s single largest source of revenue. The Norwegian Pension Fund-Global, one of the world’s largest funds at over US$ 323 billion, is actively monitoring its investments in 21 companies operating in Burma to determine whether or not those companies are complicit in human rights abuses. When a company is linked to human rights abuses, it is then excluded from the Fund’s “investment universe.” The Fund currently holds stakes in Daewoo International, Total, Chevron, China’s CNOOC, and others.

In early October, two Canadian mining companies, Jet Gold Corp. and Leeward Capital, announced they were suspending their operations in Burma and withdrawing from the Set Ga Done Gold Property due to political instability and increasingly difficulties operating under the inflexible and bureaucratic rules imposed on their operations by the regime. Another Canadian mining company, Ivanhoe Mines Ltd, has recently transferred its interest in Burma’s largest mine to an unnamed third party trust. Copper from that mine has been the regime’s fourth largest export.

Chevron is under pressure at home in the US, with high level politicians like Senator John McCain proposing legislation that will force the company out of Burma. Just days ago in Bangkok, Chevron CEO David O’Reilly again maintained that the company’s presence in Burma is a positive thing for the people, saying “Our commitment is to try to stay to be a positive influence.” Total of France, Chevron’s partner, likewise stands firmly behind their investment, refusing to withdraw while maintaining their positive influence.

The bottom line is that these oil, gas and mining projects not only provide millions of dollars to the military regime, but also result directly in environmental degradation and human rights abuses due to the regime’s militant and inept governance.

While the US, the EU, Australia and other nations are extending sanctions and freezing the assets of the regime’s financial supporters, the active participation of China, India and the Asean countries is crucial to prevent the regime’s ongoing campaign of terror. Company shareholders, NGOs, citizens and activists need to put pressure on the private sector and their home governments.