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Countries Appendix MYANMAR (BURMA) (41.3%) Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma, has come under fire in recent years for alleged severe human rights abuses by the military run government, known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council, SLORC. Actually in 1997, the government changed its name to the State Peace and Development Council, though the players remain the same. This government installed itself in a military coup in 1988 and promised democratic elections the next year. The opposition party, the National League for Democracy, won resounding victory (80% of parliamentary seats) at the polls, but the military prevented them from assuming their seats and arrested many, including party leader Aung San Suu Kyi who was imprisoned until 1995. To enforce its rule, SLORC reportedly used the 15,000 member army of heroin baron Khun Sa (50% of the government's income comes from the trafficking of heroin-"Teak is Torture" 1997) until Khun Sa "surrendered" to the government in January 1996. After Khun Sa "surrendered" he became a wealthy tycoon and government advisor in the capital, Rangoon. In light of economic sanctions imposed for human rights violations and the Asian economic malaise, the government is increasingly depending on narco-trafficking for revenue. Burma is the world's largest producer of heroin, producing 2,340 metric tons in 1995 and supplying 60% of heroin imports to the US. SLORC has instituted a program of building infrastructure, but growing evidence suggests that laborers are forced to work as slaves, and are tortured and killed. Opposition suffers the same fate and forced relocation is also used to quiet protests. Until recently, large parts of Southern and Eastern Burma have remained free from military rule due to the resistance of indigenous groups. However the inflow of foreign capital, mainly through offshore natural gas concessions to Texaco, Unocal, Total (France), PTTEP (Thailand), and MOGE (Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise) has allowed the military to move into the region to exploit teak and exhibit control over more of the country. Hardwood exports are up and will continue to increase as indicated by a recent government statement of its plans to fully exploit the country's teak forests. Myanmar (Burma) contains several types of moist forest including a sizeable chunk of untouched tropical rainforest which has missed logging that has occurred elsewhere in Myanmar. However, this last section of rainforest in threatened by a planned natural gas pipeline (in addition to teak logging) that will pass directly through Kaser Doo Wildlife Sanctuary and the homeland of the Karen, Mon, and Tavoy peoples. The oil companies responsible for financing the pipeline are Unocal (US), Texaco (US), Nippon (Japan), Total (France), and Premier (UK). The building of the pipeline will have a heavy impact on the forest as additional construction roads will open up the primary forest to extensive logging of hardwoods and colonization. In addition, after the pipeline is complete and all valuable logs are removed, the remaining forest may be razed so the military dictatorship can finally rid itself of the opposition native peoples who are likely to sabotage the project. Evidence suggests that the native peoples have good reason to sabotage the project since the government history of enslaving them to work on the project. Those that resist could be massacred as has been documented in the past. Once the project is complete, revenues will go directly to the oppressive government which will probably use the currency to build up arms stockpiles. Very little revenue is returned to the impoverished Burmese people, most money goes to the people in control (the military). Timber exports have increased during the 1990s despite a 1993 ban on the export of logs by the private sector. Timber imports into to Japan alone reveal that 128,000 cubic meters of tropical hardwood have been imported from Myanmar during a four year period (1992-95). The export of raw logs was commonplace until the 1997 when timber authorities began phasing out log sales and developing value added product industries. There is a government effort to introduce Myanmar's lesser used timber species to the international market since official government figures show that for the fiscal 1996-97 year, total timber exports were 209,137 cubic meters, of which 196,260 cubic meters (almost 94%) was teak. The government is also making an effort to establish plantations to complement the country's declining forest resources. Since the 1992-93 fiscal year, government figures show that 92,000 acres (37,260 ha) of plantation forest are added annually. Between 1963 and 1996, more than 1.3 million acres (524,000 ha) of plantations were added. The government has also established plantations to substitute for fuelwood usually collected from natural forests. |
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