Totalitarian Oil get out of Burma protest in Chiswick
illuminations | 15.12.2007 18:21 | Globalisation | Repression | Social Struggles | London
station at 137 Chiswick High Road against Total's funding of the repressive
regime in Burma.
leaflets and helped sign a petition. Some pedestrians also joined protesters
in signing a "Christmas Card" to Total to tell them to get out of Burma.
Total is in a joint venture with the dictatorship in the Yadana gas project
in southern Burma. [1]
The gas project funds the junta with hundreds of millions of dollars a year
and represents a major source of foreign currency for the regime to buy
weapons and finance the army.
Total's close relationship with the repressive dictatorship was demonstrated
with the recent construction of a compression platform at the Yadana
project. All maritime traffic from part of the gulf area around Yadana was
excluded from December by the military. The maritime exclusion zone was
described as "precautionary" by a Total spokesman [2]
Over 40% of Burma's GDP is spent on the military in a war against its own
people.
Burma has the world's worst health care [3], the most corruption [4] and the
most child soldiers [5].
Notes:
For information on protests against Total see
http://totaloutofburma.blogspot.com
[1] Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s democracy leader, has said that “Total is the
biggest supporter of the military regime in Burma.” For more information
about Total Oil's investment in Burma see the Burma Campaign UK website:
http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/total.php.
[2] Total to build compression platform to maintain Myanmar gas-production
levels http://www.euro2day.gr/articlesfna/49656017/
[3] The World Health Organization's ranking
of the world's health systems:
http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html
[4] Burma joins Somalia in 179th place as the most corrupt countries in the
world according to Transparency International 2007 index rankings:
http://www.transparency.org/news_room/in_focus/2007/cpi2007/cpi_2007_table
[5] Human Rights Watch report on Child Soldiers in Burma:
http://hrw.org/reports/2002/burma/Burma0902-08.htm#P1672_511418
illuminations
Homepage:
http://www.totaloutofburma.blogspot.com
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