Page 2 of
2 Forcing the issue on Myanmar
labor By Clive Parker
projects. Both oil giants maintain
that they were unaware of any such abuses when
they began construction in the 1990s on the Yadana
gas pipeline, yet they settled out of court with
plaintiffs in Myanmar in 2005. Total paid out
US$6.12 million to settle; the Unocal figure was
not disclosed, but news reports have suggested
that settlement was for about $30 million.
Meanwhile, Britain's Premier Oil left the
Yadana Consortium in
2002
while Unocal's and Total's legal proceedings were
ongoing.
The US now has economic sanctions
in place against the regime that ban the import of
Myanmar-produced goods and prohibit US
corporations from making new investments in the
country. Unocal's still-substantial interests in
Myanmar predate the sanctions, which are not
applied retroactively. Considering the US recently
tabled a resolution to put Myanmar's rights record
on the UN Security Council's agenda, it seems
unlikely the deal with the ILO will any time soon
soften the US stance.
But that's not
stopping other energy-hungry Asian countries from
taking the plunge - even with the possible future
legal liabilities surrounding forced-labor claims.
Exploration off Myanmar's west coast involves
joint ventures between the government and major
energy investors in South Korea and India. Those
activities have already been hit by new
allegations of forced labor, as Myanmar's
government allegedly forces locals to clear the
way for a possible new foreign-financed pipeline,
according to Thailand-based watchdog groups.
With improving bilateral and commercial
relations with India, people in those same western
areas of Myanmar have been increasingly forced to
work on roads, military camps and other
development projects, according to the Shwe Gas
Movement, a collaboration of activists based in
Thailand, India and Bangladesh. Those allegations
echo a 2005 ILO report on the construction of
Myanmar's new seat of government at Naypyidaw,
where unpaid workers were allegedly used in
building camps for three army battalions as well
as an air-force battalion.
The problem is
also widespread in conflict areas pitting ethnic
insurgent groups against the national army,
particularly around Karen state. The Free Burma
Rangers, a cross-border relief group that works in
those areas, has documented instances of forced
labor on an almost daily basis as recently as
December and January, in which the army has forced
villagers to act as human minesweepers, as human
shields against insurgent attacks, and as army
porters, and for building and maintaining army
camps.
While the ILO has hailed the
agreement as a "very positive step", activist
groups, including the Burma Campaign UK, are
concerned that the regime has potentially been let
off the hook. "This doesn't bring us any closer to
an end to forced labor in [Myanmar]," said Mark
Farmaner, the activist group's spokesman. "In
fact, given that the reason for this
'understanding' is an attempt to head off an ICJ
referral, [it] could even be counterproductive."
For its part, the government is still in
denial, most recently during a December press
conference launched to rebuff the US move to take
it to the Security Council. It has admitted to
using "labor contributions" between 1955 and 1990
to combat insurgent groups, while at the same time
asserting that it has "never failed" to abide by
its obligations as a signatory to the Forced Labor
Convention. Since 1990, the government says,
forced-labor practices have completely stopped -
contrary to the overwhelming evidence collected by
UN offices including the ILO, campaign groups,
international human-rights organizations and
global union organizations.
Considering
the regime's rigid top-down organizational
structure, the junta is ill-suited to reform
rapidly what is by all accounts a well-entrenched
policy, perpetuated by central command
instructions that call on regional army divisions
to be self-sufficient and where possible even
generate income. With guns in hand, that has
always made forced labor a convenient way for the
military to get the job done when financial
resources are scarce. And it's altogether unclear
whether the recent ILO deal represents enough
incentive to change those practices any time soon.
Clive Parker is a Chiang
Mai-based freelance journalist.
(Copyright 2007 Asia Times Online Ltd. All
rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)
Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
