September 1, 1992
Lewis Preston, President
World Bank
1818 H Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20433
Dear Mr. Preston,
We are writing to express our disapproval of the International
Development Association's (IDA) September disbursement of $1.5 million
to Burma (Myanmar) slated for a projects (Wood Industries II and Timber
Distribution) in the forest industry. We also understand there are other
monies, approximately $120 million as of November 1991, slated for
disbursement to a variety of projects. We understand that these loans
were approved before the 1988 massacres in Burma, at which time, many
nations, including the U.S., ended foreign aid to Burma to protest
the massacre of those fighting for democratic reform.
The human rights abuses caused by the ruling military regime in
Burma, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), are very well
documented. Amnesty International has called Burma "A State of Terror".
SLORC's repressive regime has not allowed the Burmese peoples' legitimate
democratic leadership to take power. Those democratic leaders have
either been arrested, killed or forced to flee their country and their people
in the most desperate of times. One of the worst case examples is the
incarceration of Nobel Peace Laureate and leader of the National League
for Democracy, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
Exploitation of natural resources and major human rights abuses in
Burma are inextricably linked. SLORC has been able to maintain its
oppressive stronghold by rapaciously exploiting Burma's natural resources,
in particular forests. Not only is there massive unchecked logging causing
ecological devastation, but in conjunction, destruction to the remaining
forest homelands of the ethnic minorities. Representatives of the Karenni
people have informed us that 85% of their customary land near the Thai
border has been devastated by logging. These same areas are also one of
the only safe havens for political refugees.
The IDA's disbursement of monies to the current illegal Burmese
government is directly contributing to a corrupt regime which will most
likely use this money to further oppress those fighting for democratic
reform and civil liberties in Burma.
As a coalition of environmental and human rights organizations we
are condemning the continued disbursement of funds and asking that you
do everything in your power to cancel all development credits which have
not yet been disbursed to Burma. To not cancel these funds is to support a
brutal dictatorship with no regard for basic civil liberties, democracy or
environmental protection. We also request an environmental review of all
World Bank projects in Burma. Our request for environmental reviews is
not a condonation of the projects but a plea that all World Bank projects be
assessed for environmental impact.
Sincerely,
Pamela Wellner, Chad Dobson
Rainforest Action Network Bank Information Center
Larry Williams Paula Green
Sierra Club Karuna Center
Dr. Vum Son Alan Senauke
International Burma Coalition Buddhist Peace Fellowship
Saskia Ozinga Michelle Bohana
European Rainforest Movement Institute for Asian Democracy
Pat Adams Owen Lammers
Probe International International Rivers Network
Terry Cottam Nalina Narain
Friends of the Rainforest Synapses
David Arnott Doug Hellinger
Burma Peace Foundation Development Gap
Free Suu Kyi
Laurie Udall Working Group for Indigenous People
Environmental Defense Fund
Alan Clements Sarah Sutcliffe
Burma Project Burma Action Group of the UK
Chris Coughlin Margaret Howe
cc. E. Patrick Coady, U.S. Executive Director, World Bank; Mark Sundberg,
Burma Country Officer,World Bank; Walter Clark, Jr., Assistant Secretary of
State for East Asia and Pacific, U.S. State Dept.; Philip Mayhew, Director of
the Office of Thailand and Burma, U.S. State Dept.; David Mulford,
Undersecretary for International Affairs, U.S. Treasury Dept.; Matthew
Hennesey, Multinational Development Banks Officer, U.S. Treasury Dept.;
Sen. Patrick Moynihan, Rep. Nancy Pelosi.