Human Rights Watch : Exiting the Burma Road

For five years now the will of the people of Burma, now known as Myanmar, has been thwarted by the country’s despotic military. Even before the democratic opposition scored a landslide victory in the 1990 election--the first free multi-party elections in 30 years--its leader, Aung San Sui Kyi, was slapped with house arrest by the junta.

But her plight and that of Burma--whose government has driven hundreds of thousands of Burmese, including many minority group members, into neighboring Bangladesh and Thailand--caught the world’s eye when she was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.

Even so, the Burmese military still thrives, prospering thanks to rake-offs from drug trafficking, international sales of natural resources and playing host to many international companies. Included among these companies, alas, are American firms. However, at least three U.S. firms have had enough and have called it quits in Burma.

The latest is Eddie Bauer Inc. The well-known Seattle retailer of outdoor clothing said it will stop using Burmese factories to make its clothes because of the political climate--and growing world opinion against trade with Burma. Two years ago, Levi Strauss & Co., commendably, left Burma, disgusted with the repressive atmosphere. So did Liz Claiborne Inc.

But other U.S. firms still do, or are currently negotiating to, conduct business there. They should reflect on the example of Eddie Bauer, Levi Strauss and Liz Claiborne. There are better places in which to improve the bottom line.