Mitsubishi in Burma Forest Worries San Francisco
12/12/96
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Headline: Mitsubishi in Burma Forest Worries San Francisco
Source: The Environment News Service is exclusively hosted by
the EnviroLink Network.
Date: 12/12/96
Copyright c 1996 ENS, Inc.
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 12'96 (ENS) - The Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is
spearheading an effort to derail a contract bid by Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries of America to build a people-mover at the San Francisco
International Airport (SFO). The group's protest is based on the fact that
Mitsubishi is helping to build a natural gas pipeline in southern Myanmar
(Burma) for a joint project of Unocal, Total Petroleum, and the Myanmar
government's State Law and Order Restoration Council.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors' Burma ordinance, which forbids The
City from doing business with companies that support Burma's illegal
military regime, takes a strong human rights stance. At a news conference
today at City Hall, the protesters spotlighted the city's Burma ordinance,
and San Francisco's Human Rights Commission recommendation not to accept
Mitsubishi's airport people-mover bid.
The Rainforest Action Network is concerned about violations of the human
rights of 20 groups of indigenous people as well as about destruction of
the tropical rainforest. The tribal people are subject to forced
relocation and made to clear rainforest for the pipeline. The are also
being tortured and murdered by Myanmar government troops, according to
RAN. The 218 mile long pipeline from Myanmar to Thailand runs through
dense tropical forest, disrupting the habitat of some of the world's most
endangered animals, tigers, rhinos and elephants.
An letter dated December 3 from Thomas Kardos, Deputy Director of the
airport's Bureau of Design and Construction to the other final bidder,
ADTRANZ of Pittsburg, PA, states that a staff review of the bids for the
people-mover resulted in a recommendation to accept the Mitsubishi bid. A
period of ten business days open for review and protest ends December 17.
RAN Executive Director Randall Hayes spoke against awarding the contract
to Mitsubishi, but he was not alone. San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano,
BART Director Tom Radulovich, Bay Area Burma Round Table's Dan Orzich, and
a number of community activists registered their objections - and a
prepared statement in opposition to the Mitsubishi bid by Airport
Commission Member Larry Mazzola was read.