Download Heave-Ho Flyer! in PDF or MS Word

• Whole flyer, 11"X17", MSWord
• Page 2&1, 8.5" X 11" MSWord
• Page 3&4, 8.5" X 11", MSWord
• Whole flyer, 11"X 17", PDF
• Page 2&1, 8.5" X 11", PDF
• Page 3&4, 8.5" X 11", PDF

Ivanhoe Gets the Ol' Heave-Ho!

From Canadian Friends of Burma's
Burma Links March/April 2002

"Heave-Ho Ivanhoe!" CFOB is gearing up its campaign to push Canadian company, Ivanhoe Mines, out of Burma. The Monywa copper mine, located in Sagaing Division, is a 50/50 partnership between Ivanhoe Mines and Burma's dictatorship - on par with the Taliban in terms of brutality and repression. It is the biggest foreign mining enterprise in the country.

The international campaign to oust companies from Burma gained momentum when the International Labour Organization (ILO) issued its unprecedented call for sanctions against Burma in Nov.2000 - calling on its constituents to "review...the relations that they may have with Burma and take appropriate measures to ensure that [Burma] cannot take advantage of such relations to perpetuate or extend the system of forced or compulsory labour."

Research done by labour and human rights groups proved without a doubt that Burma's military regime has been systematically using forced labour country_wide on infrastructure projects -- many of which are then utilized by foreign companies.

In response to the ILO, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mines and General Worker's Union (ICEM) called on Ivanhoe to clear out of Burma last June, citing examples which they say prove the Monywa mine is connected to forced labour. For example, their joint statement of June 14 states, "According to the ILO, 921,753 people were forced to build the railway connecting Monywa to the town of Pakokku. The Thazi dam hydroelectric plant which is the mine's power source was built using 3,000_5,000 forced labourers."

Forced labour is so prevalent in Burma, it is no wonder that Burma's regime is reviled at home. Despite the extreme repression of opposition parties in advance of the 1990 national elections, the people - including most military personnel - voted overwhelmingly for Aung San Suu Kyi's, National League for Democracy (NLD). But the regime, then called the State Law and Order Restoration Council, refused to relinquish power. Since then, the NLD has been calling for a halt to foreign business in Burma because of the support it provides the generals. In a video-taped message to Canada smuggled out in 1999, Aung San Suu Kyi tated "We are not against investment per se...We do not think that investment in our country at this time can do our country any good." The global community, as stated in the ILO resolution, backs this call.

But Ivanhoe claims its business operations in Burma are not political and refutes all accusations that its Monywa mine fosters forced labour or other human rights violations. However, in contravening the NLD, they have clearly showed where their allegiance lies. And in partnering with the military junta, Ivanhoe has become an accessory to its crimes.

Ivanhoe's Monywa project provides Burma's military regime, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the foreign currency it so desperately needs to stay afloat. While health care is virtually non_existent in Burma, ranking second to last by the World Health Organization in 2000, the SPDC spends over 40% of its budget on weaponry. Guns are the prime tool that keep this unloved, unelected regime in control. CFOB's Director, Corinne Baumgarten sums up the debate, "Ivanhoe's denials that it is an accomplice to the SPDC's system of forced labour is paramount to a company, in business with the Taliban, claiming that their operations don't contribute to the oppression of women in Afghanistan."

The Monywa copper project is poised to become a massive income generator for the junta. It is trying to raise $390 million to expand the mine by excavating a new deposit in Letpadaung. Meanwhile, the junta earns royalties and rent from Ivanhoe amounting to US$885,000 in 2000.

Most Burma experts believe that the ILO's call for sanctions was the major factor in prompting the regime to enter into talks with Aung San Suu Kyi in October 2000. While the possibility for these talks to develop into meaningful dialogue appear increasingly dismal, letting up on pressure now will topple any chances for political reform.

"We urge you to re_evaluate your direct business relations with the Burmese military junta in light of this global consensus," wrote Ken Georgetti, the President of the CLC to Ivanhoe Mines last June.

"It is the position of the global labour movement that it is impossible to do business with the Burmese government or in Burma without subsidizing forced labour and other human rights violations. Certainly in the case of Ivanhoe's partnership with the military junta, foreign investment is directly propping up the regime."