Ericsson's Burma connection

By Nicola Lester and Mary O'Kane

Supporters of democracy in Burma will be demonstrating in Melbourne on October 13 as part of an international campaign against Ericsson, the Swedish-based multinational manufacturer of cellular phones.

The demonstration will be outside the Elizabeth Street offices of Ericsson Australia, the local subsidiary, which is listed in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade investors book as one of the few remaining companies still trading directly with Burma.

This company provides foreign exchange for the SLORC dictatorship and provides the telecommunications structure necessary to maintain its brutal control.

While SLORC generals talk freely on Ericsson cellular phones, ordinary Burmese caught with unregistered telecommunications equipment face jail sentences of up to 15 years.

In 1996, the honorary consul for Scandinavia and close friend of the pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was sentenced to jail for possession of an unregistered fax machine. He was tortured, and after serving only three weeks of a seven-year sentence, died under suspicious circumstances.

Governments of the United States, Canada and the European Union have condemned this illegitimate government. The United States has placed sanctions on trade and investment and encouraged other nations to follow. It is time the Australian government joined in condemnation of the SLORC and that human rights are placed on the narrow economic agenda.

Burmese support groups worldwide have been staging very successful campaigns against companies investing in Burma. International condemnation has led to the withdrawal of companies such as Apple Computers, Carlsberg, Pepsi Cola, Levis Strauss, Reebok and Walt Disney.

In April, Melbourne-based Burma activists staged an international campaign against Fosters. Within days, the company announced its withdrawal from Burma.

These campaigns are proof that collective grassroots action does work.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who is living under virtual house arrest, has specifically asked foreign companies not to invest in Burma until democracy is restored. Many western companies have respected this request. Ericsson has not!

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