Natural Resources and Violent Conflict - WaterWiki.net

342 john brayquestion agreements signed while the armed forces were in power.Second, the current government’s arbitrary approach to the law hascommercial as well as human rights implications: if there is a dispute,companies have no recourse to independent arbitration. Third,notwithstanding the government’s promises of reform, the economyhas far to go before it is truly liberalized. And fourth, internationalcompanies have come under varying degrees of pressure from nongovernmentalorganizations that argue that the profits they bring helpto sustain an illegitimate regime. This argument has greater force inMyanmar than it might in other countries because gas sales are emergingas the country’s prime source of foreign exchange.Conflict between the national government and the ethnic minoritiesbegan soon after independence in 1948, and by the 1980s the countryfaced more than a dozen insurgencies. From 1989 onward, the militaryregime signed a series of cease-fires, first with the successor groupsto the Burmese Communist Party in the north of the country and thenwith others along the eastern border with Thailand. However, sporadicfighting continues, notably with the Shan State Army and theKaren National Union.The Yadana joint venture exports gas to Thailand by means of apipeline that comes onshore in Tenasserim Division and then crossessome 39 miles of mainland Myanmar before reaching the Thai border.This region has been affected by insurgency from the Karen NationalUnion, which is still active, and the New Mon State Party, which signeda cease-fire with the government in 1995. In March 1995, guerrillasattacked a TotalFinaElf survey team, killing five Myanmar employeesand wounding 11. Apart from this, there have been no major securityincidents. The pipeline nevertheless benefits from security provided bythe armed forces, and this raises the issue of whether the operatingcompanies are complicit in alleged human rights abuses committed bygovernment forces. There are two main concerns: reports of the securityforces’ use of forced labor and claims that military action hasforced local villagers to flee into Thailand.International Pressures and Company Responses. Companiesoperating in Myanmar have faced pressure from several differentsources and to varying degrees, depending on which country theycome from. In 1997 the U.S. government imposed limited commercialsanctions on Myanmar, barring new investment by U.S. companiesbut allowing existing operations to continue. Texaco withdrew thefollowing year; Unocal has retained its investment. In 1999 the U.K.government publicly called on Premier to withdraw, but stoppedshort of passing legislation to force it to do so. However, the most