Ka Hsaw Wa speaks about Total's connection to human rights abuses in Burma at the Desmarais Building

On Wednesday December 5th acclaimed human rights and environmental activist Ka Hsaw Wa gave a rousing lecture to 70 plus people at Ottawa U’s new Desmarias Building. He told the crowd the story of how his life as a vacant fashion-obsessed teenager in Rangoon was shattered and he was thrust into political activism after being tortured by Burmese military intelligence officers trying to get information about his friend. He then became involved in the 1988 uprisings in Burma and eventually fled to the jungle with the intent to support the Burmese student army and other ethnic armies in their fight against the military dictatorship. It was in the jungle that Ka Hsaw Wa realized his own way to contribute to the struggle was by documenting the oppression of local people by the dictatorship and using this information to raise awareness outside of Burma. He began writing down the stories of military abuses that he heard from people he met in the jungle, and using any means to get those stories out of Burma to human rights groups and international media. In 1995 Ka Hsaw Wa and two American lawyers started EarthRights International to continue documenting human rights abuses and environmental destruction in Burma.

His work with Earth Rights International was crucial to the landmark case brought against UNOCAL in US courts using the Alien Tort Claims Act. At present, EarthRights International runs public awareness and legal campaigns focusing on the Amazon region and Southeast Asia. The organization operates a number of human rights and environmental activist schools which empower youth from Burma and other areas in South East Asia to become forces for positive change in their communities.

He spoke about terrible human rights abuses and environmental destruction that were a direct consequence of a joint venture between French multinational Total (now called Total/Fina), US multinational UNOCAL (now a subsidiary of Chevron) and the Burmese military junta The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). In the early 1990’s Total/UNOCAL entered into a joint venture with the SPDC to construct the Yandana oil pipeline from Burma to Thailand. The SPDC was in charge of “security” for this project and in this capacity committed wide-scale human rights abuses against the people living in the area of the pipeline. Ka Hsaw Wa and the other Earth Rights International co-founders – Katie Redford and Tyler Giannini – documented many of these crimes and won the right to sue UNOCAL for damages on behalf of plaintiffs living in the Burma/Thai border region. The plaintiffs decided to accept a settlement offer from UNOCAL rather than continue the case in court.

The venue of Ka Hsaw Wa’s lecture was fitting as Paul Desmarais Sr. is a major individual investor in Total and was a member of its Board of Directors from 1999 to 2002 (his son Paul Desmarais Jr. is presently on Total’s Board). Ka Hsaw Wa urged students at Ottawa U to contact Paul Desmarais Sr. directly and pressure him to use his influence to ensure that Total’s foreign investments do not support human rights abuses and environmental destruction.

Displacement and Dispossession: Forced Migration and Land Rights in Burma

A new report from the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) has singled out the SPDC military dictatorship in Burma as a major global violator of Housing, Land and Property (HLP) rights. The report, Displacement and Dispossession: Forced Migration and Land Rights in Burma, finds that the majority of HLP violations are directly connected to the militarization of the Burmese state. The vast majority of abuses occur during military counter-insurgency operations; for the construction and support of new Tatmadaw (army) barracks; to make way for infrastructure development projects; in the context of natural resource extraction; and to provide vested and foreign interests with business opportunities. The report acknowledges that ethnic nationality peoples are particularly vulnerable to HLP abuses, and that the struggle for self determination by ethnic nationalities inevitably involves struggles for HLP rights relating to their ancestral homelands.
The COHRE report concludes that improved access to HLP rights is a fundamental component of any political transition in Burma. Access to HLP rights is not solely focused on the recognition of individual property rights but include other forms of collective ownership and land stewardship including the recognition of forest-based and self sufficient livelihoods such as rotational farming systems. The COHRE is careful to acknowledge the potential dangers of property/land reform during periods of political transition, noting that business interests may attempt to hijack the reform process and thus ongoing monitoring is needed. The report notes that one solution to the complexity of addressing restitution and compensation for HLP violations would be to set-up a national fund using a percentage of the profits from oil and gas concessions.
Earlier this year COHRE named the SPDC as one of the recipients of the 2007 Housing Rights Violator Award. The other 2007 recipients were the country of Slovakia and the municipality of Beijing.

Was Ottawa U’s new Desmarais building paid for with cash tainted by the blood of innocent Burmese citizens?

The Carleton Burma Solidarity Committee is proud to co-sponsor this event featuring Ka Hsaw Wa, experienced human rights investigator and co-founder of Earth Rights International.

(unidentified Burmese UNOCAL-plaintiff, Ka Hsaw Wa, and documentary maker Milena Kaneva during making of Total Denial)

Burma Blood Profits:
Was Ottawa U’s new Desmarais building paid for with cash tainted by the blood of innocent Burmese citizens?
Presented by the Canadian Friends of Burma, the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa, OPIRG Ottawa U and OPIRG Carleton, and the Carleton Burma Solidarity Committee
When: Wed December 5th, 7pm
Where: Desmarais Building Room # 1140
55 Laurier Avenue East, University of Ottawa Main Campus

Keynote Speaker: Ka Hsaw Wa Co-Founder Earth Rights International and investigator into human rights abuses during the construction of the Total/UNOCAL Yadana natural gas pipeline. He will speak on the devastating impact to Burma from Total’s partnership with Burma ’s violent dictatorship. Ka Hsaw Wa’s investigation was the basis for the landmark lawsuit by villagers from Burma against UNOCAL for forced labour and human rights violations. Also speaking will be Kevin McLeod from the Canadian Friends of Burma.

Reports on Total’s shameful role in Burma:

Totalitarian Oil – TOTAL OIL: Fuelling the oppression in Burma from Burma Campaign UK

Total Denial Continues from Earth Rights International