April 18, 2006: Global Call to Action against the Shwe Gas Project in Burma

On April 18, 2006, join thousands of activists from around the world to stand up for human rights and environmental protection by protesting the Shwe Gas Project in Burma. Human rights activists in over 20 countries around the world will gather at local South Korean Embassies and Daewoo Offices to protest the Shwe Gas Project.

Demonstrate Your Democratic Rights on April 18 so that Others May Someday Demonstrate Theirs

Current information suggests the Shwe Gas Project will result in the construction of two overland natural gas pipelines in Burma: one to India and one to China. The pipeline to India will especially affect the people of Arakan and Chin States, Burma. The proposed China pipeline will travel through Burma's "dry zone" where approximately 25 per cent of Burma's population resides.

Visit these sites for more information on:

The Shwe Gas Project, click: http://www.earthrights.org/files/Documents/ShweGasBrochure.pdf

International Coordinators, click http://www.earthrights.org/content/view/259/41/1/1/

Korean Embassies around the world, click http://www.earthrights.org/content/view/259/41/1/2/

Daewoo International Offices Worldwide, click http://www.earthrights.org/content/view/259/41/1/3/

Read more about ERI's campaign work on gas development in Burma, here http://www.earthrights.org/content/view/1/47/

[Insert Korean Embassy address here]

April 18, 2006

Dear Ambassador,

On behalf of [____________] I write to you regarding the project known as the Shwe Gas Project in the country of Burma, also known as Myanmar.

The Shwe Gas Project is a large-scale natural gas development project undertaken by an international consortium of companies that includes two well known Korean firms - Daewoo International (60% stake) and the state-owned company KOGAS (10% stake).

We are concerned that Korean investment in the Shwe Gas project is enabling and perpetuating widespread human rights abuses and systematic destruction of the environment in Burma. Because of the close business relationship between Daewoo International and KOGAS and the Burmese military regime, we are concerned that these companies, and by extension the Korean government, are becoming complicit in these abuses.

The project will generate approximately US$3 billion annual revenue for Burma's military regime thereby prolonging military control over an already terrorised population.

The notorious Yadana and Yetagun natural gas development projects in Burma was directly linked with human rights abuses such as forced labour, forced relocation of thousands of local people, forced portering for the military, and violence such as rape, torture, and murder.

The Yadana and Yetagun project also enabled widespread environmental degradation, including illegal wildlife trade and illegal logging, which occurs to date. These abuses were the direct result of the partnership between two multinational oil and gas corporations and the Burmese military junta.

As you are aware, there are numerous emerging international standards that call on corporations to meet or exceed the ethical, legal, commercial, and public expectations that society has of business. These initiatives include the UN Global Compact and the UN Norms on Business and Human Rights to name just a few.

We are concerned that the interests of Daewoo International and KOGAS in Burma fail to meet the general and specific areas of expectation espoused by such standards.

We are not only concerned that the Shwe Project will repeat the atrocities that occurred alongside previous pipeline projects in Burma, but are concerned the repetition has already begun. There are numerous recent accounts of increased militarisation, beatings, arbitrary arrests and detention of civilians, widespread systematic use of forced labour, and forced relocation occurring in Arakan State and we fear that these incidents are directly related to the militarisation of the area which is accompanying the Shwe Gas development.

We urge you to help put a stop to this project. Your esteemed country has an exemplary human rights record and represents the potential to create a world of business where corporations reap tangible benefits while truly benefiting the societies in which they work. If this project continues, South Korean business will develop a legacy not of exceeding the social and environmental expectations of the international community, but of disregarding the lives and livelihoods of entire populations for their own economic advancement.

We thank you in advance for your urgent attention to this very serious matter.

Yours sincerely,

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