Burma Vineyard Heads For The ‘Dirty List’
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By Daniel Nelson
A vineyard established by a German mining engineer in Burma will probably be added to the Burma Campaign’s “dirty list” of investors helping prop up one of the world’s worst dictatorships. Mark Farmaner, acting director of the Burma Campaign UK, said they were aware of the winery – the subject of a story in today’s Guardian newspaper – but were particularly concerned at the report’s suggestion that its wines might be used to boost tourism. The company’s top seller, says the Guardian story, “best accompanies spicy Burmese food, with most of the £4.50 bottles selling to the country’s tourist industry catering for foreign visitors.” “If true,” commented Farmaner, “it would be worthy of inclusion on our dirty list. They can’t act as if they were in a country not ruled by a dictatorship.” The Burma Campaign UK and other groups around the world have been pressuring companies to sever business ties with Burma. Last week a clothing company, MkOne – the day before it was to be the subject of a boycott, starting with its shop in Brighton - announced that it would stop sourcing clothes from Burma. The company had previously refused to disclose to the Burma Campaign UK whether it sourced clothing from Burma, but campaigners found several items of clothing marked ‘Made in Myanmar’ (the regime’s name for Burma) in the Brighton store. “We are delighted that MkOne have listened to our concerns, and acted so swiftly to ensure none of their clothing will come from Burma in future,” said Vicky Houston, organiser of the boycott campaign. “We call on all retailers to ensure they don’t source clothing from Burma.” The Guardian story mentions that the country is run by “an oppressive military dictatorship” but makes no other mention of the ethics of investment in Burma or of international campaigns against the regime. * The Dirty List |
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