Examine your conscience - please don't travel to Burma

As a regular reader of rec.travel.asia I'm increasingly dismayed by
the willingness of people to travel to Burma. All countries in Asia
have poor human rights records but what makes Burma stand out from the
rest is the use that has and is being made of forced labour to make
the country more attractive to tourists. I urge everyone considering a
visit to Burma to read about the situation there. Some might argue
that boycotting the country is not the answer but at least be better
informed about the issues even if you do in the end decide to go. I
would recommend that you start with the information on
www.burmacampaign.org.uk.

I have taken the following extract from

http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/action_holiday.html

"There are few areas in the world where human rights are fully
respected. There are also few occasions when the nature of the
suppression of human rights is such that the exclusion of tourists
from the country is justified. However, Burma is a rare example where
the exclusion of tourists is appropriate. Some of the reasons are
outlined here.

There are well-documented mass human rights abuses directly linked to
the development of tourist infrastructure and the tourism industry.
The United Nation's International Labour Organisation reports that
"the military treat the civilian population as an unlimited pool of
unpaid forced labourers and servants at their disposal. The practice
of forced labour is to encourage private investment in infrastructure
development, public sector works and tourism projects." Millions of
men, women and children have been forced to labour, under the harshest
conditions, on infrastructure projects across Burma. Many thousands
more have been forced from their homes to make way for tourism
developments or as part of so-called 'beautification' projects

The tourism industry and visiting tourists are helping sustain one of
the most brutal military regimes in the world. A regime that was weak
and bankrupt in 1988 has used foreign investment and hard foreign
currency through the 1990s to double the size of its military and
strengthen its grip on power.

While the last couple of years has seen an increase in the number of
privately owned services, the levels of corruption and cronyism that
exist in Burma, makes it impossible to know whether services sold to
private individuals haven't in fact been sold to the regime's own
families and business contacts. Privatisation does not itself prevent
funds from reaching the authorities anyway. There is very simply no
way you can operate in Burma, or travel to the country without
providing income to the regime. For example in August 2002 Burma's
Minister of Hotels and Tourism Maj-Gen Saw Lwin admitted that the
government receives about 12 per cent of the income even of private
tourism services.

There are sensitive issues to be weighed up. Undoubtedly some ordinary
people do currently benefit from tourism and that is what makes this
such a controversial debate. But we are dealing with the long-term
benefit for all Burma's people. Whilst we do not at all suggest that
those who benefit from tourism do not warrant consideration, it has to
be emphasised that only a very small minority of Burma's 48 million
people are engaged in the tourism industry. Around 80% make their
living from agriculture. Of the remaining 20% only the smallest
percentage even come into contact with tourists. So whilst you may
indeed be able to give a few dollars to benefit an individual working
in the tourism industry, the scales don't quite balance when the same
industry is helping fuel a regime that keeps 48 million oppressed and
in poverty. The NLD's position on tourism is a short term policy
intended to secure long term security and freedom for all the people
of Burma.

For the reasons outlined above, Burma's elected leaders, the only
authority with a mandate to speak for the people have asked all
tourists not to visit Burma for the time being. This is a position
held by both the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the exiled
National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB).

The UK government and the European Union have both adopted the
unprecedented position that tourism to Burma is inappropriate under
the current regime. In July 2003, UK Foreign Office Minister Mike
O'Brien urged British travel agents who arrange holidays in Burma to
reconsider their operations in that country. Mr. O'Brien said: "In the
light of the recent dreadful developments in Burma, I have today
written to ABTA to ask tour operators to stop arranging holidays
there.

The Burma Campaign UK campaigns to discourage members of the public
from choosing Burma as their holiday destination at this time. We also
lobby tour operators and guide book publishers in an attempt to
persuade them to discontinue their current promotion of the country.
In May 2000 The Burma Campaign UK and Tourism Concern launched a
consumer campaign urging members of the public to boycott the
publisher Lonely Planet until the company withdraws its guide to the
country. Lonely Planet actively promotes tourism to Burma despite full
knowledge of the facts and the consequences of their actions."