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TRADE: Rights Group Urges Burmese Gem Ban
By Abid Aslam
WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (IPS) - Human rights advocates have urged the United States and other countries to ban imports of gems from Burma, saying the trade helps to finance military rule and abuses in the country, also known as Myanmar.
The call from Human Rights Watch coincided with Tuesday's opening of a government-run auction of precious stones - the latest in a series begun in 1964 and drawing buyers from all over to one of the world's top gem-producing countries.
"The sale of these gems gives Burma's military rulers quick cash to stay in power," said Arvind Ganesan, director of the rights watchdog's business programme.
The government's Myanmar Gem Enterprise stands third among the country's largest exporters, after the state-run oil and timber companies. Last year alone, the gems firm said it generated nearly 300 million dollars in sales - a 45 percent increase over the previous year.
The full value of the gems trade is unknown as smuggling and private deals by or on behalf of military leaders are said to be significant. By some estimates, jade alone accounts for about 10 percent of Burma's yearly export earnings.
Some 2,000 buyers from 20 countries registered for the Nov. 14-26 gem auction in Yangon, the Burmese capital also known as Rangoon, organisers were quoted as saying by local and international media. The figure compared to 3,000 and 4,000 participants at the previous two auctions, in March and July, Ganesan said.
This week's auction is the first since the country's military rulers launched a crackdown in August against Buddhist monks and other protesters after unhappiness over fuel price hikes spilled over into broader political dissent.
It was unclear whether armed suppression of what international media termed the "saffron revolution", for the colour of the monks' robes, had anything to do with the smaller numbers expected at the latest auction. What if any impact would be felt in sales also remained to be seen.
In any case, said Ganesan, the auction will raise hard currency for the junta "at a time when they are committing serious human rights abuses, driving their people into further poverty, and rejecting calls for political reconciliation."
Most of the gem merchants at the Rangoon auctions come from Asian countries. China and Thailand import the bulk of Burma's precious stones. Chinese demand for Burmese jade reportedly is rising as manufacturers there gear up production of memorabilia commemorating the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Human Rights Watch said.
Thailand is Burma's main export market for coloured gemstones. These are cut, polished, and exported on to European, Japanese, and U.S. retailers. India also has emerged as a leading cutting and polishing centre. The best stones are exported to Switzerland for onward sale, the rights group added in a statement citing industry sources.
Burma supplies 90 percent of the world's rubies, especially those prized for their "pigeon's blood" colour. It also is the top producer of jadeite, a variety of jade especially popular in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
The state owns at least a majority stake in each of the country's mines. Human Rights Watch, citing reports from non-governmental groups, said forced and child labour, unsafe work conditions, and the confiscation of land from local communities were rampant throughout the industry.
The European Union on Oct. 15 imposed sanctions, including measures designed to block Burmese gem imports.
In the U.S. Congress, pending legislation would ban the purchase of Burmese-mined gemstones, closing a loophole in existing sanctions that allows gems from Burma to be sold in the United States if they have been processed in a third country. U.S. jewellers' associations back tighter restrictions.
Some firms have long shunned Burmese gems. Among them are U.S.-based Tiffany & Co. and Leber Jeweler Inc. Others volunteering to follow suit since the August crackdown include Italy's Bulgari and France's Cartier, according to Human Rights Watch.
Whether such efforts succeed in pinching Burmese exporters remains to be seen. On Tuesday, officials in Rangoon told journalists that Western sanctions would have little impact as nearly all buyers come from Asian countries with little tolerance for trade embargoes.
Asian traders are accustomed to being challenged over their commercial ties to Burma, where the military took power in 1962. Over the years, and most recently in news reports this past week, many have said they might not approve of the junta but they see the country's political troubles as stemming from ethnic and political conflicts that simmered for centuries and boiled over after independence from Britain in 1948.
(END/2007)
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