Consistent with President Obama’s historic visit to Burma (Myanmar) on November 19th and Burmese opposition leader Aung San SuuKyi’s call for responsible investments in Burma, the National Asian American Coalition (NAAC) met with U.S. Ambassador to Burma, Derek Mitchell, in Yangon, Burma, four days after the President’s visit.
As one of our nation’s largest Pan Asian American advocacy groups, the NAAC has been working with Burmese American groups to move Burma into the 21st century, both economically and in terms of democracy. The NAAC was the first Asian American organization, for example, to call for the suspension of U.S. sanctions and the appointment of a highly qualified U.S. ambassador to Burma (Asian Journal, “U.S. Policy Toward Myanmar Could Alter the Course of History,” May 11, 2012). Both have occurred.
At the historic NAAC meeting with Ambassador Mitchell, the NAAC was represented by its general counsel, Robert Gnaizda, an experienced counsel in responsible corporate investments. He was joined by AungNaing, president of the Network of Myanmar Americans Association, the head of the largest microenterprise nonprofit in California, Claudia Viek of the California Association for Micro Enterprise Opportunity, and a leading Burmese banking expert, Than Win Shwe.
At the very cordial and surprisingly receptive almost ninety-minute meeting with the Ambassador, the NAAC and the Burmese American community raised specific corporate responsibility efforts that should be required before any multinational corporation is encouraged to and/or allowed to invest in Burma. Our guidelines were based upon the many statements on this issue by Aung San SuuKyi and the NAAC’s long history of negotiating multibillion dollar community reinvestment agreements with banks and multimillion dollar public interest agreements with telecommunications and utility companies.
The first issue we raised was whether Pepsi should be required, as a condition for selling its products to sixty million Burmese, to develop with the Burmese community with assistance from Burmese Americans, a multimillion dollar responsible corporate investment strategy. This strategy should be developed in negotiations with the Burmese community with assistance from Burmese Americans. Our October 31st letter to Pepsi CEO, IndraNooyi, was reviewed by the Ambassador. Many Burmese Americans and the NAAC believe that Pepsi should be required to invest up to ten percent of its revenue derived from Burmese operations to develop quality dental and health programs in Burma. (See, for example, the $45 billion ten-year community reinvestment agreement our leaders helped negotiate with Wells Fargo.)
Four days after our meeting with the Ambassador, the NAAC received a letter from senior management of Pepsi stating that they wished to meet with the NAAC and Burmese Americans to discuss how we could assist them in responsibly entering the Burmese market. We expect to meet with Pepsi senior executives within the next 30 days, but only after comprehensive consultations with the Burmese American community. (Aung San SuuKyi in her speeches in the U.S. urged the Burmese American community to take the lead in advancing the interests of a long oppressed and repressed Burmese population that needed its unselfish assistance.)
Besides our Pepsi negotiations, we have commenced efforts to meet with, for example, the senior leadership of Coca Cola, Chevron, HSBC, Rabobank, JP Morgan Chase, Softbank (Sprint), AT&T and Verizon (a preliminary meeting was held with Chevron soon after the NAAC called for the suspension of U.S. investment sanctions against Burma).
But, the NAAC will not support any corporate investments in Burma unless: (a) they are clearly responsible; (b) they will ensure a substantial net benefit to the Burmese community; (c) are supported by our nation’s 200,000 Burmese Americans; and (d) supported by Aung San SuuKyi.
In our future meetings (NAAC and Burmese American leaders) with corporate investors, we will urge that all investments follow the Gates Foundation model with a special focus on education, health and economic development. This should include broadband access (only one percent of Burmese have access to internet and only three percent have cellphones according to a recent Wall Street Journal report). It can also include low-cost banking alternatives, including ATMs (to our shock, Burmese had no access to ATMs until November 19th, the day President Obama met in Burma with Aung San SuuKyi and Burmese President TheinSein.)
Given Ambassador Mitchell’s very positive response to the NAAC’s efforts and his discussion of preliminary U.S. and international efforts consistent with the needs of the Burmese people, we are committed to work with the Administration and the Ambassador to achieve the long term goal of moving Burma from close to last among the United Nations’ 193 members to a more prominent role in economic development. As many of us recall, Burma was once, and not so long ago, one of the two richest Asian nations in the world. And Burma has a long and proud history of accomplishments that in many ways far exceeds that of the United States.
(Faith Bautista & Mia Martinez)
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Faith Bautista is the president and CEO of the National Asian American Coalition. Mia Martinez is the chief deputy for the National Asian American Coalition’s regulatory and congressional liaison office in Washington, DC.
