Hold back: French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged Total to halt investment in Burma
Sarkozy urges Total ‘restraint’ in Burma
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has urged French companies, including oil giant Total, to halt new investments in Burma, which is facing its biggest street protests in 20 years.
"France calls on all of its private companies, for example Total, to show the greatest restraint in their investments in Myanmar, and to not make any new ones," Reuters reported Sarkozy told reporters today after meeting Burmese opposition politicians.
"The situation is extremely worrying and we cannot accept behaviour that would run counter to human rights and the right to protest ... France will not let the Myanmar opposition be muzzled," he said.
Burma's ruling military junta refers to the country as Myanmar.
A spokeswoman for Total declined immediate comment.
The company's presence in Burma, where it leads a consortium that extracts gas offshore, has been frequently attacked by human rights activists.
"Total's presence in Myanmar since 1992 has generated considerable controversy," the company notes on its website.
"Although Total shares the concerns of the international community about the human rights situation in Myanmar, we believe that our presence has positive lasting benefits for the region," it says.
Today crowds of monks and civilians filled the streets of Rangoon, defying warning shots, tear gas and baton charges meant to quell protests against the country’s ruling military junta.
State-run radio confirmed reports that at least one monk had been killed and three injured in today’s protests but provided no further details, the BBC reported. Other sources said at least 100 monks had been hurt
The government imposed a country-wide curfew yesterday.
Protests were triggered last month by the government's decision to increase the price of fuel.
Analysts fear a repeat of the violence in 1988, when troops killed thousands of protesters.