Burma: British Unions Call For Tourist Boycott

Burma: British Unions Call for Tourist Boycott

Britain's Trade Union Council (TUC) has called for a tourist boycott of Burma, citing the military's appalling human rights record. The TUC said tourist spending was helping to maintain the "brutal" military junta.

The TUC's statement supports Aung San Suu Kyi's calls for tourists to stay away from Burma.

In the past she has criticized tour operators who claim tourists assist the cause of democracy by exposing Burmese people to new ideas about freedom and democracy: "That's so patronising! Burmese people know their own problems better than anyone else. They know what they want - they want democracy - and many have died for it. To suggest that there's anything new that tourists can teach the people of Burma about their own situation is not simply patronising - it's also racist."

ENDS

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