Drink Coke
Penn State-Pepsi connection can help stoptorment in Burma

Pepsico Inc.'s attempts to win the cola war has finally drawn real blood -- and the carbonation company doesn't care.

In the interest of bigger profits, Pepsico, with which the University has a multi-million dollar deal, is aiding in the arrest and torture of thousands of people in Burma.

Pepsico has maintained joint ventures with Burmese companies that have close ties with the brutal regime controlling the small Southeast Asia country. The military government launched attacks on its citizens to solidify its power after losing the May 1990 election, yet Pepsico has refused to cut its economic ties with Burma.

Concerned students can do their part by boycotting Pepsi products and speaking out against the repressive junta in Burma; University administrators can use Penn State's connection with Pepsi to discourage the junta's human rights violations.

Burma is ruled by the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). The SLORC has been alternately charged with the following:

-- According to a recent U.N. Human Rights Commission investigation, the junta regularly resorts to torture and other inhumane treatment.

-- It is diverting all foreign exchange earnings into its military (approximately 60 percent of the national budget is used for military).

-- It is crushing Burma's National League for Democracy after it won 82 percent of the popular vote in the 1990 elections.

-- It has imprisoned Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and tortured her supporters.

-- It has been held responsible for the massacre 5,000 and 10,000 non-violent pro-democracy demonstrators in 1988.

Pepsico has already shown its unwillingness to deal with the situation. In recent years, Coke, Eddie Bauer, Liz Claiborne and Levi Strauss have all withdrawn or announced plans to withdraw from Burma. Still, Pepsico CEO Wayne Calloway refuses to allow even a shareholder vote on withdrawal.

Upon announcing withdrawal, Levi Strauss representatives said "it is not possible to do business in (Burma) without directly supporting the military government and its pervasive violations of human rights."

Pepsico has responded by sponsoring an SLORC trade show, continuing to bottle Pepsi and 7up in Burma and planning to open Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants in Burma in the near future.

A simple boycott of Pepsico and its subsidiaries (Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC, Frito Lay, and others) isn't enough in this case. Pepsico needs to know why you are deciding to boycott their products.

If you want more information or want to register a complaint, call Pepsi at 1-800-433-COLA. You can also write Pepsico Inc. at Purchase, NY 10577 or fax the company at (914) 253-2070.

On a more local basis, Penn State administrators must use the considerable pull they have to try to convince Pepsico to do the right thing.

If you want the University to make a change, call University President Joab Thomas at 865-7611 or write to 201 Old Main.