Burma: Gem Trade Bolsters Military Regime, Fuels Atrocities

The upcoming gem auction is the first in Burma since the military
government violently repressed peaceful protests that began in August. It
was twice postponed, purportedly due to weather conditions. Ongoing
unrest and strong international condemnation of the regime may have
raised fears that few traders would attend. Even after delaying the event,
the government has set lower expectations for attendance than in the past.

Myanmar Gems Enterprise has said it expects approximately 2,000 foreign
buyers to attend the November auction, which would be significantly
fewer than attended prior auctions in March and July 2007. The March
gem emporium, attended by some 3,000 traders, reportedly generated
$185 million in total sales. The company said the July auction, at which
4,000 buyers were present, set a new record for jade earnings but it has not
released sales figures.

The vast majority of the gem merchants who attend the Rangoon auctions
are from Asian countries, especially China and Thailand. Those two
countries also import the bulk of Burma’s precious stones. Burmese jade,
which is popular in China, reportedly is increasingly sought after for use
in products commemorating the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Chinese buyers also purchased Burmese gems at a recent China-ASEAN
Expo that took place from October 28-31 in Nanning, in southern China.
According to a report in the Myanmar Times, Burma’s gem sales at the
four-day event amounted to 200,000 yuan (US$27,000) per day.

Thailand is the main importer of Burmese colored gemstones, which are
cut, polished, and re-exported to customers in third countries. Burmese
gems typically are sold on to retailers in Europe, Japan, and the United
States. India also serves as a cutting and polishing center. A considerable
number of the highest-quality and most expensive stones are exported to
Switzerland for onward sale to the US or other markets, according to
industry sources.

On October 15, the European Union imposed new sanctions to block the
import of Burmese precious and semi precious stones, along with other
measures.

In the US Congress, pending legislation would ban the purchase of
Burmese-mined gemstones, closing a loophole in existing US sanctions
that allows gems from Burma to be sold in the US if they have been
processed in a third country.

A few jewelry retailers, notably Tiffany & Co. and Leber Jewelers, have
long refused to purchase gems of Burmese origin. In reaction to the
bloody crackdown in Burma that began in August, several European and
US jewelry companies – including Bulgari and Cartier – also have
voluntarily pledged to boycott Burmese gems.

In October 2007 the Jewelers of America, an industry association, issued
an unprecedented call on Congress to fully ban Burmese gems and
encouraged its 11,000 members to halt purchases of these gems until
democratic reforms are underway. Other industry associations – one in
Canada, a second association in the US, and an international jewelers
confederation – also have supported similar moves.

“The governments and companies that have stopped buying Burmese
gems deserve credit for not supporting human rights abusers,” said
Ganesan. “The rest have the blood of Burmese on their hands.”

For more of Human Rights Watch’s work on Burma, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/doc?t=asia&c=burma

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