Total in Burma – a Long-Term Commitment
Jean-François Lassalle - Vice-President Public Affairs, Total Exploration & Production





Total has been accused of using forced labour during the construction of a gas pipeline in Burma between 1995 and 1998. The case, based on the Belgian law of Universal Competence, was brought in the name of four Burmese refugees, only one of whom currently lives in Belgium. Their case was based on abuses they endured between 1976 and 1996 during the suppression of student protests in Rangoon.

Recently, given access by the (Belgian) Royal Attorney General, we were able to study the file: none of the plaintiffs had ever worked for Total, none of them lived in the pipeline construction area and one had even left Burma 10 years before construction of the pipeline had begun! They were neither victims nor witnesses of any activity which could be attributed to our company and actually, they had nothing to reproach us with, other than the fact that we were working in their country.

It is on this basis that Total’s presence in Burma was so strongly criticised in the Belgian daily, Le Soir, in a Carte blanche [open forum] published on 6 December (editorial note: “The Total Affair and the Honour of Democracy”, signed by a group of human rights defence organisations, NGOs and trade unions).

Court cases both in France and in Belgium forced us to maintain silence while justice took its course. In France, an out of court settlement has been reached with the plaintiffs and the Belgian Cour de Cassation has dismissed proceedings against Total. The time has come for us to explain our presence in Burma, to deal with the accusations which were made against us and to explain why we continue to operate in Burma.

In 1992, in response to an international call for tenders, Total and three partners signed a contract to explore an offshore area in the Andaman Sea. Having established the presence of a large gas reservoir, in 1995 we began to develop a gas field which was called “Yadana”, and a pipeline was laid between the offshore reservoir and Thailand where most of the gas was to be delivered.

Since 1994, even before the construction of the pipeline began, Total and its partners set up a sustainable development programme for the Burmese people living near this project.

In addition to developing profitable projects, the Total Group takes care to see that there are economic and social benefits for the people of the countries where they invest. Its code of conduct sets out four key points. Total respects the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the key conventions of the International Labour Organisation, the OECD guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the principles of the United Nations Global Compact.

In its work with local populations, Total and its partners set out four key areas of activity – health, education, economic development and the creation of infrastructure. The maintenance of the programme depends on an on-going dialogue with the people and on the continuity of developments which are financed by the project itself. Since it was set up, the socio-economic programme has focussed on the residents of the 13 villages closest to the pipeline.

What progress can we point to some ten years down the line? A considerably improved standard of living for 48,000 people in the 25 villages around the gas pipeline (nearly double the original 13). These residents all have access to free medical care. Vaccination campaigns and health education have helped to cut infant mortality by a factor of 4.5 and malaria has been cut by a factor of 20. Life expectancy for the local population has now been increased by 10 years.

Schools have been set up and the support given to teachers has doubled the number of children receiving education to a current total of around 8,600. On the economic development scene, seeds and fertiliser have been supplied, veterinarians and agronomists have given technical support and breeding stations and micro-credit systems have been put in place. The result? A visible increase in agricultural production.

Finally, the Yadana project partners set about creating and renovating common infrastructure including churches, pagodas, roads and bridges, football grounds, marketplaces and community halls.

Over a number of years, the entire gas pipeline zone has been totally and positively transformed.

Total is well aware of the fact that its presence should have an impact on Burmese society beyond the limited boundary of the pipeline zone. That is why we are supporting a number of humanitarian projects at a national level. We are sponsoring orphanages, surgery for cataracts and glaucoma through the Helen Keller Foundation as well as an AIDS prevention and treatment programme in Mandalay which is supervised by the WHO (World Health Association) with support from the Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, an NGO.

In setting up and evaluation these programmes, we have called on independent experts and international humanitarian organisations. Their reports have been published on the internet. We have invited journalists and independent observers to visit our sites and to report on the impact of our operations.

The local inhabitants around the Yadana pipeline say that they are happy to have us there. They are above all, grateful that there is no forced labour in the area around our pipeline.

On this crucial point, we have made representations to the national authorities about this unacceptable practice. We have made efforts to ensure that there is no forced labour in the areas around the pipeline. And, as we did ten years ago, we compensate those who have been forced to work. The recent settlement in France is evidence of our ongoing commitment to monitor the situation and to continue this compensation.

The local population and our Burmese employees are grateful to us for the respect we show them, for the dialogue we have set up, and for the social advantages we have given them. These things are taken for granted in Europe, but they are the exception in Burma.

In spite of all this, we see that the quality of our operation does not spare us from untruths and completely unfounded accusations whose sole purpose is to force us to leave the country.

We pay attention to Burmese citizens, and we can confirm that they ask us to stay! They see, in the presence of Western companies on their soil, hope for a better life. They keep us informed on developments in Burmese society and they emphasise that those who support the politics of isolation and sanctions would only condemn their country to more misery.

We have a clear conscience and we know the responsibility that our presence in Burma implies. Leaving the country is not a solution. We know that we would be immediately replaced by companies which would have fewer scruples and which would not maintain our ethical and social standards. Such an outcome would have absolutely no impact on the revenues of the Burmese state.

That is why for as long as we believe that our activities on the Yadana project also contribute to the well-being of the Burmese population, we will maintain our presence in their country and we will make every effort to convince external observers of the positive basis of our operations.

We certainly do not have a solution for every problem, but we are trying unceasingly to adapt our efforts towards the legitimate expectations of ordinary citizens. In time, we hope that our efforts will be recognised and we will see an end to libellous accusations.

Jean-François Lassalle - Vice-President Public Affairs, Total Exploration & Production
Free translation from the French article “Total in Birmanie, un engagement durable”
“Le Soir” [Belgium] - Tuesday 10 January 2006
Page 16 - “Carte blanche” [open forum]
© Rossel & Cie SA – LE SOIR, Bruxelles 2006