5.13.2008 - 11:59pm ET

In the aftermath of the May 2 strike of Cyclone Nargis in Burma, many organizations have pledged aid to the survivors. This, despite the fact that the ruling regime (which renamed the country Myanmar in 1989 after seizing power) is blocking aid to its people - a fate some consider worse than the natural devastation. To address this, organizations are focusing their donations on relief agencies with on-the-ground presence and disaster relief experience in politically volatile regions.

For example, the Gates Foundation granted $1 million to World Vision, which has worked in Burma for some 40 years and distributed 35 metric tons of rice and 18,000 liters of drinking water there in the wake of the cyclone. The UPS Foundation donated $200,000 to CARE, which has been there for 14 years with nearly 500 staff in 120 townships. The Salvation Army, which is providing aid in Burma, as it has since 1915, is appealing for donations, as is the United Nations Population Fund, which seeks $3 million to focus on the distinct needs of female survivors, such as expectant mothers. Mercy Corps, which specializes in disaster relief, is dispatching its top European official to Burma. Mercy Corps is among five organizations jointly allocated $2 million for disaster relief in Burma by Chevron, which has its own form of on-the-ground presence there.

Chevron owns the Yadana natural gas pipeline, the locus of severe human rights abuses. In 2005, then-owner Unocal (which Chevron acquired) reportedly paid $30 million to settle a lawsuit alleging the company hired Burmese security forces knowing they committed murder, rape, and forced labor. Human rights activists and shareholders continue to urge Chevron to abandon the pipeline, pointing out that revenues from the project support the military regime infamous for human rights abuses. For its part, Chevron claims its community development program associated with the Yadana project "positively improves people's lives in Myanmar," according to an October 2007 statement.

Just before the cyclone hit, EarthRights International (which served as co-counsel in the Unocal lawsuit) released a report documenting how Chevron’s pipeline investment continues to fuel human rights abuses at the hands of the regime the company supports through pipeline revenues. The report cites evidence of ongoing murder, rape, and forced labor by security forces since Chevron took ownership of the pipeline in 2005.

This report raises the question whether Chevron's pipeline involvement counteracts its $2 million in disaster relief--as important as such a contribution is. In other words, is Chevron doing more harm than good in Burma? Given its support for a military regime that is now denying disaster aid to its own people, the answer to this question seems clearer than ever.

This article was written by CSRwire contributor Bill Baue.

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