http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBS38FU4ZD.htmlLOS ANGELES (AP) - A California judge on Tuesday kept alive a human rights lawsuit that claims energy giant Unocal Corp. should be held liable for the alleged enslavement of local residents during construction of a gas pipeline in Southeast Asia.
The lawsuit alleges that during the 1990s soldiers in Myanmar, a politically isolated country formerly known as Burma, forced male villagers to help build the $1.2 billion Yadana pipeline into Thailand. El Segundo-based Unocal was a minority partner in the project.
Plaintiffs' lawyers representing 14 anonymous residents also alleged that soldiers murdered a baby, raped women and girls and forced people out of their homes to clear the pipeline's route.
The case against the oil and gas giant is considered a key test among human rights activists seeking to hold multinational corporations responsible in U.S. courts for alleged atrocities committed abroad. On Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Victoria Gerrard Chaney ruled the case can proceed to a jury trial.
more...Hey GI's. Here the types of companies you are being killed and maimed for in Iraq to keep profits up. Aren't you proud?
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