Olympic Torchbearers Uniforms Made in Burma

As many as 11,500 torchbearers carried the Olympic flame from Greece to Salt Lake City where the Olympic Winter Games were held in February, 2002. But, it turned out, this symbol of the Olympic spirit was being carried by people wearing clothes made in Burma.

The Olympic torchbearers were wearing uniforms produced in Burma for the U.S. company Marker. The Dutch Clean Clothes Campaign, the Dutch Trade Union Federation (FNV), the Burma Committee of the Netherlands and Novib organized an action to make clear that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) should not be doing business with the military regime in Burma. On February 8th the campaigners staged their own alternative Olympic opening ceremony. Standing between two 9-meter-high Buddha's on Amsterdam's Dam Square, representatives of these organizations raised an alternative Olympic flame up a giant 12-meter-high torch. During this alternative opening ceremony, the organizations called upon the IOC to conform to international treaties on human rights and labor norms concerning the purchase of goods. Hundreds of flyers were handed out to the public, while the media turned out in large numbers to cover the action.

In response to the reports that the uniforms were made in Burma, a broad range of organizations (human rights organizations, unions, etc.) co-signed protest letters to the IOC and Marker. A Dutch delegation also sent a letter to the Dutch Olympic Committee. So far, the IOC has not responded.