Laura Bush: Boycott Burmese Gem Show

First lady Laura Bush released a statement Friday denouncing the Myanmar (Burmese) junta and its violent crackdowns on peaceful protests, urging merchants not to participate in the regime’s gem auction and praising industry members that have committed not to source Burmese gemstones.

In the statement, the first lady said that, as the sale of gems is the Burmese government’s third largest source of revenue, it is propping up the regime and allowing it to “continue to harass, arrest and sentence peaceful activists who seek freedom of speech, worship and assembly.”

She called on supports of freedom and justice for the Burmese people in the U.S. and worldwide to refrain from filling the coffers of the regime at the gem show. “Every Burmese stone bought, cut, polished and sold sustains an illegitimate and repressive regime,” she said.

Bush went on to applaud the Jewelers of America and retailers such as Tiffany & Co. and Cartier, who have taken stands against the importation of the country’s gems.