Belgians reopen Total Myanmar probe

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgian prosecutors have reopened an inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity by France's Total over its pipeline project in Myanmar, the federal prosecutors' office said on Monday.

Belgium's Supreme Court of Appeals stopped the probe in 2005 after ruling that four Myanmar refugees who brought the case against the oil giant did not have the same rights as Belgian citizens to file a complaint.

"The case has been reopened," said Lieve Pellens, a spokeswoman for the federal prosecutors office. She said the instruction had come from the Defense Ministry and was expected to go to a pre-trial court in the last week of October to determine whether or not it could be brought to trial.

A spokeswoman for Total had no immediate comment on Monday.

The refugees filed a suit against Total in 2002, using a Belgian human rights law that gives the courts the right to try people accused of crimes against humanity and other atrocities committed anywhere in the world.

The refugees' complaint targeted Total, its chairman Thierry Desmarest and former head of its Myanmar operations Herve Madeo for complicity in torture and forced labor of workers in building a pipeline in the country, formerly known as Burma.

Total has denied funding the military in Myanmar but has said the junta paid soldiers to protect its installations and workers. The pipeline was completed in 1998.

Belgium revised the law in 2003 to make it harder for foreigners to use it for politically motivated lawsuits. Its courts had been flooded with lawsuits claiming rights violations by world figures such as Israel's Ariel Sharon and U.S. leaders.

The reopening of the case comes as the European Union has been considering tightening sanctions on Myanmar after a crackdown on street protests by security forces last week.

A lawyer for the four refugees said Belgium's constitutional court had given an opposite ruling to that of the Supreme Court of Appeals as one of the plaintiffs was officially recognized as a refugee in Belgium, giving him the same right as a national.

Alexis Deswaef said the complaint contained "material proof of the complicity of Total -- not only moral and financial help to the junta but also logistic and military help".

Total and other multinationals have long been under pressure from activists to withdraw from Myanmar, shunned for its rights record and suppression of political opponents.

Total is one of the main foreign investors and according to the Burma Campaign UK its venture earns the military junta hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

On Wednesday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for a freeze of investment by French firms in Myanmar.

Total responded by saying no new investment was planned but added that its departure from the country would aggravate the situation as its place would be taken by others who treated their staff less well.