[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 188 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 188

    Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to increasing 
                     political oppression in Burma.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 13, 1996

 Mr. Rohrabacher submitted the following concurrent resolution; which 
        was referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
    Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to increasing 
                     political oppression in Burma.

Whereas since 1962 Burma has been ruled by a military dictatorship;
Whereas as part of a crackdown against the Burmese pro-democracy movement, the 
        State Law and Order Restoration Council (hereafter in this resolution 
        referred to as ``SLORC'') was established by the military dictatorship 
        in 1988;
Whereas on May 27, 1990, the people of Burma voted overwhelmingly in a free 
        election for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy 
        (hereafter in this resolution referred to as ``NLD'');
Whereas despite numerous pledges, the SLORC has failed to honor the results of 
        the 1990 elections;
Whereas the United States has not sent an ambassador to Rangoon in protest of 
        the failure of the SLORC to honor the 1990 elections and the continued 
        human rights abuses suffered by the Burmese people;
Whereas in response to the massacre of thousands of Burmese participating in 
        peaceful democratic demonstrations, the Congress adopted a provision as 
        part of the Customs and Trade Act of 1990 requiring the President to 
        impose appropriate economic sanctions on Burma;
Whereas currently the United States has suspended economic aid to Burma, placed 
        an embargo on arms sales, denied Burma benefits under the Generalized 
        System of Preferences (GSP), and decertified Burma as a narcotics 
        cooperating country;
Whereas the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 
        (Public Law 103-236), approved April 30, 1994, placed Burma on the list 
        of international ``outlaw'' states that includes Libya, North Korea, and 
        Iraq and which is set forth in section 307(a) of the Foreign Assistance 
        Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2227(a)), thus mandating that voluntary United 
        States funding for any United Nations agency will be automatically 
        reduced if the agency conducts programs in Burma;
Whereas on July 15, 1994, the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 234 calling on 
        the executive branch to encourage members of the Association of 
        Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to work with the United States to 
        achieve the transfer of power to the winners of Burma's 1990 democratic 
        election;
Whereas on July 25, 1994, the House of Representatives adopted House Resolution 
        471, which urged the Burmese regime to transfer power to democratically 
        elected leaders of Burma and to respect human rights;
Whereas on June 28, 1995, the House of Representatives agreed to an amendment to 
        H.R. 1868, which prohibited funds for international narcotics control or 
        crop substitution assistance for the Burmese regime;
Whereas in early 1995 the SLORC conducted a military campaign against ethnic 
        minorities, many of whom are Christian, along the border between Burma 
        and Thailand, including the headquarters of the Democratic Alliance of 
        Burma at Mannerplaw;
Whereas on July 10, 1995, after six years of unlawful detention, the SLORC 
        released Nobel Peace Prize winner Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of 
        the NLD;
Whereas since the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the SLORC has rejected her 
        efforts to establish a timetable for dialogue and national 
        reconciliation and has denied the NLD a meaningful role in a credible 
        political process;
Whereas the 1995 Human Rights Watch World Report states that Muslims in the 
        Arakan State, a province of Burma, are subject to forced relocations, 
        forced labor, and religious persecution;
Whereas on December 19, 1995, the House of Representatives adopted House 
        Resolution 274, which calls on the Burmese regime to begin a political 
        dialogue with democratically elected leaders of Burma, release political 
        prisoners, guarantee respect for basic human rights, and restore 
        civilian and democratic rule to the people of Burma;
Whereas Aung San Suu Kyi has called for a halt to private foreign investment 
        until progress towards democracy begins in Burma;
Whereas various United States cities have passed resolutions condemning United 
        States private investment in Burma;
Whereas protests on university campuses against United States policy in Burma 
        are growing in frequency;
Whereas the SLORC regime has purchased $2,000,000,000 in weapons over the last 3 
        years from the People's Republic of China and other countries;
Whereas on June 7, 1996, SLORC passed Law 5/96, which outlawed the drawing up, 
        writing, or distribution of the state constitution of Burma without 
        legal authorization;
Whereas penalties for writing a constitution involve a minimum of 3 years and a 
        maximum of 20 years in prison, in addition to unspecified fines;
Whereas during the period of May 26th-29th, 1996, 258 delegates to a conference 
        on democracy in Rangoon were arrested and jailed;
Whereas of the 258 delegates arrested, 238 were elected in 1990 as members of 
        the parliament;
Whereas the Report of the Special Representative of the United Nations, 
        published in March, 1996, indicated that forced labor, forced porterage, 
        torture, and arbitrary killing are still widespread in Burma;
Whereas SLORC has refused to file any charges against Khun Sa, the world's most 
        notorious heroin trafficker, and rejected requests by the United States 
        to have him extradited to the United States;
Whereas the Karenni and the Karen, ethnic groups in Burma, are strong supporters 
        of democracy and the United States;
Whereas thousands of innocent Karenni civilians have been killed by unprovoked 
        attacks by SLORC troops in the Karenni state;
Whereas the Karen ethnic group faces constant attacks by SLORC troops, resulting 
        in many deaths and destruction of villages; and
Whereas in the near future, Aung San Suu Kyi and members of the democratic 
        movement in Burma may begin to write a legitimate state constitution for 
        the people of Burma: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That if the SLORC regime arrests Aung San Suu Kyi, otherwise limits her 
freedom, or exiles her--
            (1) the Congress will adopt legislation to prohibit future 
        investment in Burma; and
            (2) the United States should use all means necessary to 
        bring Khun Sa to trial in the United States.
                                 <all>