[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 274 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 274

       Concerning Burma and the United Nations General Assembly.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 17, 1995

Mr. Gilman (for himself, Mr. Bereuter, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, and Mr. 
Berman) introduced the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
       Concerning Burma and the United Nations General Assembly.

Whereas the military government of Burma, as a member of the United Nations, is 
        obligated to uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all 
        other international human rights standards and conventions to which it 
        is a signatory;
Whereas the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (hereinafter referred 
        to as the ``SLORC'') in Burma has refused to recognize the results of 
        the May 1990 elections, which the National League for Democracy, led by 
        Aung San Suu Kyi, won by a landslide;
Whereas the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in March 1995 unanimously 
        condemned the SLORC's refusal to ``take all necessary steps towards 
        democracy in light of those elections'';
Whereas the United Nations Commission on Human Rights also expressed grave 
        concern about violations of fundamental human rights in Burma, including 
        torture, summary and arbitrary executions, massive use of forced labor 
        including forced portering for the military, abuse of women, political 
        arrests and detentions, restrictions on freedom of expression and 
        association, and oppressive measures directed at ethnic and religious 
        minorities;
Whereas the United Nations Commission on Human Rights noted that most of the 
        1990 democratically elected representatives have been excluded from the 
        SLORC's ``National Convention'' and concluded that the convention does 
        not ``appear to constitute the necessary step towards the restoration of 
        democracy,'';
Whereas Burma continues to be one of the world's leading sites of narcotics 
        production and trafficking and, according to the United States State 
        Department, production of heroin nearly tripled in Burma since the SLORC 
        took power in a violent coup in 1988;
Whereas, according to the State Department's International Narcotics Control 
        Strategy Report of March 1995, the SLORC's antinarcotics efforts last 
        year ``fell far short of the measures necessary to make serious progress 
        against the drug trade,'' and in addition, the SLORC's lack of control 
        over heroin-producing areas is due to the SLORC's allowing ``wide-
        ranging, local autonomy (to ethnic armies) in exchange for halting their 
        active insurgencies against Rangoon'';
Whereas the peace agreements signed by the SLORC with ethnic insurgencies since 
        1989 were supposed to lead to both a decrease in opium production and 
        economic development, but according to the State Department's report, 
        ``neither development nor a reduction in opium cultivation has 
        occurred'';
Whereas in 1948 when Burma became independent, the annual production of opium 
        was 30 tons, Burma was then a democracy, it exported rice to its 
        neighbors and the world, and it enjoyed a free-market system;
Whereas today Burma is one of the poorest nations in the world and its opium 
        production has increased some 8,000 percent to about 2,575 tons (1992-
        1993);
Whereas the drug production increase is the consequence in large degree of the 
        inability of the successive military governments in Rangoon to come to 
        terms with the country's ethnic minorities and the refusal of post-1962 
        military-dominated regimes to permit an open pluralistic society;
Whereas it is primarily through a democratically elected civilian government in 
        Burma, supported by the Burmese people including the ethnic minorities, 
        that Burma can make significant progress in controlling narcotics 
        production and trafficking;
Whereas on July 10, 1995, the SLORC responded to international pressure, 
        including 5 resolutions by the United Nations General Assembly, by 
        releasing Aung San Suu Kyi, who had been held under house arrest for 6 
        years;
Whereas 16 elected Members of Parliament remain in detention in Burma, along 
        with thousands of other political prisoners, according to Human Rights 
        Watch/Asia, Amnesty International, and other human rights monitoring 
        groups;
Whereas in July 1995 the International Committee of the Red Cross (hereinafter 
        referred to as the ``ICRC'') closed its office in Burma due to the 
        SLORC's refusal to agree to allow the ICRC confidential regular access 
        to prisoners;
Whereas the United States ambassador to the United Nations visited Burma in 
        September 1995, met with Aung San Suu Kyi, and also met with leaders of 
        the SLORC and urged them to ``choose the path'' of ``democracy, rather 
        than continued repression and dictatorial control,'' and declared that 
        ``fundamental change in the United States policy towards Burma would 
        depend on fundamental change in the SLORC's treatment of the Burmese 
        people; and
Whereas the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Burma, Professor Yozo Yokota, 
        visited the country in October 1995 and will deliver a preliminary 
        report of his findings to the current session of the United Nations 
        General Assembly: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives calls on--
            (1) the Burmese Government to immediately begin a political 
        dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi, other democratic leaders, and 
        representatives of the ethnic minorities to release immediately 
        and unconditionally detained Members of Parliament and other 
        political prisoners, to repeal repressive laws which prohibit 
        freedom of association and expression and the right of citizens 
        to participate freely in the political life of their country, 
        to resume negotiations with the International Committee of the 
        Red Cross on access to prisoners, and help control the massive 
        flow of heroin from Burma; and
            (2) the President, the Secretary of State, and the United 
        States ambassador to the United Nations to actively support and 
        promote a resolution at the upcoming session of the Third 
        Committee of the United Nations General Assembly reiterating 
        the grave concerns of the international community and calling 
        on the SLORC to take concrete, significant steps to fulfill its 
        obligations to guarantee respect to basic human rights and to 
        restore civilian, democratic rule to the people of Burma.
                                 <all>