[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 211 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 211


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 15, 2001

      Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
    Commending Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on the 10th anniversary of her 
    receiving the Nobel Peace Prize and expressing the sense of the 
           Congress with respect to the Government of Burma.

Whereas since 1962, the people of Burma have lived under a repressive military 
        regime;
Whereas in 1988, the people of Burma rose up in massive prodemocracy 
        demonstrations;
Whereas in response to this call for change, the Burmese military brutally 
        suppressed these demonstrations;
Whereas opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest 
        after these demonstrations;
Whereas in the 1990 Burmese elections, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi led the National 
        League for Democracy and affiliated parties to a landslide victory, 
        winning 80 percent of the parliamentary seats;
Whereas the ruling military regime rejected this election and proceeded to 
        arrest hundreds of members of the National League for Democracy;
Whereas Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's freedom of speech was restricted by the military 
        regime;
Whereas in recognition of her efforts to bring democracy to Burma, Daw Aung San 
        Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on October 14, 1991;
Whereas Daw Aung San Suu Kyi remained under unlawful house arrest until 1995;
Whereas even after her release, the Burmese military regime, known as the State 
        Peace and Development Council (SPDC), has continued to ignore the basic 
        human rights of 48,000,000 Burmese citizens and has brutally suppressed 
        any opposition to its authority;
Whereas according to the State Department, the SPDC has made no significant 
        progress toward stopping the practice of human trafficking, whereby 
        thousands of people have been sent to Thailand for the purpose of 
        factory and household work and for sexual exploitation;
Whereas the SPDC has forced civilians to work in industrial, military, and 
        infrastructure construction operations throughout Burma, and on a large-
        scale basis has targeted ethnic and religious minorities for this work;
Whereas a Department of Labor report in 2000 described the human rights abuses 
        of forced laborers, including beating, torture, starvation, and summary 
        executions;
Whereas the worldwide scourge of heroin and methamphetamines is significantly 
        aggravated by large-scale cultivation and production of these drugs in 
        Burma;
Whereas the Drug Enforcement Agency has reported that Burma is the world's 
        second largest producer of opium and opiate-based drugs;
Whereas officials in Thailand have estimated that as many as 800 million tablets 
        of methamphetamine will be smuggled into their country this year, 
        contributing to the growing methamphetamine problem in Thailand;
Whereas there are as many as a million internally displaced persons in Burma;
Whereas the SPDC has severely restricted Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's political 
        activities;
Whereas in September 2000, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest 
        when she attempted to visit a National League for Democracy party office 
        on the outskirts of Rangoon, and again when she attempted to travel by 
        train to Mandalay;
Whereas Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has recently begun talks with the SPDC which are 
        welcomed by the international community, although the slow pace of the 
        talks reflects on the SPDC's sincerity to move toward national 
        reconciliation;
Whereas the SPDC has recently allowed the National League for Democracy to open 
        some political offices, and has released some political prisoners, 
        although over 1,800 such prisoners are believed to remain imprisoned;
Whereas with the exception of these positive developments the SPDC has made 
        little progress in improving human rights conditions and restoring 
        democracy to the country;
Whereas the SPDC has continued to restrict the political power of Daw Aung San 
        Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy;
Whereas Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's struggle to assert the rights of her people has 
        spread beyond politics and into popular culture, as evidenced by others 
        championing her cause, most notably the rock group U2 in their song 
        ``Walk On'', which is banned in Burma; and
Whereas, in the face of oppression, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has remained an 
        outspoken champion of democracy and freedom: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That--
            (1) the Congress commends and congratulates Daw Aung San 
        Suu Kyi on the 10th anniversary of her receiving the Nobel 
        Peace Prize, and recognizes her remarkable contributions and 
        tireless work toward bringing peace and democracy to Burma;
            (2) it is the sense of the Congress that the President and 
        Secretary of State should continue to encourage the Government 
        of Burma to restore basic human rights to the Burmese people, 
        to eliminate the practice of human trafficking, to address the 
        manufacture of heroin and methamphetamines, to continue the 
        process of releasing political prisoners, to recognize the 
        results of the 1990 democratic elections, and to allow Daw Aung 
        San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy to enjoy 
        unfettered freedom of speech and freedom of movement; and
            (3) it is the sense of the Congress that Daw Aung San Suu 
        Kyi should be invited to address a joint meeting of the 
        Congress at such time and under such circumstances as will, in 
        the judgment of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, advance rather than 
        endanger her continued ability to work within Burma for the 
        rights of the Burmese people.

            Passed the House of Representatives November 14, 2001.

            Attest:

                                                 JEFF TRANDAHL,

                                                                 Clerk.