[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 118 (Thursday, July 20, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10439-S10440]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   ON THE RELEASE OF AUNG SAN SUU KYI

 Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, after 6 years of unjust detention 
by the Burmese military, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi is 
free. While this is cause for celebration and great relief from those 
of us who have long called for her release, one cannot fail to stress 
that there is also great outrage that she was incarcerated in the first 
instance. The State Law and Order Restoration Council [SLORC], the 
military Junta in Burma, has sought to thwart democracy at every turn.
  Led by Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy [NLD] 
party won a democratic election in 1990, while she was under house 
arrest, yet the SLORC has never allowed the elected leaders of Burma to 
take office. Instead they have forced these leaders to flee their 
country to escape arrest and death.
  The United States Senate has often spoken in support of those brave 
Burmese democracy leaders. We have withheld aid and weapons to the 
military regime, and have provided some, albeit modest amounts, of 
assistance to the Burmese refugees who have fled the ruthless SLORC. 
Pro-democracy demonstrators were particularly vulnerable, yet having 
fled the country they found themselves denied political asylum by 
Western governments. In 1989, Senator Kennedy and I rose in support of 
the demonstrators and won passage of an amendment to the Immigration 
Act of 1990 requiring the Secretary of State and the Attorney General 
to clearly define the immigration policy of the United States toward 
Burmese pro-democracy demonstrators. Congress acted again on the 
Customs and Trade Act of 1990 to adopt a provision I introduced 
requiring the President to impose appropriate economic sanctions on 
Burma. The Bush administration utilized this provision to sanction 
Burmese textiles. Unfortunately these powers have never been exercised 
by the current administration.
  The SLORC regime had to be denounced. The Senate continued to press 
for stronger actions. On March 12, 1992, the Foreign Relations 
Committee unanimously voted to adopt a report submitted by myself and 
Senator McConnell detailing specific actions that should be taken 
before the nomination of a United States Ambassador to Burma would be 
considered in the Senate.
  Last year the State Department Authorization Act for 1994-95 
contained a provision I introduced placing Burma on the list of 
international outlaw states such as Libya, North Korea, and Iraq, an 
indication that the United States Congress considers the SLORC regime 
to be one of the very worst in the world. The Senate also unanimously 
adopted S. 234 on July 15, 1994, calling for the release of Aung San 
Suu Kyi and for increased international pressure on the SLORC to 
achieve the transfer of power to the winners of the 1990 democratic 
election.
  Thankfully, Aung San Suu Kyi has now been released. But the struggle 
in Burma is not over. The SLORC continues to wage war against its own 
people. Illegal heroin continues to be produced with their complicity. 
And the SLORC continues to thwart the transfer to democracy in Burma. 
The New York Times concludes appropriately:

       The end of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi's detention must be 
     followed by other steps toward democracy before Myanmar is 
     deemed eligible for loans from multilateral institutions or 
     closer ties with the United States. It is too soon to welcome 
     Yangon back into the democratic community.

  We in the Senate must rededicate ourselves to the strong support of 
those in Burma working to overcome this tyranny. I congratulate Aung 
San Suu Kyi on her extraordinary bravery and determination, and 
celebrate with her family the news of her release.
  I ask that the July 13, 1995, editorial be printed in the Record.
  The editorial follows:

[[Page S10440]]


                  [The New York Times, July 13, 1995]

                     New Hope for Burmese Democracy

       The release of the political prisoner Daw Aung San Suu Kyi 
     in Yangon, formerly Rangoon, is good news. Mrs. Aung San Suu 
     Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, had been under 
     house arrest for nearly six years. The next test for the 
     regime, which changed the name of the country from Burma to 
     Myanmar, will be to follow Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi's freedom 
     with a return to some form of political pluralism and with 
     other improvements in human rights.
       Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won 
     elections under her leadership in 1990. The military refused 
     to recognize the results, imprisoning and intimidating many 
     of the newly elected legislators. Burmese expatriates say 
     torture is still routinely used in prisons and by the 
     military in its repression of ethnic minorities.
       Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi's release has rekindled the hopes of 
     many Burmese for a return to democracy. At her first public 
     appearance, she stuck a conciliatory note, saying she wanted 
     to promote dialogue with the military junta. She acted 
     properly in cautioning against unrealistic expectations. 
     Nevertheless, hundreds of people have made the pilgrimage to 
     her home in Yangon since her release, demonstrating the deep 
     loyalty of her followers.
       But Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi is re-entering a society in which 
     her own name has been a forbidden word, where personal 
     freedoms are severely restricted and political life brutally 
     curtailed. She refused to make any deals with the authorities 
     to gain her freedom, and she has made it clear that she 
     intends to pursue her democratic goals.
       Myanmar is eager to break its isolation and join the 
     region's economic boom. Japan, which covets its rich natural 
     resources, is already preparing to warm up relations with 
     Yangon. But Myanmar will need substantial help from agencies 
     like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to 
     join the international economy.
       The end of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi's detention must be 
     followed by other steps toward democracy before Myanmar is 
     deemed eligible for loans from multilateral institutions or 
     closer ties with the United States. It is too soon to welcome 
     Yangon back into the democratic community.
     

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