[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 105 (Thursday, July 30, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S9483]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    AUNG SAN SUU KYI THE INDOMITABLE

 Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, for eight years Nobel Peace Prize 
winner Aung San Suu Kyi has battled the military junta in an 
indomitable, peaceful way which deserves the admiration of us all. For 
five of these years she was held under house arrest. This is no longer 
the case, though events of the last week show that her freedom 
continues to be limited, as is the freedom of all Burmese citizens.
  Last Friday, Aung San Suu Kyi began a journey to meet with members of 
her National League for Democracy in Nyaungdon township, outside of the 
capital. She never made it. The thugs who run the military junta 
blocked her passage. She spent six days in her car surrounded by 
soldiers who prevented her from crossing a bridge about 30 miles 
outside of the capital.
  These actions were rightly criticized by many of the foreign 
ministers attending the annual meeting of the Association of Southeast 
Asian Nations (ASEAN), including our own Secretary of State, Madeleine 
Albright. As Keith B. Richburg reported in the Washington Post 
yesterday, ``the foreign ministers of six nations and the European 
Union confronted a top Burmese official today with a blunt message: No 
harm must come to the Nobel Peace Prize winner.'' I think it is clear 
that we in the Senate share this sentiment. We hold the leaders of the 
military junta in Burma responsible for the safety of Aung San Suu Kyi. 
Period.
  She has demonstrated uncommon restraint and valor in her often tense 
encounters with the junta. This last week has been no exception. She 
sat in her car for days, yet when she spoke, she did so firmly and 
without rancor. She called for dialogue between the NLD and the junta 
and consistently speaks of upholding the rule of law. She has recently 
called for the true parliament of Burma--the one elected in 1990--to be 
convened by August 21. Perhaps this will be an opportunity for the 
junta to step aside.
  The junta has failed miserably. Burma is a country rich in resources 
which has been run into the ground by an irresponsible junta. Its 
elected leaders have been censored, jailed, and worse. The junta has no 
legitimacy and should step aside and let the rightful and elected 
government of Burma take control. The people of Burma made clear their 
preference. Eight years is long enough to wait.

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