[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 107 (Monday, August 3, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1514-E1515]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CONTINUING OUTRAGES IN BURMA

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                        HON. JOHN EDWARD PORTER

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 31, 1998

  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my outrage about the 
treatment of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi by the corrupt 
and repressive Burmese military junta. For six days this week Daw Suu 
sat inside her car in the middle of a highway in a defiant stand-off 
with the ruling junta because they refused to let her meet with members 
of her political party. Yesterday, the military ended the stand-off by 
forcibly taking her to her home in Rangoon.
  This is the third time in recent weeks that the military has 
attempted to stop Daw Suu from meeting with supporters. Once again, the 
Burmese military has shown that there is no length to which it will not 
go to suppress the forces of democracy and freedom inside Burma. This 
ongoing campaign of harassment of Aung San Suu Kyi and the National 
League for Democracy has again focused attention on the plight of the 
Burmese people. I hope that all of my colleagues will join me today in 
standing with our fellow duly-elected representatives in Burma and join 
their call to take their rightful places in parliament. The Burmese 
people have been denied their rights for too long. The time is now for 
freedom, democracy and human rights to come to Burma.
  I submit the attached editorial from the Washington Post, July 29, 
1998, to be included in the Record.

               [From the Washington Post, July 29, 1998]

                       Burma's Desperate Generals

       Since last Friday a seemingly frail but spiritually 
     indomitable woman has been blockaded inside her car on a 
     rural highway in Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi, 53, rightful leader 
     of her Southeast Asian nation, had set out from her home in 
     the capital to meet with a political supporter in the 
     provinces. But the general-thugs who have hijacked the 
     leadership of Burma, fearing her popularity and the serene 
     certainty with which she battles for democracy, have blocked 
     the road. They refuse to let her move forward, and Aung San 
     Suu Kyi--insisting on her right to travel and meet with 
     colleagues--refuses to go back.
       She would no doubt be surprised to learn, then, if the 
     message could reach her isolated vehicle, that she ``is not a 
     captive.'' This is one of the contentions of the junta's 
     representative to Washington in a letter to the editor 
     published on this page today. It is no surprise that the 
     letter is full of half-truths about the extent of her 
     freedom, the ability of foreign diplomats and journalists to 
     visit her and so forth (yes, she could leave the country, but 
     the thugs would undoubtedly

[[Page E1515]]

     prevent her return). Nor is it new that the generals vilify 
     her in personal terms; back home, in the domestic press they 
     totally control, they have called this devout Buddhist mother 
     ``deranged,'' a ``modern-day ogress'' and a sexual predator.
       What is interesting is the desperation reflected in their 
     decision to bring their slanderous campaign overseas. 
     Interesting, but again not surprising, for the generals have 
     driven their country (which they call Myanmar) virtually into 
     the ground. What was once one of Asia's most promising 
     nations, rich in natural resources and blessed with an 
     educated and hard-working population, is a disaster, with an 
     average annual income of maybe $200 to $300 per person. 
     Universities are shuttered because the rulers fear their own 
     students. The junta can buy the services of public relations 
     firms in Washington and the loyalty of U.S. oil and timber 
     companies eager for contracts, but it knows that it has no 
     legitimacy at home.
       This is true above all because Burma conducted an election 
     in 1990, and Aung San Suu Kyi won. Although she was already 
     under house arrest at the time, her National League for 
     Democracy won four out of every five parliamentary seats. 
     Most people in Burma, in other words, apparently did not deem 
     her a ``disgruntled housewife,'' nor was her marriage to an 
     Englishman considered a stain on her character. It is the 
     generals, refusing to honor the election results, who can be 
     accused of ``coveting power at all costs.''
       Remarkably, though, despite nearly a decade of confinement 
     and harassment, of seeing her colleagues imprisoned and 
     tortured, sometimes to death, Aung San Suu Kyi has never 
     returned the insults. Consistently, she calls for dialogue 
     and compromise; contrary to the ambassador's letter, she 
     insists only on the rule of law. Now, in keeping with that 
     principle, she is calling for the true parliament to be 
     convened by Aug. 21. Alone in her sun-baked vehicle on that 
     country road, she is in the right, and she deserves support 
     for her campaign.

     

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