[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 65 (Tuesday, May 23, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E809-E810]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E809]]



  SECRETARY ALBRIGHT'S REMARKS ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF BURMA'S MILITARY 
                                  COUP

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 23, 2000

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, just a few days ago, here on Capitol Hill, 
our outstanding Secretary of State, Madeleine K. Albright, and the 
National Endowment for Democracy, joined by a number of Members of 
Congress marked the 10th anniversary of the election victory of Burma's 
National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi in free Burmese 
elections in May 1990. Shortly after that democratic victory, the 
Burmese military annulled the results of the election and seized power 
in a military coup.
  After the military crackdown against the victors of the democratic 
election, supporters of the National League for Democracy were arrested 
and many were forced to flee their homeland. Aung San Suu Kyi was 
placed under house arrest, and has been harassed and intimidated by the 
vicious and brutal military dictatorship. In appropriate recognition of 
her peaceful struggle for democratic change in Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi 
received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. The continued military 
harassment of Ms. Suu Kyi was so intense and bitter that she refused to 
leave Burma last year when she learned that her husband was dying of 
cancer in the United Kingdom. It was clear that the military junta 
would not permit her to return to Burma if she had left.
  Aung San Suu Kyi was able to speak to the gathering only via a 
videotaped message, but she expressed thanks to the United States and 
other countries for ``supporting us in our endeavor to have the results 
of the 1990 elections recognized at this time, when the military regime 
are trying hard to pretend that the results of the elections are no 
longer valid.''
  Mr. Speaker, in marking this important Burmese anniversary last week, 
Secretary Albright delivered an impassioned message of support for Aung 
San Suu Kyi and the Burmese patriots of the National League for 
Democracy. Secretary Albright said: ``We renew our commitment to Aung 
San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy. As long as you 
struggle, we will do all we can to assist. And we know that you will 
not stop struggling until you prevail.''
  Mr. Speaker, that spirit truly pervades the position of the 
Administration, the Congress, and the American people toward the 
repressive regime in Burma and toward the heroine, Aung San Suu Kyi, 
who has the courage and integrity to stand up against that vicious 
anti-democratic military junta. In her outstanding speech, Secretary 
Albright strongly reaffirmed the American commitment to the people of 
Burma. Mr. Speaker, I ask that Secretary Albright's entire speech be 
placed in the Record, and I urge my colleagues to give serious 
attention to her thoughtful remarks.

              Remarks at National Endowment for Democracy

                Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright

       SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Thank you very much, Carl, and I am 
     truly pleased to be here today for this event, and I am very 
     pleased to be here with my good friend, Ambassador Vondra, 
     Ambassador Jayanama, and the members of Congress who just 
     left.
       But I'm very glad they were here. Congressman Pelosi and 
     Congressman Kucinich, Congressman Lantos and Congressmen 
     Payne and Porter. And they have really been wonderful 
     supporters of democracy and I'm always very pleased to be 
     able to work with them. And there are so many other 
     distinguished colleagues, guests and friends who are here.
       The National Endowment for Democracy is one of my favorite 
     institutions. And I think Carl explained why. It has 
     pioneered the use of our own civil society to work with 
     supporters of democracy from other countries and cultures. 
     It's had extraordinary success in helping democracy-builders 
     learn from each other by sharing experiences across national 
     lines. And by so doing has helped to give global impetus to 
     the movement to democracy.
       The Open Society Institute and the Institute for Asian 
     Democracy provide further evidence that the desire to choose 
     one's own leaders freely and without fear is indeed a 
     universal human aspiration. It is also a universal human 
     right.
       Today, we assemble to mark the tenth anniversary of the 
     last time that right was exercised by the people of Burma, 
     and to pay tribute to the overwhelming winner of those 
     elections, the National League for Democracy, and to its 
     leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
       As many of you know, Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of 
     the late Aung San, the hero of Burmese independence. She was 
     educated abroad, but in 1988, returned to Burma. This was a 
     period of turbulence, but after years of military rule, a 
     democratic opening did, in fact, seem possible.
       Although reluctant at first, Aung San Suu Kyi began to 
     speak out with fearless eloquence, and to electrifying 
     effect. As a result, the 1990 elections were a rout. The NLD 
     won more than 80% of the Parliamentary seats contested.
       But instead of respecting the people's voice, the military 
     tried to silence it. The authorities consolidated their own 
     powers, threw dozens of elected representatives in jail, and 
     drove others into exile. Aung San Suu Kyi, herself, spent 
     more than five years under house arrest.
       Some time ago, when I was serving as US Permanent 
     Representative to the UN, I traveled to Burma. I met with 
     General Khin Nyunt, head of the military intelligence. We 
     didn't get along very well.
       According to the General, the authorities are saving Burma 
     from chaos by imposing stability upon an ethnically diverse 
     population. Thus, he said, the government is not only 
     respected by the Burmese, but loved. ``After all'', he said, 
     ``our people smile all the time.''
       I replied that, under repressive regimes, people may smile, 
     but they do so out of fear, not happiness. And no true nation 
     can be built on fear.
       This is also Aung San Suu Kyi's core message. She has 
     written that it is ``not power that corrupts but fear. Fear 
     of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the 
     scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.''
       As Carl mentioned, I did meet Aung San Suu Kyi in 1995. I 
     went to Rangoon immediately after the Women's Conference in 
     Beijing. And she and I, I must say, hit it off immediately. 
     She is a remarkable woman of fragile beauty and inner 
     strength, and I admire her more than almost anyone that I 
     have met.
       People often ask me about the symbolism of my jewelry. 
     Well, today here the freedom light and here is a necklace 
     that Aung San Suu Kyi gave me. And if in any way she would 
     know that, I would be very pleased. She is a wonderful person 
     who has kept the spirit alive.
       She is using the tenth anniversary of elections to renew 
     her call for a dialogue aimed at returning her country to 
     democracy. The authorities have responded with a new wave of 
     arrests and slanders. In a sense, the battle of wills between 
     Aung San Suu Kyi and the government is grossly unequal. The 
     military has all the weapons of coercion.
       So each time Aung San Suu Kyi speaks to her supporters in 
     Burma, she is vulnerable. Each time she expresses outrage 
     about the lack of opportunities available to Burmese 
     children, or the decline in education, the spread of disease, 
     the loss of freedom--she is vulnerable. And each time she 
     records a videotape of the type we just watched, she is 
     vulnerable. Always, she is vulnerable.
       We, here in the United States, cannot change that. But we 
     can ensure that Aung San Suu Kyi and her Burmese allies are 
     never alone, for their bravery and sacrifice are part of a 
     larger struggle that has engaged the energies and courage of 
     humankind for generations.
       After all, Gandhi was vulnerable when he told a Court in 
     colonial India that ``non-cooperation with evil is as much a 
     duty as cooperation with good.'' In fighting apartheid, 
     Mandela was vulnerable. In defending Jewish emigration, 
     Shcharansky was vulnerable. In asserting her rights, Rosa 
     Parks was vulnerable.
       The struggle for freedom is never easy and never over. 
     Progress depends on courageous leaders such as Aung San Suu 
     Kyi, and on those willing to undergo hardships and grave 
     risks such as the members of the NLD. It also depends on us.
       Vaclav Havel, who endorsed Aung San Suu Kyi for the Nobel 
     Prize, has told me many times how important it was for those 
     struggling to bring freedom to Central and Eastern Europe to 
     know they had friends around the globe.
       Last year, the National Endowment helped bring together the 
     World Movement for Democracy in New Delhi. Next month, the 
     United States will participate in a Community of Democracies 
     conference in Warsaw. And our purpose is to see that the 
     democratic tide remains a rising tide around the world, by 
     helping those who have gained freedom to sustain it, and by 
     expressing solidarity with the efforts of those who seek 
     freedom to secure it.
       Today, we renew our call to the authorities in Rangoon to 
     abide by the democratic wishes of their people; and to free 
     political prisoners, end torture, fight narcotics production, 
     and halt forced labor.

[[Page E810]]

       We renew our commitment to Aung San Suu Kyi and the 
     National League of Democracy. As long as you struggle, we 
     will do all we can to assist. And we know that you will not 
     stop struggling until you prevail.
       The yearning for freedom is relentless. The walls it cannot 
     overwhelm, it will nevertheless erode. And I am confident the 
     day will come when Burma is free. And Aung San Suu Kyi's 
     democratic dream will become a reality through the 
     inspiration of his daughter, the bravery of the Burmese 
     people, and the support of those who love liberty around the 
     world.
       I thank you all very much for participating in this event 
     because I think that for Aung San Suu Kyi to know that there 
     are people all over that support her must be a source of 
     strength to her. She a truly remarkable woman, and we owe her 
     a great deal.
       Thank you very much.

       

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