[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 116 (Friday, September 13, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S8615]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              NEEDED: REGIME CHANGES IN BURMA AND CAMBODIA

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on August 1, 2002 the United States and 
the Association for Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, signed a ``Joint 
Declaration for Cooperation To Combat International Terrorism.''
  Through this Declaration, both Burma and Cambodia affirmed 
commitments ``to counter, prevent, and suppress all forms of terrorist 
acts . . .'' and pledged to view ``acts of terrorism in all its forms 
and manifestations, committed wherever, whenever, and by whomsoever, as 
a profound threat to international peace and security. . . .''
  Lest the irony of these commitments be lost on my colleagues, let me 
say a word or two about each country.
  For over a decade, the people of Burma have been under the repressive 
misrule of military thugs who have systematically ruined the economy, 
while profiting from illicit activities, imprisoned political 
opponents, (including those legitimately elected by the people of 
Burma), raped ethnic girls and women, forced into labor children and 
villagers, and squandered scarce financial resources on military 
weapons and nuclear technology, at the expense of the welfare of their 
compatriots.
  Just last week, two members of the youth wing of the National League 
for Democracy--the legitimately elected representatives of the people 
of Burma--were arrested and sentenced to three years in prison for 
possessing a journal published by exiled dissidents. By any definition, 
the State Peace and Development Council's rule in Burma has been a 
reign of terror.
  In neighboring Cambodia, the ruling party is led by a former Khmer 
Rouge guerilla whose penchant for violence is well known, and 
documented, throughout the region. In July 1997, Prime Minister Hun Sen 
staged a bloody coup d'etat to oust his royalist rivals, and he is the 
prime suspect in a brutal assassination attempt on the country's sole 
opposition leader, Sam Rainsy.
  That attempt, which occurred during a political rally on Easter 
Sunday in 1997, failed, but killed and injured scores of Cambodians. 
American democracy worker Ron Abney was injured in the terrorist 
attack, and has long suspected that Hun Sen was the devious mastermind. 
To this day, Ron and all victims of Hun Sen's terror are awaiting 
justice.
  I am also troubled by news reports that Heng Sean, an opposition 
activist, was murdered in Kampong Cham over the weekend. It appears 
that Mr. Heng's only crime was to support Sam Rainsy and his agenda for 
reform.
  For my colleagues less familiar with Cambodian affairs, I recommend 
reading ``The Cambodian Conundrum'' by veteran journalist Nate Thayer, 
Foreign Service Journal, March 2002, which provides keen insights into 
the previous Administration's ``blind eye'' foreign policy in Cambodia.
  Given the actions of Southeast Asian hardliners in Rangoon and Phnom 
Penh, last month's pledges to combat terrorism ring hollow. It would 
serve American interests in the war on terrorism--as well as benefit 
the welfare of the people of Burma and Cambodia--for regime changes to 
occur in those countries.

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