[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 56 (Tuesday, April 8, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S4953]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HUMAN RIGHTS IN BURMA

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I am deeply disappointed in the human 
rights record of Burma. Throughout my time in the Senate, I have 
consistently been critical of political and human rights abuses in 
Burma. I have been deeply troubled by reports, confirmed by the U.S. 
Department of State, that Burmese soldiers have systematically raped 
Shan women on a massive scale. I am also concerned about repeated 
charges of forced labor, the suppression of civil liberties, and 
widespread political repression. Recent events in Burma only serve to 
heighten my concern.
  I am concerned by the recent decision by United Nations human rights 
envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, to suspend his missions to Burma after 
finding a hidden listening device in a room where he was interviewing 
political prisoners. The incident raises very serious concerns about 
the depth of Burma's commitment to improving conditions within its 
borders. I am also concerned about the case of Dr. Salai Tun Than, an 
alumnus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who was arrested and 
sentenced in November 2001 after conducting a solitary protest of 
political conditions in front of Rangoon City Hall.
  As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I will 
continue to monitor human rights in Burma, as I have on human rights 
all over the world. Finally, I would like to offer my praise for 
students at several University of Wisconsin campuses who are working to 
highlight conditions in Burma. I am impressed by their dedication and 
heartened by their commitment to justice and freedom for the Burmese 
people.

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