[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 57 (Wednesday, April 9, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H2943]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 UNLAWFUL IMPRISONMENT OF DR. SALAI TUN THAN BY THE BURMESE GOVERNMENT

  (Mr. BURNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on a matter of great 
importance to my constituents in Athens, Georgia, the unlawful 
imprisonment of Dr. Salai Tun Than. Dr. Tun Than is a graduate of the 
University of Georgia and is being held as a political prisoner by the 
Burmese Government for making a pro-democracy speech. He is 74 years 
old, in poor health, and may not live through the ordeal of 
imprisonment. The Burmese Government is a military dictatorship. It 
does not respect the individual freedoms that we as Americans hold 
dear. Matthew Daley, the State Department chief for the Bureau of East 
Asia and the Pacific testified on the conditions in Burma before the 
House Committee on International Relations last month. He said: ``The 
military dictatorship in Burma severely abuses the human rights of its 
citizens. There is no real freedom of speech, press, assembly, 
association, or travel. Patterns of abuse are even worse in ethnic 
minority areas.''
  Mr. Speaker, the situation in Burma is unacceptable. We must work to 
stop this regime from imprisoning political dissidents and work toward 
a freer nation for all Burmese citizens. I call on the Burmese 
Government for the immediate release of Dr. Salai Tun Than.

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