[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 21, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1040]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        BURMA MUST STOP ITS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IMMEDIATELY

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                        HON. MICHAEL E. CAPUANO

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 21, 2003

  Mr. CAPUANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to inform my colleagues of the 
despicable attack on a key democratic figure in Burma, Aung San Suu 
Kyi, by Than Shwe and his brutal military regime.
  A few days ago, the political arm of Than Shwe's regime, the Union 
Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), launched an attack 
against Aung San Suu Kyi's motorcade as she was traveling to give a 
speech about freedom in Burma. After stopping the motorcade and 
wielding machetes and sticks, USDA members beat on the doors of the 
motorcade and attempted to steal cameras and other items.
  This is only one of many recent occasions in which the USDA has 
harassed and intimidated Aung San Suu Kyi, her political opposition 
group called the National League for Democracy (NLD), and their 
supporters. In order to interfere with her efforts to speak about 
democratization in Burma, the regime has threatened her supporters with 
water hoses on fire trucks and blared loud music so that others cannot 
hear her speeches. Authorities have repeatedly deterred and prevented 
her supporters from attending her speeches by threatening them with 
arrest, and have turned back several busloads full of people.
  I find it appalling that Than Shwe's soldiers would threaten one of 
the world's great freedom fighters with blunt weapons. Aung San Suu Kyi 
and the NLD are the legitimately elected leaders of their country-they 
won 82 percent of the seats in parliament in an internationally 
recognized election, even though the regime refuses to recognize the 
results. As an elected Representative of the citizens of Massachusetts, 
I simply cannot stand by while men like Than Shwe so grossly violate 
the very principles upon which this House was built.
  Than Shwe continues to terrorize the population of Burma. He and his 
regime have forced much of the population into modern-day slave labor, 
locked up about 1,400 political prisoners including students, monks, 
nuns, and 18 members of parliament, and recruited an astounding 70,000 
child soldiers--far more than any other country in the world. Perhaps 
most disturbing, our own State Department's Bureau of Democracy, 
Rights, and Labor conducted an impressive investigation into rapes in 
Burma that confirmed the regime is using rape as a weapon of war. As we 
learned from Bosnia, using rape as a weapon is a war crime, and Than 
Shwe and his cronies should be brought to justice.
  Most importantly, Burma's regime has proven that its words cannot be 
taken seriously. It has denied the use of rape as a weapon, stated that 
is has no child soldiers, and refuses to acknowledge the detention and 
torture of political prisoners. For this reason, it should not be 
surprising that Than Shwe has ignored the promise he made over a year 
ago to enter into a dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi, facilitated by the 
United Nations, aimed at a transition to freedom and democracy. 
Instead, he has flaunted the good-faith efforts of the United Nations 
Special Envoy to Burma, Razali Ismail, and by extension, the entire 
United Nations General Assembly.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in condemning these recent attacks 
and urge the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Rights, and Labor 
to register our condemnation of the regime at the highest levels.

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