[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 83 (Tuesday, June 21, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H4813-H4817]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
APPROVING THE RENEWAL OF IMPORT RESTRICTIONS CONTAINED IN THE BURMESE
FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY ACT OF 2003
Mr. SHAW. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the
joint resolution (H.J. Res. 52) approving the renewal of import
restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of
2003.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.J. Res. 52
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That Congress
approves the renewal of the import restrictions contained in
section 3(a)(1) of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of
2003.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Shaw) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cardin) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw).
Mr. SHAW. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the resolution offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), my friend. In 2003, Congress
passed the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act, which among a number of
things imposed an import ban on all products from Burma. Today, the
House considers extending this import ban for an additional year.
Madam Speaker, the situation in Burma remains deeply troubling. The
actions by the military in Burma continue to demonstrate its inability
to promote an equitable way of life for millions of Burmese.
Despite the deplorable conditions in Burma today, the United States
remains committed to political and social change in Burma. In fact, the
United States is one of the few leaders willing to shine the light on
the lack of human rights in Burma. Within the international community,
the United States has cosponsored resolutions within the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights condemning the human rights situation in
Burma. It is tremendously important that we continue to pressure the
Burmese Government to become a transparent society, free from human
rights abuses that have plagued this Asian nation for so many years.
Pressure must remain in place. Extending trade sanctions puts
pressure on the Burmese junta to change its ways. For the pressure to
be truly effective, the sanctions must be multilateral and include
Burma's main trading partners. Therefore, I encourage the
administration to continue to pursue a multilateral response to the
atrocities in Burma. This is a critical component for ending the
military stranglehold on this society.
I urge all my colleagues to support the resolution that is before us
today.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CARDIN. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the sponsor of the resolution,
the ranking member of the Committee on International Relations; and I
want to congratulate him for his strong leadership and consistent
leadership on human rights issues in this body.
Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my friend and
distinguished colleague from Maryland for the time, who has been a
champion of human rights globally throughout his tenure.
I also want to express my appreciation to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Thomas), the chairman of the Committee on Ways and
Means, my friend, and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw) for their
consistent support of human rights work.
Madam Speaker, in this day and age, nothing is in shorter supply than
men and women of moral authority and courage. Burmese democracy leader
and Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is among the giants of our age. She
is right there with Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Vaclav Havel of
the Czech Republic, both of whom were prepared to sacrifice years of
their lives so that their people could live in a free and open and
democratic society.
Madam Speaker, this past weekend, this great lady and champion of
democracy celebrated her 60th birthday; but instead of being surrounded
by family and friends on this happy day, Aung San Suu Kyi remained
imprisoned in Burma, cut off from her supporters, both her family and
the people of Burma.
Last Friday, I attempted to deliver 6,000 birthday cards from
Americans from across this Nation to Aung San Suu Kyi to the Burmese
embassy in Washington. The gate was locked. No Burmese diplomat was
willing to accept the birthday greetings to Burma's greatest citizen;
but Madam Speaker, I have been dealing with dictatorial regimes all my
life, and I do not expect a warm reception from any of them.
I do want Aung San Suu Kyi to know that the entire Congress of the
United States and the American people wish her a very happy birthday
and the moral fortitude and physical stamina to continue her struggle
for the Burmese people and, indeed, for democracy globally.
Madam Speaker, I can think of no better birthday present for Aung San
Suu Kyi than the legislation we are discussing at this moment. The only
hope for promoting far-reaching political change is by making Burma's
ruling thugs pay an economic price for running the Burmese nation and
their economy into the ground. By renewing import sanctions for an
additional year, fewer dollars will flow into the Swiss bank accounts
of the Burmese thugs who run that country.
The tough approach maintained by our country towards Burma, including
import sanctions, is encouraging other nations to reconsider their more
shortsighted and lenient views on the Rangoon regime.
{time} 1100
Some members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for the
first time have begun to criticize Burma for its human rights abuses.
Last November, the European Union itself strengthened its Burma
policy in response to ongoing human rights violations. In both cases,
it was the strong stand of this Congress that has stiffened backbones
and increased the prospects that a multilateral sanctions regime
against Burma is possible.
[[Page H4814]]
Madam Speaker, Congress must act decisively to renew import sanctions
against Burma. We must send a strong signal of support for the
restoration of democracy and human rights in that impoverished and
subdued Nation.
This great woman, Aung San Suu Kyi, before long will occupy her
rightful position as the democratically elected leader of the people of
Burma, and I look forward to being there in Rangoon as she is sworn in
as the leadership of a free and democratic country. I urge all of my
colleagues to support the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act in its
accession.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SHAW. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Smith) who himself has gained a great reputation in this
Congress as being a champion of human freedoms.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Shaw) for his leadership on this issue and so many other
issues on the Committee on Ways and Means. I also commend the gentleman
from California (Mr. Lantos), the ranking member of the Committee on
International Relations, for offering this legislation which would
renew the Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 for Burma and the import
restrictions that are contained in that important legislation.
As my colleagues know, Burma today remains one of the most repressive
military dictatorships in the world, where human rights are routinely
and systematically repressed and violated. So it is fitting and
necessary that Congress today is moving to renew this important
legislation.
The Burmese dictatorship today incarcerates 1,400 political prisoners
and continues to harass and repress one of the bravest leaders of our
time, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who, by the way,
turned 60 this past weekend. I, like many other Members in this body,
have tried to get into Burma to press for human rights; and my visa,
like others, has been turned down, denying Member of Congress the
opportunity to even meet with the military junta that continues to
repress its citizens.
Madam Speaker, up to 70,000 child soldiers are exploited in Burma,
more than any other country in the world. Up to 2 million people have
been forced to flee the country as refugees and migrants. Burning of
villages continues in eastern Burma, especially in Karen and Karenni
states. And Aung San Suu Kyi continues to be persecuted and harassed by
this brutal dictatorship.
Sanctions do work, I say to my colleagues. But they often take time.
Other countries, I'm happy to say, are beginning to follow the lead of
the United States. In a major and important move, the European Union in
October 2004 followed the lead of the United States and significantly
strengthened its sanctions in Burma, including a ban on investments in
enterprises of the ruling regime and a strengthened visa ban. The EU
also pledged to join the United States in opposing loans to Burma's
regime from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Support
at the United Nations is growing as well. Burma was one of the few
countries on the resolution's list that passed at the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights. I was there in Geneva working that
resolution as well as resolutions on Cuba, Sudan, and Belaurus, and it
was as one of the few that made it through.
After the United States Senate and the House passed resolutions in
October 2004 calling on the Security Council to address the situation
in Burma, the Parliament of Australia followed suit. Their motion
called on the government to support the Burmese National League for
Democracy's call for the U.N. Security Council to convene a special
session to consider what further measures the U.N. can take to
encourage democratic reform and respect for human rights in Burma.
Additionally, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on
the U.N. Security Council to address the situation in Burma as a matter
of urgency. Additionally, 289 members of our friends in the British
Parliament tabled a motion calling on the U.N. Security Council to
address the situation in Burma.
There has even been unprecedented action within the ASEAN countries.
Whereas in the past they refused to even comment on what they deemed to
be Burma's internal affairs, many members of that organization are now
publicly pressing Burma to step aside as the chair of the association
in 2006. The tough approach maintained by the U.S. toward Burma,
including import sanctions and a possible boycott of 2006 meetings, is
encouraging many Asian countries to rethink whether the Burmese regime
should assume that rotating chairmanship. There is widespread belief
within the leadership of the ASEAN countries that Burma has failed, and
failed miserably, to deliver on its promises to the region.
All in all, and I point to these above-mentioned instances, the
strong stand of the United States, and I commend President Bush and
former President Clinton because both have been united in their belief
that Burma needs to be sanctioned and isolated in a way that hopefully
leads to reform and change. Moreover, our resolution to promote freedom
and democracy in Burma has stiffened the backbones of many countries
around the world.
Today the EU, the U.N., and ASEAN countries are moving in the right
direction to take a strong stand against Burma's dictatorship.
And to Aung San Suu Kyi: Your courage and goodness and persistence
are beyond extraordinary. Our prayers are with you.
Mr. CARDIN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, as the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) has
pointed out, June 19 marked the 60th birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi, who
has dedicated her life to bringing about democracy in Burma and was
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
Her party, the National League of Democracy, won a landslide victory
in the country's 1990 elections; but the results were not recognized by
the ruling Burmese military junta. Unfortunately, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi,
who has spent 10 out of the last 16 years in confinement, could not
celebrate her birthday with her friends and supporters. Instead, she
remains under house arrest.
The plight of Aung San Suu Kyi is a sign of how little things have
changed in Burma. According to the U.S. State Department's March 2005
report to Congress on conditions in Burma and U.S. policy toward Burma,
``prospects for meaningful political change and reform in Burma have
continued to decline.''
The Government of Burma continues to harass and arrest people for
taking part in peaceful political activities; more than 1,200 people
remain in jail for their political beliefs. The State Peace and
Development Council, the controlling military junta, has continued to
severely abuse its citizens' human rights. Freedom of speech, press,
religion, assembly, and association remain greatly restricted. In
ethnic minorities areas, the Burmese Government has engaged in
persecution, torture, extrajudicial executions, demolition of places of
worship, rape, and forced labor.
Security forces regularly monitor the movements and communications of
residents, search homes without warrants, and relocate people
forcefully without compensation or legal recourse.
In light of Burma's continued dismal record in respecting human
rights and suppressing democracy, I urge my colleagues to extend the
ban on imports on Burmese products for another year. The utter
disregard of the Government of Burma for the rights of its citizens
cannot be ignored.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SHAW. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts).
Mr. PITTS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this
time.
I rise in strong support of this resolution. Burma is ruled by a
ruthless military regime. I visited the Thai-Burma border a few years
ago, and I met with victims of the horrific repression that is
occurring there, the IDPs, former political prisoners, democracy
activists, women who have been raped, landmine victims, orphans, and
widows. The SPDC uses rape has a weapon of terror. They engage in
ethnic cleansing, wiping out whole villages and towns, killing women,
men, and children. They
[[Page H4815]]
seek to eliminate the ethnic minorities in the tribal areas such as
Karen and Karenni.
Many believe that we need to reverse our course on sanctions in order
to help the Burmese people. They are wrong. The Burmese economy is so
rotted under this corrupt regime that trade does not help the people.
It is like pouring money into a pocket with a hole in it. The road to
change in Burma is not trade, it is political reform.
The SPDC must release Aung San Suu Kyi, the duly elected leader.
ASEAN must take a clear stand against the Burmese leadership and deny
it from leadership and chairing ASEAN. And the U.S. must do a better
job of organizing support at the U.N. Security Council for a
comprehensive resolution calling for national transition and
reconciliation. Sanctions are absolutely necessary. I urge passage of
this resolution.
Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Poe).
Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the gentleman from Florida (Mr.
Shaw) on this bill, and also comment about the long history of human
rights protection of the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos). I rise
in strong support of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act and urge my
colleagues to join me in voting for this bill.
There has been a brutal campaign of village burnings, destruction of
rice supplies, killings by Burmese military, this outlaw regime, and it
has resulted in displacement of between 500,000 and 1 million innocent
citizens living in eastern Burma. Hundreds of thousands of these
internal refugees we call internally displaced persons, IDPs, are
persecuted for their commitment to democracy and their belief in human
rights. These IDP victims are being systematically hunted down by the
evil tyrants of this military regime in Burma. Secretary Rice has
rightly called Burma one of the six outposts of tyranny in our world.
These tactics used by the junta in Burma add up to ethnic cleansing.
Many Americans are not aware of what is occurring in Burma, but this
act is a step in the direction that will show all peoples in the world
that Americans care about freedom and democracy, no matter where it is
and where it hopes to be in the world.
It is my desire and hope for my colleagues cosponsoring this bill
that these sanctions called for in this joint resolution will continue
to grab the attention of the Burmese junta and pressure them to release
Aung San Suu Kyi and allow their country to enjoy the freedoms and
rights of a true democracy so that all people may have the right, as
President Jefferson said, to life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness.
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this resolution, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record an article that appeared in the
International Herald Tribune this past Sunday, written by Seth Mydans.
The article is on Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi who we have heard so much about
during this debate, really a true heroine in our time.
[From the International Herald Tribune, June 19, 2005]
Test of Wills: the Burmese Captive Who Will Not Budge
(By Seth Mydans)
Bangkok.--Seventeen years ago, as the people of Myanmar
filled the streets in mass protests against their military
dictatorship, a striking, self-possessed woman rose to
address a rally at the great golden Shwedagon Pagoda. At the
time, nobody realized the price she would pay for her
outspokenness.
The woman, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, was visiting from her home
in England to tend to her sick mother when pro-democracy
protests swelled throughout the country in August 1988
despite a brutal response by the military that took thousands
of lives.
In the months that followed she emerged, through a
combination of charisma and pedigree, to lead what has so far
been a futile opposition to the country's military leaders.
On Sunday, Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi will mark her 60th
birthday under house arrest, where she has spent most of the
intervening years, in an increasingly dilapidated house, more
cut off than ever from contacts outside her weed-filled
compound.
Her birthday has become an occasion for new international
protests against a military junta that holds the country in
its grip, jailing its opponents while ruining the country's
economy and waging war against its ethnic minorities.
From one of the region's most refined and richly endowed
nations, Myanmar has become its most desperate and reviled.
As the daughter of the country's founding hero, U Aung San,
she held a nearly mystical appeal for people desperate to
regain their freedoms and self-respect. With her dignity,
self-sacrifice and perseverance, she has created a legend of
her own.
She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 and has
joined the company of Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama of
Tibet as international icons of a struggle for freedom. But
in a contest between brute force and principle,
between repression and the clearly expressed will of the
people of Myanmar, it is the men with the guns who have
managed so far to prevail, and the country's moral symbol
who is their prisoner.
Calls for the release of Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi have come
from around the world in recent days, including statements
from Washington and from Secretary General Kofi Annan of the
United Nations.
In Norway, the chairman of the Nobel Committee, Ole D.
Mjoes, issued a rare statement about a past laureate, saying;
``We ask that she be set free immediately. We look forward to
the day that democracy again rules her country.''
But the generals have released her twice already, most
recently in May 2002, only to be shaken and shamed at her
continuing, overwhelming popularity: huge crowds that
gathered wherever she appeared.
One year after her last release, her convoy was attacked by
an organized mob in what some analysts believe was an attempt
to kill her, and she was returned to house arrest after a
period of harsh treatment in prison.
``She has become the only leader that the Burmese people
have acknowledged since the death of her father in 1947,''
said Josef Silverstein, an expert on Myanmar at Rutgers
University. ``I would add that she has in every way possible
emulated what her father stood for, which was for the right
of the people to govern themselves and to have a free and
democratic country.''
Shortly after her address at the Shwedagon Pagoda, she
explicitly assumed her father's mantle, saying she would
dedicate her life to the people of her country as he had
done.
She made that clear in 1999 when she chose not to visit her
husband, Michael Aris, in England, when he was dying of
cancer, because she feared that the government would bar her
from re-entering Myanmar. The Myanmar authorities had refused
to allow him to visit her.
The United States, the European Union and other nations
have responded to repression in Myanmar with economic
penalties that have done little to affect its leadership.
Myanmar's giant neighbors, China and India, with several
other Asian nations, offer it an economic lifeline.
But opposition from the West is putting pressure on the
junta now as it prepares to take over the rotating leadership
of the regional 10-member political and economic grouping,
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, next year.
The United States and some other nations have hinted
strongly in recent weeks that they will boycott an annual
meeting to which they are invited if it is held in Myanmar.
Its regional neighbors, facing potential embarrassment, are
beginning to press the junta to skip its turn as regional
leader if it does not release Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi and
improve its record on human rights.
At the same time, there has been an eruption of internal
turmoil among the ruling generals, though like most things in
Myanmar its details and its causes are unclear.
In October, Prime Minister Khin Nyunt, who was the head of
military intelligence and one of the country's most powerful
leaders, was fired and placed under house arrest. His trial
on expected corruption charges has either begun or is about
to begin, according to conflicting reports.
Over the years, as repression has continued in Myanmar,
some of Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi's allies abroad have complained
about what they call her stubbornness and intransigence. But
it is the military leaders who have several times switched
track, ignoring her and vilifying her, opening and closing
dialogues, freeing and rearresting her.
She has also been criticized for demanding that the
government recognize the results of a parliamentary election
in 1990 that was won overwhelmingly by her party, the
National League for Democracy.
The remarkably open parliamentary election was a
characteristic misjudgment by the junta, which had apparently
expected to win. When Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi's party won more
than 80 percent of the seats, the generals refused to
recognize the results and clung to power.
Many who won seats were arrested. Bit by bit over the years
the junta has whittled away at their party. Today its leaders
are aging--Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi is the youngest--and its
youth wing has atrophied
More and more, the democratic opposition to military rule
in Myanmar is personified by one isolated and determined
woman. ``Her stubbornness is her strength,'' Mr. Silverstein
said. ``This woman will not bend and will not break.''
Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, In recognition of the Burmese State Peace
and Development
[[Page H4816]]
Council's (SPDC) failure to comply with the conditions described in
H.R. 2330, ``Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003,'' I commend my
colleague and the ranking Member of the Committee on International
Relations, Rep. Tom Lantos for his strong stand on restoring democracy
in Burma and holding the military Junta accountable.
Seventeen years ago the people of Myanmar rose up in mass protest
against the SPDC, which had established power through a military coup.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of the country's founding hero, U Aung
San, was arrested as a result of her pro-democracy stance during these
protests. Following in her father's footsteps, she devotes her life to
the people of Burma and freedom. As a leader of the National League for
Democracy, NLD, she was seen as a threat to the SPDC power basis and
unjustly imprisoned.
In 1990 Parliamentary elections were held, in which an eighty percent
majority voted in support the NLD. In 1991, Mrs. Kyi was awarded the
Nobel peace prize in recognition for her instrumental role in Burma's
struggle for freedom.
Since the SPDC has taken power, it has continued to dismiss and
neglect any meaningful dialogue with the United Nations in addressing
their continuing persecution of opposition members. The SPDC
continually fails to address their past and present human rights
violations and fails to cooperate with U.S. efforts to stop the
exporting of heroin and methamphetamines; while providing safety and
harbor for persons involved with narcotics trafficking.
The SPDC supports the integration of the military into all facets of
the economy, thus destroying all notions of a free economy; while using
currency generated from the Burmese people to purchase and sponsor an
institution of terror and repression.
The SPDC has done everything in its power to repress democracy and
the will of the people of Burma.
It is clear further sanctions must be taken in order for this
struggle to come to an end. Despite sanctions taken by the U.S. the
European Union and many other nations, economic relief is still
available for the SPDC. China, India and many other ASEAN countries
still trade with Burma providing them with the necessary lifeline to
maintain their reign of oppression.
If economic penalties are to be effective, multi-lateral support is
necessary.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support with President Bush, Secretary General
Kofi Annan of the United Nations, Ole D. Mjoes of the Nobel Committee
and my fellow Congressional colleagues in calling for an end of state
sponsored tyranny in Burma. Justice can only be served when the release
of all political prisoners, freedom of speech and the press, freedom of
association and the peaceful exercise of religion become constitutional
rights.
The fact that Bufria will be the rotating chair of the Association of
South East Asian Nations, ASEAN is troubling. I believe President Bush
and Secretary Rice should engage our allies Singapore, Thailand, India
as well as China to focus on using their ties with the government of
Burma to promote democracy in Burma and freedom for the Burmese people.
An agreement between the SPDC and NLD must be made so that the
transfer of power to a civilian government, that is accountable to the
Burmese people through democratic elections under the rule of law, can
be made. For those reasons H.R. 2330 must be renewed. We cannot waiver
on our policy until democracy and freedom are restored to the people or
Burma.
Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.J. Res. 52 and
of the people of Burma. The people of Burma toil every day under the
cruel and heavy yoke of military dictatorship. The military rulers of
Burma stifle dissent, persecute minorities, and thwart every attempt at
democracy.
The democratically elected and legal leader of Burma, Aung San Suu
Kyi, remains imprisoned. Contact between Suu Kyi and the outside is
virtually non-existent. Despite growing calls for her release, there is
no sign that she will be released from her prison any time soon. Many
hundreds of other Burmese men and women remain in appallingly horrible
prisons, not because of any truly criminal act, but because of their
efforts to bring freedom to Burma.
Burma has more than 600,000 internally displaced people. Furthermore,
over 100,000 people are living in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma
border. Thousands more are in hiding in China and India. Where Burma
was once a country of peaceful coexistence, it has, under this brutal
regime, become a place of strife and discord.
The military junta in Burma continues to persecute minority groups.
The Burmese military continues to burn villages, destroy crops, and
eliminate opponents no matter how peaceful or non-threatening. The
destruction of medical supplies and first aid stations continues apace.
These acts are not random acts of a few rogue military units far from
any authority. These acts are orchestrated at the highest levels by
cruel generals sitting in government offices in Rangoon.
Now more than ever, the democratic forces at work in Burma need the
continued support of the United States of America. H.J. Res. 52, which
I am proud to co-sponsor, will continue the sanctions imposed by the
Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act.
When the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act was passed, few other
countries paid more than scant attention to the tragedy unfolding in
Burma. More interested in regional comity or economic gain, many of the
same countries we call allies were content to turn a blind eye to
Burma's abuses and despicable cruelty.
Since 2003, the veil has been lifted somewhat. Calls for the release
of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners and the establishment
of democracy have gone out from previously silent quarters. Once mute
ASEAN nations, particularly Singapore, the Philippines, and Malaysia,
have gradually increased pressure on Burma to change.
Support for this bill will make it clear to Burmese despots that
their military dictatorship, which maintains power through force and
terror, is unacceptable. Support for continued sanctions will
demonstrate to the world that the United States is serious about
bringing change to Burma. It is my hope that our efforts embodied in
the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act sanctions will encourage more
countries, organizations, and individuals to work for freedom,
democracy, and a prosperous Burma.
I urge a ``yes'' vote on H.J. Res. 52.
Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, as a cosponsor of this bill, I support
extending sanctions on Burma for a third year within the framework
enacted into law under the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003.
I generally don't believe in unilateral trade sanctions. By
preventing trade with Burma, we isolate Burmese citizens from the world
and deny them the economic opportunity and better working conditions
that trade can create. As a result, sanctions often have the unintended
consequence of ultimately harming the people we are seeking to help. In
fact, the State Department, for the second time, notes that one effect
of the Burma import restrictions has been to cause the closure of more
than 100 garment factories and the loss of tens of thousands of Burmese
textile jobs. I don't see how those people are better off today than
they were a year or two ago.
At the same time, the actions of the ruling junta in Burma continue
to be unacceptable. One of the requirements of the law passed in 2003
is for the administration to issue a report on whether the sanctions
have been effective in improving conditions in Burma and in furthering
U.S. objectives. The State Department, in its second report, observes
that Burma's already poor human rights record has worsened over the
past year. Moreover, the junta's exclusion of pro-democracy groups from
the National Convention assembled to draft a new constitution suggests
that Burma is not on the road to true democratic reform. Given the
current situation, I believe action by the United States is warranted
and sanctions are appropriate if they are limited, targeted, and
effective.
At the same time, the State Department also acknowledges that some
opposition politicians in Burma question whether U.S. sanctions have
any chance of success and whether they are worth the pain caused to
Burmese workers. I share this skepticism. No other country has
implemented the same set of economic sanctions as the United States. If
we are to successfully influence the government of Burma, sanctions
must be truly multilateral and international like those used to bring
an end to apartheid rule in South Africa. While I support the extension
of the sanctions for another year, this effort to build multilateral
pressure is key to my continued support for sanctions against Burma.
Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I would like to express my support of House
Joint Resolution 52, supporting the renewal of the import restrictions
contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003. As an
original cosponsor of this Resolution, I urge my colleagues to join me
in voting in favor of this resolution. Today we must send a strong
message to the ruthless military dictators in Rangoon that their
repressive rule over what Secretary Rice deemed an ``outpost of
tyranny,'' is antithetical to the fundamental American values of
freedom, liberty, and democracy.
On May 30, 2003, Congress passed the Burmese Freedom and Democracy
Act in response to the junta's merciless crackdown on democratic
reformers. The National League for Democracy's popular elected leader,
Aung San Suu Kyi, was placed under house arrest and many of her
colleagues were murdered. This important bill banned imports from
Burma, mainly affecting the textile and garment industries, until the
junta made major
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progress to end human rights violations. According to the bill, until
the military regime ceases its systemic campaign of repression,
aggression, and state-sponsored terror against its own people,
meaningful sanctions will persist.
Two years later, the junta's extremely poor human rights record has
not improved, instead it worsened. Aung San Suu Kyi recently spent her
60th birthday detained under house-arrest in her dilapidated home.
Citizens in Burma still do not have the right to criticize their
government. Security forces continue to murder political opponents with
impunity. Disappearances persist, and security forces rape, torture,
beat, and otherwise abuse prisoners and detainees. Hundreds of
thousands of displaced persons in eastern Burma have been uprooted from
their homes and forced to live in relocation sites under horrendous
humanitarian conditions.
As the United States is developing its future 21st Century
relationship with Southeast Asia, the regime in Burma is stuck in an
early 20th Century destabilizing military style of governance.
International pressure is mounting on Burma for reform. Burma's
neighbors, including Malaysia, are calling for the release of Aung San
Suu Kyi. If Burma wants to participate in the international community,
and be recognized as the rotating chairman of ASEAN, it must undergo
sweeping democratic reforms. The United States ought to continue
advocating a policy of zero tolerance by renewing its ban on imports
from Burma until such reforms are made. Congress must seize this
opportunity to demonstrate its resolve to uphold the highest standards
of human rights by supporting House Joint Resolution 52.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.J. Res. 52
and the renewal of sanctions on Burma. It is high time that the Burmese
junta release Aung San Suu Kyi, the key to political transition in
Burma, and allow the restoration of democracy in Burma. I will continue
to support stronger efforts by the United States, the United Nations,
and others to ensure that the continued abuse of human rights in Burma
becomes neither accepted nor forgotten. Sanctions are necessary
pressure, but insufficient. In particular, I believe that the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should deny Burma the
rotating chair, as having Burma in a leadership position would be an
embarrassment to all ASEAN members.
Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Issa). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw) that the House suspend
the rules and pass the joint resolution, H.J. Res. 52.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those present have voted in the affirmative.
Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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