[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 162 (Friday, December 16, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S13775]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 BURMA

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, today I will discuss the disturbing 
situation in Burma.
  I have consistently stressed my deep concerns regarding the 
repressive military junta in Burma that continues to commit severe 
human rights violations against the Burmese people. Despite consistent 
calls to halt abuses by the Burmese military such as rape, harsh 
political repression, torture, extrajudicial executions, forced labor, 
and human trafficking, the SPDC fails to address these egregious 
violations and permits violations to continue with impunity.
  However, I am encouraged by ASEAN's rejuvenated efforts to hold Burma 
to long-promised democratic reforms. ASEAN's resolute calls for the 
release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other members of NLD and more than 
1,100 political prisoners, and for real democratic reform, are vital to 
legitimate progress in Burma and regional stability and values. ASEAN 
has long pushed for these goals and its recent announcement that it 
will send an envoy to evaluate Burma's progress in democratic reform is 
an important step toward accountability.
  It is far past time for the international community to begin a 
dialogue on Burma. I welcome the unanimous decision by the United 
Nations Security Council to discuss the situation there. The September 
2005 report produced by Nobel Prize laureate Desmond Tutu and former 
Czech President Vaclav Havel provided a solid basis for these 
discussions. Burma's military junta has long prevented United Nations 
envoys from visiting, and I look forward to the international community 
engaging in a serious discussion of the situation there.
  Those demanding real reform in Burma must not relent. The SPDC must 
take immediate steps to release Aung Sang Suu Kyi and other political 
prisoners and to create a broad-based democratic government that 
respects human rights and the rule of law.

                          ____________________