[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 17, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E864]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      BURMESE MILITARY ATROCITIES

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSEPH CROWLEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 17, 2006

  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to raise the awareness of this 
Congress of the ongoing atrocities being committed by the Burmese 
military junta. I am deeply disturbed by what appears to be the largest 
attacks in 10 years on ethnic minorities in eastern Burma. Eastern 
Burma is a humanitarian nightmare. According to the Thailand-Burma 
Border Consortium, over the past 10 years, the military junta has 
destroyed or forcibly relocated over 2,700 villages. Not a single 
humanitarian relief agency is allowed into the area, not a single 
journalist is permitted to record the facts, and not a single U.N. 
official is permitted to meet, let alone protect, those on the run in 
Burma's eastern jungles. Even in Sudan aid agencies, journalists, and 
representatives of the United Nations and African Union are allowed--
not so in eastern Burma.
  It is time for the United States to press the U.N. Security Council 
to pass a binding resolution requiring change in Burma.
  It is true that not all members of the Council will initially agree 
on the language and substance of such a proposal, and it is no secret 
that Russia and China have opposed the use of sanctions or military 
intervention in Burma.
  We have listened to their points, and that is not what we are asking 
for.
  Surely all Council members must agree that it is our collective 
responsibility to stop these attacks on innocent civilians and to 
facilitate true national reconciliation in Burma. The U.N. Security 
Council said so itself on April 28th when it stated in its new 
resolution that ``the Council reaffirmed its strongest condemnation of 
all acts of violence or abuses committed against civilians in 
situations of armed conflict.'' By not addressing the situations in 
Burma, the United Nations Security Council is failing its own mandate 
and undermining the U.N. Charter.
  We cannot remain silent. We cannot stand by and wait for someone else 
to provide leadership, if none is being provided. Leaders of the United 
States, United Nations and elsewhere should state publicly that it is 
time for a U.N. Security Council resolution on Burma. As the rainy 
season approaches in eastern Burma, many lives are at risk. We must act 
now.

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