[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 17, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H2643-H2644]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        ETHNIC GENOCIDE IN BURMA

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, yesterday demonstrations in over a dozen 
countries, including the U.S., U.K., Thailand and Japan took place 
demanding that the U.N. Security Council take action to stop the 
violence in eastern Burma.
  I join them today in speaking out against the brutal military 
dictatorship of Burma. The thugs of Rangoon are on an all-out rampage. 
Since March the Burmese military dictatorship has forced over 15,000 
Karen tribal people from their homes.

[[Page H2644]]

  This map shows more than 2,800 villages. All of these dots are 
villages that have been destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of people 
displaced since 1996. These photos point to the awful plight of the 
displaced persons.
  There are numerous reports documenting the systematic tracking, 
torturing, the killing of many of the Karen tribe in the recent weeks. 
But ethnic genocide is occurring in Burma.
  On December 16 the U.N. Security Council held its first-ever briefing 
on Burma. At the briefing, U.N. Secretary General Annan indicated that 
the Security Council should get involved in Burma.
  But mere talk is not enough. The U.S. should lead an effort to pass a 
resolution on Burma and the Security Council.
  The world knows what is happening. If the international community 
does not act, we are complicit in their atrocities.

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