[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 62 (Thursday, May 18, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4816-S4817]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 CONDEMNING THE MILITARY JUNTA IN BURMA

  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
now proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 484 which was submitted 
earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 484) expressing the sense of the 
     Senate condemning the military junta in Burma for its recent 
     campaign of terror against ethnic minorities and calling on 
     the U.N. Security Council to adopt immediately a binding, 
     nonpunitive resolution on Burma.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, today's Burma resolution reflects the 
Senate's grave concern about the deteriorating situation in Burma. It 
also reflects the view of the Senate that, while a second United 
Nations Security Council briefing on Burma is welcomed, there now needs 
to be a legally binding, nonpunitive resolution regarding Burma passed 
by the U.N. Security Council. Absent such action, the Association of 
South East Asian Nations could very well end up being tougher on Burma 
than the U.N. The Senate has expressed its concern for the plight of 
the Burmese not only through this resolution but also by recently 
including $5 million in the emergency supplemental bill to assist 
refugees from Burma who are in Thailand.
  On a related note, I have concerns about the visit of U.N. envoy, 
Ibrahim Gambari, to Burma this week. This visit should not be viewed as 
a success unless and until Mr. Gambari has an audience with Nobel Peace 
Prize winner, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Burmese leader, Than Shwe. Mr. 
Gambari should consider cutting his trip short if it becomes apparent 
he will not be permitted to hold these meetings, or if the SPDC 
otherwise interferes with his visit.
  I would also add that I applaud the President's action today in 
extending the state of emergency with respect to Burma. It reflects the 
clear recognition by the President of the grave problems facing this 
beleaguered country.
  These problems were poignantly addressed by Benedict Rogers, in his 
May 16, 2006, piece in The Wall Street Journal. In that piece, Rogers 
told of his encounter with a 15-year-old Burmese boy. This youth had 
witnessed the murder of both parents and the razing of his village and 
had endured abduction into forced labor. He hauntingly pleaded to 
Rogers `[p]lease tell the world not to forget us.' The Senate has not 
forgotten Burma and it is my profound hope that the U.N. will not 
either.
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed 
to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid 
upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 484) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 484

       Whereas the regime in Burma, the State Peace and 
     Development Council (SPDC), reportedly threatened to abolish 
     the pro-democracy National League for Democracy;
       Whereas recent reports indicate that the SPDC escalated its 
     brutal campaign against ethnic groups in November 2005;
       Whereas reports indicate that the military operation has 
     resulted in approximately 13,000 new internally displaced 
     persons in Burma;
       Whereas reports estimate that approximately 540,000 people 
     are now internally displaced within Burma, the most serious 
     internal displacement crisis in Asia;
       Whereas the Thailand Burma Border Consortium reports that 
     the military junta in Burma has destroyed, relocated, or 
     forced the abandonment of approximately 2,800 villages in 
     eastern Burma over the past 10 years;
       Whereas refugees continue to pour across Burma's borders;
       Whereas those forced to flee their homes in Burma are 
     increasingly vulnerable, and the humanitarian situation grows 
     more dire as the rainy season approaches;
       Whereas the United Nations Security Council was briefed on 
     the human rights situation in Burma for the first time ever 
     in December 2005;
       Whereas United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and 
     Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari 
     acknowledged the seriousness of the problems in Burma, and 
     the Secretary-General's office suggested the first-ever 
     course of action on Burma at the United Nations Security 
     Council at the December 2005 briefing;
       Whereas numerous efforts outside the United Nations 
     Security Council to secure reform in Burma, including 28 
     consecutive non-binding resolutions of the United Nations 
     General Assembly and United Nations Commission on Human 
     Rights, have failed to bring about change;

[[Page S4817]]

       Whereas there is ample precedent in the United Nations 
     Security Council for action on Burma; and
       Whereas Daw Aung San Suu Kyi remains the world's only 
     incarcerated Nobel Peace Prize recipient:
       Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate--
       (1) to condemn the military junta in Burma for its recent 
     campaign of terror against ethnic minorities; and
       (2) to call on the United States and other democracies to 
     continue to work with the Association of South East Asian 
     Nations to promote democracy, human rights and justice in 
     Burma; and
       (3) to call on the United States to lead an effort at the 
     United Nations Security Council to pass immediately a 
     binding, non-punitive resolution calling for the immediate 
     and unconditional release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all 
     other prisoners of conscience in Burma, condemning these 
     atrocities, and supporting democracy, human rights and 
     justice in Burma.

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