[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 143 (Tuesday, September 25, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12042-S12043]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 BURMA

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, for the last several months I have been 
coming to the floor with some frequency to speak about the tragic 
events in Darfur. That ongoing humanitarian crisis is a constant 
reminder of how many in this world still live under tragic 
circumstances and brutal governments.
  Yet the human spirit continues to fight for change, even under these 
difficult conditions, something that has been so movingly evident in 
the recent days in the country of Burma. During the last week, the 
world has watched as thousands of Burmese have peacefully called for 
political change in one of the world's most repressive countries. 
Reuters reported today that 10,000 Buddhist monks continue to march 
through the largest city, Rangoon, chanting ``democracy, democracy.''
  The streets are lined with between 50,000 to 100,000 clapping, 
cheering supporters. I speak today to lend my support to these peaceful 
protests and call on the Burmese military to immediately begin working 
with Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and U.N. Envoy Ibrahim Gambari 
to bring about a peaceful transition to real democracy in Burma. It 
should also unconditionally release all political prisoners.
  I also call on the Government of China to use its special 
relationship with the Burmese Government to constructively foster these 
long overdue changes. As a permanent member of the U.N. Security 
Council, China has a particular responsibility to take action and to do 
it rapidly.
  Sadly, this tragedy has been going on for way too long. Following 
decades of totalitarian rule, the Burmese people,

[[Page S12043]]

in 1998, began widespread protests for greater democracy, 9 years ago.
  The military responded by seizing power and brutally suppressing the 
popular movement. Two years later, the military government allowed 
relatively free elections. Aung San Suu Kyi, despite being under house 
arrest, led her National League for Democracy Party to an overwhelming 
victory that captured more than 80 percent of the seats in Parliament. 
Yet to this date, 16 years later, the military has refused to recognize 
the sweeping democratic mandate by the Burmese people. Sixteen years 
after a landslide victory, they still wait for the results of the 
election to be followed.
  Can any one of my colleagues in the Senate even imagine being so 
brazenly denied representation. Following the vote, those elected from 
her party attempted to take office. The military responded by detaining 
hundreds of members of the Parliament-elect and other democracy 
activists. Many remain under arrest even today, with estimates of well 
over 1,000 political prisoners. Conditions for these prisoners are 
horrible. Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for the majority 
of the last 16 years.
  During the last two decades, the Burmese military has created an 
Orwellian state, one where simply owning a fax machine can lead to a 
harsh prison sentence. Government thugs beat a Nobel laureate for 
simply speaking in public. Forced labor and resettlement are 
widespread. Government-sanctioned violence against ethnic minorities, 
rape and torture are rampant.
  The military suddenly moved the capital 300 miles into the remote 
interior out of fear of its own people, and the state watches over all 
aspects of daily life in a way we thought was almost forgotten in 
today's world.
  Under military rule the country has plunged into tragic poverty and 
growing isolation. The educational and economic systems have all but 
collapsed. The military is hidden under the facade of a prolonged 
constitutional drafting process that is a sham.
  The junta has no intention of ever allowing a representative 
government. All the while, it displays its naked fear of its own people 
as it keeps Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest. It is understandable 
that the Burmese people are demanding change. Even after Suu Kyi's 
husband Michael Aris was diagnosed with cancer in London in 1997, the 
military would not allow him to visit his wife. The junta would allow 
her to leave Burma to visit him but, undoubtedly, would never let her 
return.
  She refused to leave because of her dedication to the Burmese people. 
Sadly, her husband, Michael Aris, died in 1999 without having seen his 
wife for more than 3 years. Leaders from around the world have spoken 
in support of her and about the need for change in Burma. Presidents 
George Bush and Bill Clinton, as well as Senators Feinstein and McCain, 
have all voiced repeated concerns. Earlier today, my colleague, Senator 
McConnell, shared similar concerns on the floor of the Senate.
  In 1995, then U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Madeleine Albright became 
the first Cabinet level official to visit Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma 
since the original Democratic upheavals. Later, as Secretary of State, 
she continued to advocate for change in Burma, at one point saying its 
government was ``among the most repressive and intrusive on earth.''

  The sweeping calls for change are truly global. South African 
archbishop and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu and former Czech President 
Vaclav Havel have called on the U.N. to take action in Burma.
  In December 2000, all living Nobel Peace laureates gathered in Oslo 
to honor fellow laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. In May of this year, the 
Norwegian Prime Minister released a letter he organized with 59 former 
heads of state from five continents calling for her release and the 
release of all Burmese political prisoners. Now thousands of 
extraordinarily brave Burmese monks and everyday citizens are filling 
the streets of Burma. They are saying it is time for peaceful change. 
In recent days, the monks even reached Suu Kyi's heavily guarded home 
where witnesses said she greeted them at her gate in tears.
  One need only look at the dramatic images being shown on television 
and on the front pages of newspapers around the world to see the 
bravery and dignity of these peaceful protesters.
  This is a Reuters photograph. It is so touching to look at this 
demonstration in Burma, monks and supporters literally risking their 
lives fighting for democracy, fighting for the release of Aung San Suu 
Kyi and the Burmese prisoners. We are hoping this force in the streets, 
a force for peace, a force for change, will prevail. We salute their 
courage, and let the Burmese military know they can't get by with this 
forever. I want the Burmese people to know the world knows what is 
happening in their country. There is strong support in the Senate among 
Republicans and Democrats for peaceful change and democratic 
government. To those in Burma fighting for peaceful democratic change, 
our message is simple--we are with you. I call on the Burmese military 
to immediately release Aung San Suu Kyi and all Burmese political 
prisoners, to respect peaceful protests of its own citizens, and begin 
a timely transition to democratic rule. The eyes of the world are 
watching.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call 
be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________