[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 150 (Thursday, October 4, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S12763]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                                 BURMA

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I spoke last week in this Chamber about the 
political crisis in Burma where thousands of Buddhist monks, joined by 
an estimated 100,000 other Burmese citizens, peacefully protested for 
an end to military dictatorship.
  Despite appeals for restraint by governments around the world, as 
well as the U.N. Secretary General, they were met with brute force. 
Soldiers firing live bullets and wielding clubs killed and injured an 
undetermined number of unarmed civilians, including at least one 
foreign journalist, and there are reports that hundreds, and possibly 
thousands, of monks have been beaten, killed or jailed.
  The atrocities perpetrated by the Burmese generals are crimes against 
humanity. They should be indicted and prosecuted by the International 
Criminal Court.
  Sooner or later they will be made to pay for the appalling brutality 
that has been witnessed on television by hundreds of millions of people 
around the world.
  The United States has imposed economic sanctions on the Burmese 
government for many years, thanks in large measure to the tireless 
efforts of Senator McConnell who, for the better part of two decades, 
has called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's rightful 
leader.
  Additional sanctions were announced, belatedly, by President Bush 
last week. But far more pressure is needed, particularly to convince 
Burma's trading partners, like China, India and Thailand, to cut their 
economic ties to Burma. It is thanks in large part to them that the 
Burmese generals owe their power and wealth.
  The crisis in Burma today tarnishes any government that values its 
financial interests over freedom for the Burmese people. For two 
decades, they have chafed under the iron grip of a clique of corrupt 
generals who have shown, year after year, that they belong in the 
category of ruthless despots who will stop at nothing, including mass 
murder, to perpetuate their control.
  Lasting economic, social and political stability in Burma can only 
begin once the Burmese generals relinquish power. How that comes about 
is their choice. We have seen the results of peaceful protest. Not even 
civil disobedience, just peaceful protest. Time and again it has been 
met with deadly force.
  Those Nations that continue to do business with Burma make a mockery 
of their own professed commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human 
Rights. There is no truer test of their commitment to those fundamental 
principles than how they respond to the slaughter of unarmed monks and 
civilians by a regime that is apparently unconcerned that their crimes 
are being televised to the world.
  Whether this year, next year, or thereafter, the Burmese junta's days 
are numbered. Where do Burma's trading partners want to be then--on the 
right side of history, or having propped up an illegitimate regime 
until its last gasps?
  No government can claim perfection in its respect for human rights, 
including my own government. We have made mistakes, and it has damaged 
our credibility as a nation that was instrumental in the creation of 
the Universal Declaration.
  But our own shortcomings are no excuse for other governments' actions 
to block U.N. resolutions condemning the crackdown in Burma or their 
refusal to join us in imposing economic sanctions that could deal a 
death blow to a tyrannical regime.
  And it is certainly no excuse for continuing to do lucrative business 
deals with a government whose officials pocket the profits for 
themselves while they starve, imprison and murder their people.
  It is a testament to the spirit of the Burmese people, and to the 
courage of Aung San Suu Kyi, that despite so many years of repression, 
they remain as defiant and as dedicated to the ideals of democracy as 
ever. Our moral responsibility, the world's responsibility, is to 
support them.

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