[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 173 (Thursday, October 26, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6842-S6843]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      ROHINGYA HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, earlier this week, the Senate Foreign 
Relations Committee held a hearing on an issue that I consider one of 
the greatest moral tests of our time in the conduct of U.S. foreign 
policy--the situation in Burma, where the Burmese military is 
committing ethnic cleansing and is perpetrating atrocities.
  We have a humanitarian crisis. We have perpetrators who expect 
impunity and a situation, under the watch of the international 
community and the Trump administration, that is allowing for the 
perpetration of atrocities.
  Ethnic cleansing is defined by the United Nations Commission of 
Experts as ``rendering an area ethnically homogenous by using force or 
intimidation to remove persons of given groups from an area.'' Half of 
the population of the Rohingya in Burma have left--600,000 people out 
of 1.2 million. I might add that, of those who remain, many are 
dislocated. There has been a systematic burning of their villages. This 
didn't just start. It has been a campaign that has gone on for a long 
period of time, since a 1982 law that denies the Rohingya citizenship, 
even though they have been residents for generations.
  The Rohingya are denied freedom of movement. They are denied freedom 
of education. They are denied healthcare. This has been a systematic 
effort to destroy an ethnic community.
  We have seen this happen far too long in too many places around the 
world. Once again, we see this happening today in Burma. Once again, 
this is the expectation: Well, it is far away; we will just let it go 
along.
  The Senate should be outraged about what is happening. We need to see 
the international community come together and say: No, we will not let 
this continue. We will hold accountable those who are responsible for 
these actions, we will provide humanitarian need immediately, and we 
will stop this type of conduct in a civilized society. This just cannot 
occur.
  In fact, I think what is transpiring in the Rakhine State today is 
genocide. I know there will be some discussion about whether it is 
genocide or not based upon technical definitions. Yet what we see in 
Burma today clearly meets the definition of ``deliberately inflicting 
on a group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical 
destruction in whole or in part.'' That is what is happening in Burma, 
and that is genocide.
  The Burmese military is clearly trying to destroy the Rohingya 
population. For decades, the Burmese Government has systemically 
repressed the Rohingya people. This is a fact, and they have 
deliberately failed to integrate the population into the general 
population. As the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights correctly 
stated, the ``decades of persistent and systematic human rights 
violations . . . have almost certainly contribute[d] to the nurturing 
of violent extremism, with everyone ultimately losing.'' They complain 
about extremism. Yet they are creating it.
  In my opinion, we are witnessing a military-sponsored ethnic 
cleansing campaign on the Rohingya, and it will take significant 
engagement from the international community, at the highest levels and 
in partnership with the Burmese civilian government, to address and to 
hold the perpetrators accountable for these horrific acts.
  Seventy-five years ago, the world and the United States could have 
claimed ignorance or lack of information as an excuse for inaction in 
the face of crimes against humanity, genocide, and barbarism. Today, we 
have no excuse.
  Unfortunately, the Rohingya crisis is not the only vexing challenge 
Burma faces. The Burmese military continues to hold significant 
influence in politics and in the economy. The peace process, which 
sought to end a longstanding civil war in the country, has stalled. 
There are significant reports of human rights issues such as human 
trafficking, free speech infringement, and political repression. The 
military control Burma today. That is unacceptable, and that is why we 
imposed sanctions, because of military control. Sanction relief was 
given for what? So that people could be ethnically cleansed?
  I was pleased to hear State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi committed to 
implementing all of Kofi Annan's Rakhine State recommendations and to 
ensure that the Rohingya, who have fled in the face of brutal military 
repression, have a right to return to their homes. However, she must 
continue to make this a top priority and work with the international 
community to provide both the safety of the Rohingya left in Burma and 
those who want to come home. It is going to be difficult since their 
villages have been destroyed. Are they going to live in camps? Will 
they have protection? Will they be safe? If the past is any indication, 
we have real challenges ahead of us.
  Although I would count myself among those who have been disappointed 
with the civilian authorities and think they should have been more 
vocal, I am keenly aware of the real limits of their power and ability 
to

[[Page S6843]]

govern under the current Burmese Constitution and the military's 
control of a large portion of Burma's economy.
  We have a challenge on our hands in Burma, and we need to be engaged. 
But the civilian leadership must take responsibility and must speak 
out. Too often, the international community has done too little, waited 
too long, or been caught unprepared by events that should not have 
surprised us. We continue to forget the lessons of the past and fail to 
live up to the post-Holocaust pledge of ``never again.'' Ignoring the 
genocide war crimes and crimes against humanity that continue to rage 
around the world sends a message to the global community that atrocity 
crimes are tolerable. We must respond robustly to the crisis unfolding 
in Burma because it is the right thing to do and because it is in our 
national interest to do so.
  The United Nations is calling the military campaign ``a textbook 
example of ethnic cleansing'' against Rohingya Muslims. From credible 
human rights organizations and newspapers, there are consistent 
accounts of widespread extrajudicial killings, arson, rape, and other 
atrocities. At least 288 villages have been decimated, according to 
Human Rights Watch, which has used satellite imagery as evidence of the 
devastation caused by the so-called ``clearance operations.''
  These current attacks on the Rohingya follow decades of state-led 
persecution and dehumanization. Government efforts to deny Rohingya 
citizenship rights, to restrict their freedom of movement and the 
practice of their faith, and to deny their basic human rights have all 
been identified as precursors to a genocide.
  The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights found that 
the attacks were executed in a well-organized, coordinated, and 
systematic manner by the Myanmar Security Forces, often supported by 
the armed Rakhine Buddhists. They have described the attacks as a 
``cynical ploy to forcibly transfer large numbers of people without 
possibility of return.''
  There were also appalling acts of sexual violence, which clearly 
amount to crimes against humanity and/or acts of genocide that must not 
be forgotten. Women and girls, some as young as 5, were raped by men in 
uniform in front of their families. U.N. and other health workers said 
that after this most recent August 2017 military crackdown, they 
treated dozens of Rohingya women and girls who escaped to Bangladesh 
for injuries consistent with violent sexual attacks.
  One woman told Human Rights Watch that she and four other women were 
taken to a hut, slashed with knives, and sexually assaulted. The 
soldiers then set the hut on fire. She was the only one to escape 
alive. Another woman who was raped still has injuries from the machete 
attack and beatings that accompanied the rape and said she barely 
managed to escape from a burning house.
  I also want to draw attention to the needs of the survivors, their 
families, and communities. There is an acute lack of healthcare 
available to the survivors, including reproductive health, 
psychosocial, and other critical services.
  Seventy-five years ago, the world--and the United States--could have 
said they did not know what is happening. Today we do. Today we have no 
excuse. Instead, the international community must hold the perpetrators 
accountable. In addition, to date, no real progress has been made 
either holding perpetrators of serious violations accountable or in 
addressing the root causes underlying the situation in Burma. 
Therefore, there is an urgent need to act.
  The strong statements by Ambassador Haley and last month by the Vice 
President must be followed up with action. The administration should 
lead efforts for action in the Security Council. The Security Council 
should insist that persons responsible for grave abuses be held 
accountable for their crimes. It also should press the Burmese 
authority to cooperate with the U.N. factfinding mission established by 
the United Nations Human Rights Council and grant unfettered access to 
its staff to Burma, including the Rakhine State.
  We need to know what is happening on the ground. We need to know that 
in order to protect people and to get the evidence necessary to hold 
the perpetrators accountable. The Council should send a clear message 
that it stands ready to take additional steps to ensure justice, 
including through the International Criminal Court, and urge member 
states to pursue other mechanisms that might provide justice for recent 
abuses.
  I should also add that Bangladesh deserves credit for keeping its 
borders open to the influx of refugees--600,000 have fled to 
Bangladesh, and they kept their borders open. Bangladesh has been one 
of the few bright spots in the current crisis and should continue to 
honor its promise to build shelters for new arrivals, accelerate 
humanitarian assistance, and provide the needed medical service for 
this traumatized group.
  I also believe the United States needs to reevaluate our policy and 
approach to Burma. We need to have a policy in regard to Burma that we 
understand, that addresses these human rights violations, that 
reevaluates our approach for our relationship with the Burmese 
military, and that relooks at how to best use sanctions as a way to 
seek additional leverage with the Burmese Government and military.
  I am working with a number of my colleagues, on both sides of the 
aisle, on legislation to seek to clarify U.S. policy and to address 
some of these issues.
  As the President prepares for his upcoming trip to the ASEAN Summit 
in the region, Congress will be watching closely to see if he makes 
Burma and human rights a top priority during this trip and to see what 
he and his administration choose to undertake in the coming days to 
address the tragedy unfolding in Rakhine State.
  With that, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. FRANKEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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