[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 154 (Tuesday, September 24, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H7877-H7878]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                BURMA POLITICAL PRISONERS ASSISTANCE ACT

  Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 2327) to direct the Secretary of State to provide 
assistance to civil society organizations in Burma that work to secure 
the release of prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in 
Burma, and assistance to current and former prisoners of conscience and 
political prisoners in Burma, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2327

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Burma Political Prisoners 
     Assistance Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy 
     (NLD) pledged that they ``would not arrest anyone as 
     political prisoners'', but have failed to fulfill this 
     promise since they took control of Burma's Union Parliament 
     and the Government's executive branch in April 2016.
       (2) As of the end of April 2019, there were 331 political 
     prisoners in Burma, 48 of them serving sentences, 90 awaiting 
     trial inside prison, and 193 awaiting trial outside prison, 
     according to the Assistance Association for Political 
     Prisoners in Burma.
       (3) During its three years in power, the NLD Government has 
     provided pardons for Burma's political prisoners on six 
     occasions. State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi took steps to 
     secure the release of nearly 235 political prisoners in April 
     2016. On May 23, 2017, former President Htin Kyaw granted 
     pardons to 259 prisoners, including 89 political prisoners. 
     On April 17, 2018, current President Win Myint pardoned 8,541 
     prisoners, including 36 political prisoners. In April and May 
     2019, he pardoned more than 23,000 prisoners, including 20 
     political prisoners.
       (4) The Burmese security forces have used colonial-era laws 
     to arrest and charge political prisoners and prisoners of 
     conscience. These laws include but are not limited to 
     provisions of the Penal Code, the Peaceful Assembly and 
     Peaceful Procession Act, the 1908 Unlawful Associations Act, 
     the 2013 Telecommunications Act, and the 1923 Official 
     Secrets Act.
       (5) On December 12, 2017, Reuters reporters Wa Lone and 
     Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested and charged with violating the 
     Official Secrets Act, continuing a trend of restricting media 
     and free speech and attempting to thwart coverage of the 
     events in Rakhine State.
       (6) On September 3, 2018, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were 
     convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison. Time 
     Magazine included pictures of the two reporters on the cover 
     of its ``Person of the Year'' issue on December 10, 2018, as 
     two of the ``Guardians and the War on Truth''.
       (7) On May 6, 2019, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were released 
     after more than 500 days behind bars.
       (8) According to Burmese free speech organization Athan, 44 
     journalists and 142 activists since 2016 were charged with 
     colonial-era laws used to stifle dissent and restrict 
     activist groups and have faced trial.
       (9) Since December 2018, three Kachin activists were 
     sentenced to six months in prison in connection with peaceful 
     antiwar protests; a protester demonstrating against the 
     Myitsone Dam (a controversial Chinese-backed hydropower 
     project) was charged for peaceful demonstrations, and police 
     used excessive force to crack down on peaceful protesters in 
     Kayah State, with some of the demonstrators charged under 
     vaguely worded, repressive laws.
       (10) On August 18, 2017, Aung Ko Htwe was arrested because 
     he gave a media interview in which he described his 
     experience as a child soldier, including how the Burmese 
     military abducted and forcibly recruited him when he was 13 
     years old. He was charged under Section 505(b) of Burma's 
     Penal Code.
       (11) Although former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson took 
     Burma off the State Department's list of the worst offenders 
     in the use of child soldiers in 2017, the Department 
     reinstated Burma to the list in 2018. According to the United 
     Nations, the Burmese military and ethnic guerrilla groups 
     remain ``persistent perpetrators' in the recruitment and use 
     of children in [Burma].''.

     SEC. 3. CHILD SOLDIERS.

       It is the sense of Congress that no one should be jailed 
     for freely expressing him or herself or for speaking against 
     the use of child soldiers.

     SEC. 4. PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY.

       It is the sense of Congress that Burma must immediately 
     drop defamation charges against the three Kachin activists, 
     Lum Zawng, Nang Pu, and Zau Jet, who led a peaceful rally in 
     Mytkyina, the capital of Kachin State in April 2018, and that 
     the prosecution of Lum Zawng, Nang Pu, and Zau Jet is an 
     attempt by the Burmese authorities to intimidate, harass, and 
     silence community leaders and human rights defenders who 
     speak out about military abuses and the impact on civilian 
     populations.

     SEC. 5. PRESS FREEDOM.

       It is the sense of Congress that press freedom is a 
     fundamental human right and should be upheld and protected in 
     Burma and everywhere, and that Burmese authorities must 
     immediately cease the arbitrary arrest, detention, 
     imprisonment, and physical attacks of journalists, which have 
     created a climate of fear and self-censorship among local 
     journalists.

     SEC. 6. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

       It is the policy of the United States that--
       (1) all prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in 
     Burma should be unconditionally and immediately released;
       (2) the Administration and the Department of State should 
     use all of their diplomatic tools to ensure that all 
     prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in Burma are 
     released; and
       (3) the Burmese Government should repeal or amend all laws 
     that violate the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful 
     assembly, or association, and ensure that laws such as the 
     Telecommunications Law of 2013 and the Unlawful Associations 
     Act of 1908, and laws relating to the right to peaceful 
     assembly, all comply with international human rights 
     standards.

     SEC. 7. POLITICAL PRISONERS ASSISTANCE.

       The Secretary of State shall continue to provide assistance 
     to civil society organizations in Burma that work to secure 
     the release of prisoners of conscience and political 
     prisoners in Burma, and assistance to current and former 
     prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in Burma. 
     Such assistance may include the following:
       (1) Support for the documentation of human rights 
     violations with respect to prisoners of conscience and 
     political prisoners.
       (2) Support for advocacy in Burma to raise awareness of 
     issues relating to prisoners of conscience and political 
     prisoners.
       (3) Support for efforts to repeal or amend laws that are 
     used to imprison individuals as either prisoners of 
     conscience or political prisoners.
       (4) Support for health, including mental health, and post-
     incarceration assistance in gaining access to education and 
     employment opportunities or other forms of reparation to 
     enable former prisoners of conscience and political prisoners 
     to resume a normal life.
       (5) The creation, in consultation with former political 
     prisoners and prisoners of conscience, their families, and 
     representatives, of an independent prisoner review mechanism 
     in Burma to review the cases of individuals who may have been 
     charged or deprived of their liberty for peacefully 
     exercising their human rights, review all laws used to 
     arrest, prosecute, and punish individuals as political 
     prisoners and prisoners of conscience, and provide 
     recommendations to the Burmese Government for the repeal or 
     amendment of all such laws.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Levin) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include in the Record extraneous material on H.R. 2327.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bill, the Burma Political 
Prisoners Assistance Act.
  Next week, I will travel to Bangladesh, where I am going to spend 
time in Cox's Bazar, the site of the world's largest refugee 
settlement. Since August of 2017, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya 
refugees have fled to Cox's Bazar from Burma, where villages were 
burned to the ground, women and girls were raped, and many were 
massacred at the hands of Burmese security forces as part of a campaign 
that can only be described as genocide.
  When I come home to the United States, I plan to speak openly and 
honestly about what I saw and share the stories of Rohingya refugees I 
talk to. And, while I don't expect everyone to like what I have to say, 
I know that, here in America, I won't be persecuted for exercising my 
right to free speech and sharing an honest account of the atrocities so 
many have experienced in Burma.
  But, if Burma was my home country, I would not be able to rest so 
easy, no matter my ethnic group or religion. That is because colonial-
era laws are used to stifle dissent and imprison people who dare to 
speak out or work to protect human rights.

[[Page H7878]]

  Take the example of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, Reuters journalists who 
were arrested while investigating a massacre of Rohingya men and boys 
and spent more than 500 days in prison before being released after 
massive international pressure earlier this year; or, Aung Ko Htwe, a 
former child soldier who gave an interview talking about his experience 
being abducted and forcibly recruited by the Burmese military when he 
was just 13 years old. For that offense, he was imprisoned for 2 years 
and just released earlier this month.
  Were it not for incredibly brave people like Wa Lone, Kyaw Soe Oo, 
and Aung Ko Htwe, the world might not know about the horrors that have 
occurred in Burma.
  Journalists, activists, and anyone who is willing to use their voice 
to call out wrongdoing must be protected. That is why Congresswoman Ann 
Wagner and I introduced the Burma Political Prisoners Assistance Act.
  This bill calls for the release of political prisoners and prisoners 
of conscience in Burma and directs our State Department to bolster its 
work to achieve these ends.
  We need to support efforts to amend or repeal the unjust laws that 
are being used to stifle free expression and honest reporting. We 
should support the creation of an independent prisoner review mechanism 
to examine cases like the ones I just mentioned and offer 
recommendations as to how the law might better protect free expression. 
And we must aid the organizations that are working to secure the 
release of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this 
important bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Burma Political 
Prisoners Assistance Act, introduced by the gentleman from Michigan 
(Mr. Levin) and the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner).
  True to our founding ideals, the United States must continue to stand 
as a beacon of hope and freedom in the world. This includes voicing our 
support for political prisoners who are in chains only because of their 
peaceful dissent.
  Although recent years have seen elections in Burma, the human rights 
situation there still remains grave.
  Burma's brutal military remains constitutionally immune from civilian 
oversight or control. It still has not been held responsible for the 
unspeakable, bloody genocide against Burma's Rohingya population 2 
years ago, which displaced hundreds of thousands of people in 
Bangladesh and India.
  Criticizing the government remains a dangerous business in Burma. A 
lot of things can get you thrown into jail, or worse: honest reporting 
about military violence against ethnic minorities, telling the truth 
about the use of child soldiers, or expressing political dissent, among 
other things.
  As a result, there are hundreds of prisoners of conscience in Burma. 
All people deserve fundamental rights of speech and political 
expression and to be free from arbitrary imprisonment.
  Mr. Speaker, for these reasons, I am pleased to support this 
bipartisan bill before us today. The brutal Burmese military continues 
to exercise outsized influence over the government in that country and 
tramples the rights of many who dare to dissent. True to American 
ideals, this measure expresses our solidarity and concern for political 
prisoners in Burma and, really, throughout the world, and it deserves 
our full support.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague on the other side of the aisle, Mr. 
Levin, for his strong, bipartisan support for this measure, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume for the purpose of closing.
  Mr. Speaker, I am so happy that, between the day we introduced this 
legislation and today, Wa Lone, Kyaw Soe Oo, and Aung Ko Htwe were 
released, but there are so many other people like them whose names we 
do not know but to whom we owe tremendous gratitude for their bravery.
  For the courageous people of Burma who have raised their voices to 
insist on accountability, to demand reform and bring justice to light, 
I hope this legislation helps to bring about the change they so richly 
deserve.
  I want to thank Congresswoman Ann Wagner for her partnership on this 
bill and for all her work to protect human rights in Southeast Asia. I 
hope this bill is the first of many we work on together.
  And I thank Chairman Engel and Ranking Member McCaul for prioritizing 
this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to join me in supporting this 
measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 2327, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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