[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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