[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 175 (Tuesday, October 5, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6920-S6921]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. 
        Kaine, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Markey, Ms. Rosen, Mrs. Murray, Mr. 
        Peters, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Lujan, and 
        Mr. Sanders):
  S. 2937. A bill to authorize humanitarian assistance and civil 
society support, promote democracy and human rights, and impose 
targeted sanctions with respect to human rights abuses in Burma, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
  Mr. CARDIN, Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Burma 
Unified through Rigorous Military Accountability Act of 2021, BURMA, 
which is cosponsored by Senators Durbin, Markey, Merkley, Feinstein, 
Kaine, Rosen, Murray, Peters, Klobuchar, Padilla, Wyden, and Lujan,
  We are doing so in tandem with simultaneous introduction of a 
companion bill today in the House of Representatives by House Foreign 
Affairs Committee Chairman Meeks, along with Representatives Chabot and 
McCaul and others. The purpose in short is to provide a legislative 
foundation to certain steps the Biden administration has undertaken by 
Executive order and to push the executive branch to be even more 
forward-leaning in addressing the February 1 coup d'etat and the 
ongoing human rights being committed by the Burmese military, the 
Tatmadaw. The legislation includes authorization to impose sanctions on 
individuals and entities who helped stage the February 1 coup d'etat 
and are responsible for the subsequent repression of fundamental 
freedoms, human rights abuses, use of indiscriminate violence towards 
civilians, and other gross atrocities; authorization to prohibit the 
import of precious and semi-precious gemstones from Burma into the 
United States; authorization for a new position at the State 
Department, a Special Coordinator for Burmese Democracy, to promote an 
international effort to impose and enforce multilateral sanctions on 
Burma and coordinate U.S. Government interagency efforts on Burma; 
authorization for support to civil society and for humanitarian 
assistance in Burma, Bangladesh, Thailand, and the surrounding region; 
requires the Secretary of State to make a determination whether the 
persecution of the Rohingya in Burma constitutes genocide; and a call 
for the United States to take more decisive action with regard to Burma 
at the United Nations.
  Throughout its independence, Burma's history has suffered decades of 
repressive military rule and civil war with ethnic minority groups, and 
what we are seeing today in Burma is no different.
  In 1988, thousands of people took the streets to protest the 
government. Under the leadership of then-General Ne Win, who ruled for 
26 years following a coup, security forces cracked down on protestors, 
killing thousands of citizens. During these uprisings, Aung San Suu Kyi 
emerged as a charismatic national icon, preaching democracy and 
nonviolence as she highlighted the political situation in Burma.
  In 1990, the military junta agreed to hold the first multiparty 
elections in 30 years in which Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National 
League for Democracy, won 81 percent of the seats in the government 
with over 70 percent voter turnout. However, the ray of hope in Burma 
was quickly diminished when the military refused to recognize the 
results and hand over power. Aung San Suu Kyi was detained and remained 
under house arrest for nearly 15 years--until her release in 2010 as 
the country continued to be ruled by the military.
  In 2011, President Thein Sein agreed to a series of reforms, 
including granting amnesty to political prisoners, relaxing media 
censorship, and implementing economic policies to encourage foreign 
investment. Aung San Suu Kyi became a member of Parliament when her 
party won 43 of the 45 vacant seats in the 2012 by-elections, as 
ongoing negotiations between civilians and military officials 
continued.
  In 2015, Myanmar held its first nationwide, multiparty elections--
considered to be the freest and fairest elections in decades--since the 
country's transition away from military rule. Her party boycotted the 
2010 elections, resulting in a decisive victory for the military-backed 
Union Solidarity and Development Party. In the 2015 elections, Aung San 
Suu Kyi's party won a landslide victory, taking 86 percent of the seats 
in the Assembly of the Union. Although she was prohibited from becoming 
the President due to a clause the military demanded be inserted in the 
constitution specifically to keep her from office, she assumed the role 
of State Counsellor of Myanmar. Yet, despite the facade of civilian 
governance that had been established in Burma, the real political power 
continued to rest in the hands of the military.
  Three years on, following decades of ongoing persecution, including 
confinement to ghettos, stripping away of citizenship rights, 
restrictions on healthcare and fertility, military unleashed a 
horrifying display of state-sanctioned violence in Rakhine state in 
August 2017, which resulted in wide-scale human rights violation, 
including tens of thousands of deaths, sexual violence, torture, 
unlawful arrest and detention, and widespread destruction of the 
Rohingya people's homes and communities. Over 736,000 survivors fled to 
refugee camps in Bangladesh, where they remain to this day, in urgent 
need of humanitarian aid, increased support--and justice.
  Since 2019, I joined my colleagues in the Senate in calling on 
directing the State Department to determine whether attacks by the 
Burmese military and security forces against the Rohingya constitutes 
genocide. The United States has still not issued a determination on 
whether the atrocities committed against the Rohingya constitute 
genocide, even though human rights investigators funded by the State 
Department concluded in 2018 that ``there are reasonable grounds to 
believe that genocide was committed.'' U.N. investigators have also 
found evidence that infers genocidal intent. This is something my 
colleagues and I address in our BURMA bill. The United States should 
lead in calling what happened what it is: a genocide.
  On February 1, 2021, the Burmese military led a coup against the 
democratically elected legislature, just hours before the Parliament 
was scheduled to be seated terrifying setback for the emerging 
potential for democracy and rule-of-law in Burma.
  Since seizing control, the military forces have killed over a 
thousand people across the country as they crack down on civilian 
protestors who have mobilized to oppose the ongoing assault on the 
country's nascent political institutions and traditions. Rather than 
follow the outcome of the parliamentary elections held last November, 
the Burmese military has detained Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win 
Myint, and other civilians, including other government officials. The 
military has also cut internet and telephone communication, and it has 
stopped flights in the country.
  For years, the Burmese military has been responsible for much of the 
violence against minority groups in Burma, including the Rohingya. More 
than 1 million Rohingya have fled the country and become refugees as a 
result of the military's atrocities against them. This coup d'etat 
further damages democratic institutions in Burma and makes the entire 
region less stable.
  As the death toll in Myanmar continues to rise, the United States 
must not be indifferent to Burma's fate. The Burmese military has also 
been responsible for horrible atrocities committed against minority 
groups in Burma, including the Rohingya, which has led more than 1 
million to flee the country and become refugees. In recent months, the 
Tatmadaw, the country's military, escalated its brutal campaign, using 
COVID-19 like a biological weapon to terrorize and control the people 
of Burma. The military has arrested government officials, doctors, 
nurses, and journalist, including U.S. citizen Danny Fester.
  The bill aims to authorize sanctions on individuals and entities who 
helped stage the February 1 coup d'etat and are responsible for the 
subsequent repression of fundamental freedoms, human rights abuses, use 
of indiscriminate violence towards civilians, and other gross 
atrocities; authorizes increased humanitarian assistance for Rohingya 
refugees and provides support for civil society and independent media; 
prohibits the import of

[[Page S6921]]

gemstones from Burma into the United States; calls for the United 
States to pressure the United Nations to take more decisive action with 
regards to Burma; and requests a genocide determination regarding the 
persecution of the Rohingya.
  It is important for the international community to continue to 
pressure the military junta to restore democracy for the people of 
Burma. The behavior of the Tatmadaw has not and will not change--thus 
the need for additional & forceful actions by the United States and 
international community to bring justice, accountability, and restore 
democracy.
  I remain committed to continuing to work with the Biden 
administration and my colleagues in Congress to ensure that the United 
States and international response to the military coup is coordinated 
and targeted to have a strong impact on those responsible, while also 
encouraging a peaceful transition of power back to the civilian 
government. I continue to stand in solidarity with the people of Burma 
and condemn the ongoing violence against them.

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