[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 31, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S175-S177]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE RESOLUTION 20--CONDEMNING THE COUP THAT TOOK PLACE ON FEBRUARY 
  1, 2021, IN BURMA AND THE BURMESE MILITARY'S DETENTION OF CIVILIAN 
  LEADERS, CALLING FOR AN IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE OF ALL 
 THOSE DETAINED, PROMOTING ACCOUNTABILITY AND JUSTICE FOR THOSE KILLED 
  BY THE BURMESE MILITARY, AND CALLING FOR THOSE ELECTED TO SERVE IN 
  PARLIAMENT TO RESUME THEIR DUTIES WITHOUT IMPEDIMENT, AND FOR OTHER 
                                PURPOSES

  Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. Young, Mr. Merkley, and Ms. Collins) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Relations:

                               S. Res. 20

       Whereas, on February 1, 2021, the Burmese military and its 
     aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) 
     conducted a coup against the civilian government hours before 
     Parliament was to convene in a new session, resulting in the 
     military junta illegally detaining State Counsellor Aung San 
     Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and members of Parliament, as 
     well as pro-democracy activists from the 88 Generation and 
     other civil society leaders;
       Whereas, since February 1, 2021, the Burmese military has 
     detained more than 13,000 people for exercising their rights 
     of freedom of speech and assembly and killed more than 2,800 
     civilians, including children;
       Whereas the Burmese military put the democratically elected 
     civilian leadership of Burma, including President Win Myint 
     and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, through sham trials 
     for fabricated crimes and sentenced them to lengthy prison 
     terms in order to remove them from political competition;
       Whereas Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to 33 years in 
     prison for multiple spurious charges;
       Whereas the Burmese military has become the world's second 
     largest detainer of journalists, with over 100 journalists 
     imprisoned since the coup;
       Whereas the Burmese military's actions have driven hundreds 
     of thousands from their homes and driven thousands to flee 
     across Burma's borders into Thailand, India, and Bangladesh;
       Whereas fighting between the Burmese military and several 
     ethnic armed groups continues, with government forces 
     committing increasingly violent abuses against ethnic Karen, 
     Kayah, Kachin, Chin, Rakhine, Shan, and Rohingya minority 
     populations;
       Whereas the Burmese military restricted freedom of 
     movement, telecommunications, and the media, limiting access 
     to information to and from Burma during the COVID-19 
     pandemic, which exacerbated the political crisis initiated by 
     the February 1, 2021 coup;
       Whereas senior generals of the Burmese military have been 
     sanctioned by the United States Government for serious human 
     rights abuses and for their role in the coup and are subject 
     to ongoing investigations into their conduct by the 
     International Criminal Court and the International Court of 
     Justice;
       Whereas, on January 28, 2021, the Union Election Commission 
     rejected allegations by the Burmese military that fraud 
     played a significant role in determining the outcome of the 
     November 2020 elections;
       Whereas Burma's November 2020 elections resulted in the 
     National League for Democracy party securing enough seats in 
     Parliament to form the next government;
       Whereas Burmese military general Min Aung Hlaing has 
     announced his intentions for Burmese parliamentary elections 
     to be held by August 1, 2023;
       Whereas, without full participation from relevant political 
     forces in the country, including civil society groups and 
     opposition parties, and without a robust presence of credible 
     international observers, the results of any parliamentary 
     election run by the military regime will not gain widespread 
     acceptance, domestically or internationally;
       Whereas, in July 2022, the Burmese military executed four 
     male activists accused of aiding insurgents to fight Burma's 
     army following secret trials;
       Whereas, in response to the Civil Disobedience Movement's 
     opposition protests, the Burmese military has used live fire, 
     water cannons, and rubber bullets against peace protestors;
       Whereas, in December 2021, violent reprisals against 
     peaceful protests resulted in the

[[Page S176]]

     torture and subsequent deaths of over 40 civilians in 
     Sagaing;
       Whereas the Burmese military has a long history of 
     committing atrocities against the people of Burma, including 
     the targeting of specific ethnic groups;
       Whereas, as of October 2022, over 943,000 stateless 
     Rohingya refugees reside in Ukhiya and Teknaf Upazilas, 
     Bangladesh, the vast majority of whom live in 34 extremely 
     congested camps;
       Whereas, on March 21, 2022, the United States Secretary of 
     State formally determined that members of the Burmese 
     military committed genocide and crimes against humanity 
     against Rohingya in 2016 and 2017;
       Whereas the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 
     and ASEAN member states continue to play an important role in 
     addressing the crisis in Burma, including through the 
     provision of humanitarian assistance in Burma and by 
     preventing junta leadership from participating in ASEAN 
     meetings, absent progress on the 5 Point Consensus;
       Whereas United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation 
     of Human Rights in Myanmar Thomas H. Andrews and Special 
     Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer 
     continue to provide ongoing reporting and analysis of the 
     dire and deteriorating situation for the men, women, and 
     children of Burma, inside the country and as refugees, 
     including through presentations to the United Nations Human 
     Rights Council and the United Nations General Assembly, and 
     through reports that document the illegitimacy of the Burmese 
     junta and urge member states to engage in coordinated 
     sanctions and weapon embargos against the junta;
       Whereas the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar 
     continues to collect, consolidate, preserve, and analyze 
     evidence of serious international crimes and violations of 
     international law committed in Myanmar since 2011, and helps 
     to facilitate and expedite fair and independent criminal 
     proceedings; and
       Whereas, in December 2022, the United Nations Security 
     Council adopted Resolution 2669 on Burma, the first 
     resolution on Burma since the country was admitted as a 
     member state in 1948, calling for the immediate end to all 
     forms of violence and urging restraint and the release of all 
     prisoners: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) supports the people of Burma in their quest for 
     democracy, sustainable peace, and genuine ethnic and 
     religious reconciliation, and the realization of 
     internationally recognized human rights for all, including 
     for ethnic and religious groups whose human rights have been 
     violated repeatedly and who have been disenfranchised 
     historically;
       (2) calls on the Burmese military to--
       (A) immediately and unconditionally release all political 
     prisoners detained as a result of the coup on February 1, 
     2021;
       (B) immediately restore all forms of communication, 
     including access to the internet without surveillance;
       (C) immediately end the use of violence and allow for a 
     legal process for accountability and justice for those 
     unlawfully detained, injured, and killed by the Burmese 
     military;
       (D) remove all impediments to free travel that have been 
     imposed as a result of the coup;
       (E) return to power all members of the civilian government 
     elected in the November 8, 2020 elections and allow them to 
     fulfill their mandate without impediment;
       (F) allow for freedom of expression, including the right to 
     protest, peaceful assembly, press freedom, and freedom of 
     movement; and
       (G) allow unfettered reporting from local, national, and 
     international media;
       (3) calls on social media companies to suspend the accounts 
     of the Union Solidarity and Development Party and the Burmese 
     military that have used their platforms to spread 
     disinformation, fear, and threats of violence;
       (4) supports the use of all diplomatic, economic, and 
     development tools to ensure that vulnerable groups, including 
     ethnic and religious groups, as well as all children, youth, 
     and teachers in educational settings are safe, and schools 
     and universities are not targeted for attacks or use by the 
     Burmese military;
       (5) expresses grave concern for the safety and security of 
     the more than 1,000,000 internally displaced persons 
     (referred to in this resolution as ``IDPs'') and refugees who 
     have been displaced by the Burmese military and now face 
     challenging conditions in camps;
       (6) expresses grave concern for the 17,600,000 people of 
     Burma who are in need of humanitarian aid, including the 
     1,500,000 IDPs in Burma, of which some 165,000 remain in the 
     southeast, adding to those already displaced in Rakhine, 
     Chin, Shan, and Kachin states;
       (7) appreciates the generosity of Burma's neighboring 
     countries, including Thailand, India, and Bangladesh, and 
     encourages them to meaningfully assist refugees who have fled 
     and continue to flee the Burmese military, including through 
     the delivery of cross-border humanitarian assistance and with 
     recognition of the protracted nature of the conflict; and
       (8) calls on the President, the Secretary of State, and the 
     Secretary of Defense to fully implement section 7008 of the 
     Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs 
     Appropriations Act, 2021 (division K of Public Law 116-260), 
     the BURMA Act of 2022 (subtitle E of title LV of division E 
     of Public Law 117-263), and any similar or successor law 
     governing United States foreign assistance following a coup, 
     and to immediately--
       (A) impose targeted restrictions aimed at the Burmese 
     military, military-owned or -controlled enterprises, and 
     those responsible for the February 1, 2021 coup;
       (B) work with the international community, including at the 
     United Nations Security Council, with United States' allies 
     in the region, and with the Association of Southeast Asian 
     Nations, to condemn the coup, delegitimize the junta and any 
     military-run elections announced by the junta, and take steps 
     to ensure that international economic engagement in Burma 
     does not contribute to human rights abuses or benefit 
     individuals connected to the coup;
       (C) support conditionality on diplomatic, economic, and 
     security relations with Burma, including using the voice and 
     vote of the United States at multilateral development 
     institutions, until all those detained in the February 1, 
     2021 coup are released and there has been a full restoration 
     of the civilian-controlled parliament reflecting the November 
     8, 2020 election results;
       (D) utilize the United States Government's position on the 
     United Nations Security Council to bring about greater 
     international cooperation in the pursuit of justice and 
     accountability in Burma;
       (E) empower and provide assistance to the National Unity 
     Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the 
     National Unity Consultative Council, the Civil Disobedience 
     Movement in Myanmar, and other entities promoting democracy 
     in Burma through nonviolent efforts, including channeling aid 
     through local civil society organizations along the Thai and 
     Indian borders that are not controlled by the junta, while 
     simultaneously denying legitimacy and resources to the junta;
       (F) promote national reconciliation among the diverse 
     ethnic and religious groups in Burma;
       (G) counter support to the junta by the People's Republic 
     of China and the Russian Federation and other supporters of 
     the military regime; and
       (H) secure the restoration of democracy, the establishment 
     of an inclusive and representative civilian government and a 
     reformed military reflecting the diversity of Burma and under 
     civilian control, and the enactment of constitutional, 
     political, and economic reform in Burma.

  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I rise today, on the eve of the second 
anniversary of the military coup in Burma, to introduce a resolution 
marking the occasion--and the terrible 2 years that the people of Burma 
have had to suffer since then. I am proud to introduce this resolution 
today alongside my colleagues Senators Young, Merkley, and Collins.
  The resolution condemns the illegitimate Burmese military coup and 
calls for an immediate return to democratic governance grounded in 
respect for civil liberties. Demonstrating our support for the Burmese 
people is more important than ever, as the human rights situation in 
Burma threatens to deteriorate even further.
  Tomorrow marks 2 years since the Burmese military overthrew the 
democratically elected Government in Burma, on the eve of what was to 
have been the convening of the Parliament that was elected on November 
8, 2020, and installed a repressive, authoritarian regime.
  Since February 1, 2021, the Burmese military has reversed years of 
uneven but generally positive democratic reform. The military has 
engaged in mass atrocities, including by detaining over 13,000 people 
for exercising basic freedoms and killing over 2,800 civilians, 
including children. Today, over 17 million people in Burma are in need 
of humanitarian aid, and 1.5 million people remain internally displaced 
due to the ongoing violence and instability fostered by the military.
  I would note that it is the same military officers now running the 
country who were implicated in the genocide waged against the Rohingya 
people, an assault that was recognized by the Secretary of State on 
March 21, 2022, only the eighth such determination since the Holocaust. 
The Burmese military continues to systemically target its most 
vulnerable people, including women, children, and ethnic and religious 
minorities. The junta also continues to silence activists and 
opposition parties, most recently illustrated by the 33-year prison 
sentence handed down to State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi after a 
series of sham trials.
  Today, we honor those lives we have lost due to the junta's violent 
repression and calls upon the Burmese military to end its senseless 
killing of its own people.
  The U.S. Senate fully stands behind those peacefully protesting for 
their

[[Page S177]]

rights to freedom of speech, assembly, and the press. We also remain 
committed to free and fair elections in Burma and the peaceful and 
expedient transition to a civilian-led government. The United States 
and the international community must hold accountable human rights 
violators for their actions. This resolution calls on the President to 
impose targeted sanctions and restrictions on those responsible for the 
February 2021 coup and human rights abuses in Burma, including through 
the bipartisan BURMA Act of 2022, which I was proud to have led, and 
which was enacted as part of the NDAA in December.
  While the February 2021 coup represents a major step backwards, the 
United States remains steadfast in support of a free and prosperous 
future for Burma. This resolution, which I am proud to introduce today, 
will reaffirm the United States' solidarity with the Burmese people in 
their quest for sustainable peace and democracy.
  I would invite my colleagues to cosponsor the resolution, and I look 
forward to early action in the Foreign Relations Committee and by the 
full Senate.

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