[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13475]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                 BURMA

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I was shocked and deeply disturbed by events 
over the weekend in Burma, the arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi and the death 
of the prodemocracy activists there. The Government of Burma should 
release Aung San Suu Kyi and end its brutal dictatorship of the people 
of Burma.
  The government says that Suu Kyi is in ``protective custody.'' 
Burma's record of protecting its people is highly suspect. The people 
of Burma have suffered for too long from the SPDC, from campaigns of 
systematic rape, murder, forced labor, destruction of villages, food 
sources, and a myriad of other atrocities, including the deaths of many 
small children.
  The international community, particularly Burma's neighbors, must 
press the Burmese military government to recognize the fact that the 
people want freedom. The government must accept the legitimate election 
of the National League for Democracy. The world community should 
condemn the dictatorship's actions.
  I call on the U.S. Government to take deliberate, serious action to 
help free Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma. To the people of 
Burma, we stand with them.

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