[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 14483-14496]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               BURMESE FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY ACT OF 2003

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1215) to sanction the ruling Burmese military 
     junta, to strengthen Burma's democratic forces and support 
     and recognize the National League of Democracy as the 
     legitimate representative of the Burmese people, and for 
     other purposes.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The assistant Republican leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, the situation in Burma is indeed dire 
and requires our immediate response. We will make that response within 
the next hour.
  S. 1215, which is now the pending business in the Senate, has 56 
cosponsors. I particularly want to thank Senator Feinstein, who will be 
speaking on this measure, and Senator McCain, who have had a particular 
interest in this subject for quite some time.
  Until yesterday, Aung San Suu Kyi and other democracy activists have 
been held incommunicado by the repressive State Peace and Development 
Council, SPDC, following an ambush on her convoy several hundred 
kilometers north of Rangoon. Scores are feared murdered and injured in 
this blatant assault on democracy in Burma.
  In the 11th hour of his trip to Rangoon, the SPDC finally allowed 
U.N. Special Envoy Razali Ismail a 15-minute meeting with Suu Kyi. We 
are all relieved that his initial statements indicate that she is alive 
and unharmed, but the fate of other activists arrested remains unknown.
  But simply seeing is not freeing. Razali's meeting with Suu Kyi was 
not a private one and she remains under the total control of SPDC 
thugs. Her continued silence in the wake of this bloodshed could not be 
more deafening, nor--despite Razali's brief visit--her predicament more 
pressing.
  Horrific details of the attack continue to emerge and heighten the 
need for a swift and decisive response to the SPDC's brutality.
  According to Monday's front-page article in the Washington Post, in 
the ``pitch dark amid the rice paddies'' thugs posing as Buddhist monks 
stopped Suu Kyi's car. Soon after, a crowd ``set upon her convey, 
attacking the entourage with wooden clubs and bamboo spikes. . . . 
Several hundred

[[Page 14484]]

more assailants ambushed the motorcade from the rear.''
  This is no simple act of harassment or intimidation. It was an act of 
terrorism against innocent civilians who simply believe in democracy 
and the rule of law in Burma.
  The free world and free press have been quick to condemn the SPDC. 
But strong words from foreign capitals must be matched by stronger 
actions.
  Last week, I introduced the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 
2003, along with Senators Feinstein and McCain. As I indicated earlier, 
we now have 56 cosponsors. I ask unanimous consent that the list be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:


                           S. 1215 cosponsors

       Akaka, Alexander, Allard, Allen, Baucus, Bennett, Biden, 
     Bingaman, Boxer, Breaux, Brownback, Bunning, Burns, 
     Chambliss, Clinton, Coleman, Collins, Corzine, Daschle, 
     Dayton, Dole, Domenici, Dorgan, Durbin, Edwards, Feingold, 
     Feinstein, Frist, and Grassley.
       Hagel, Harkin, Hutchison, Jeffords, Kennedy, Kerry, Kyl, 
     Lautenberg, Leahy, Levin, Lieberman, Lugar, McCain, Mikulski, 
     Murkowski, Murray, Nelson, Ben (Nebraska), Reid, Rockefeller, 
     Santorum, Sarbanes, Schumer, Smith, Specter, Stabenow, 
     Voinovich, and Wyden.

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, this bill, among other sanctions, 
imposes a ban on imports from Burma.
  I am pleased that many of my colleagues--including the majority and 
minority leaders of the Senate and the chairmen and ranking members of 
the Senate Foreign Relations and Finance Committees--are cosponsors of 
this important legislation.
  Let me share with my colleagues some of the feedback we have gotten 
from around the country on the act:
  An editorial in today's Los Angeles Times stated:

       [Burma's] trading partners, other countries in the region 
     and aid givers like Japan need to get tougher by imposing 
     sanctions and aid suspensions to push the country toward 
     democracy; that's the outcome Myanmar's citizens show they 
     favor every time they get the chance.

  By the way, they haven't gotten a chance since 1990.
  A Washington Post editorial yesterday advised that because Burmese 
dictators ``control the nation' economy, an import ban would affect 
those most responsible for Burma's repression, and senators supportive 
of democracy in Asia should vote for the bill without conditions or 
expiration dates.''
  Deputy Secretary of State Rich Armitage recently wrote:

     . . . we support the goal and intent of this legislation and 
     agree on the need for many similar measures. . . . We are 
     also considering an import ban, as proposed in your 
     legislation.

  A June 6 editorial in the Washington Post suggested that:

       While the [Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act] moves through 
     Congress, Mr. Bush could implement many of its provisions by 
     executive order. He could find no better way to demonstrate 
     his commitment to democracy and his revulsion at a brutal 
     dictatorship.

  A New York Times editorial endorsed the import ban and recommended 
that:

       Europe . . . should now block Myanmar's exports as well. 
     The junta has had a year to demonstrate that its opening was 
     genuine. Now all ambiguity is gone, and the world's response 
     must be equally decisive.

  A Boston Globe editorial stated that President Bush:

     . . . could and should issue an executive order that would 
     swiftly accomplish [an import ban]. This is not a partisan 
     matter. The great lesson that ought to have been learned in 
     the last century is that free democrats betray their unfree 
     brothers and sisters when they seek to appease dictatorships.

  Dallas Morning News editor at large Rena Pederson, who also penned a 
superb article on this topic in the Weekly Standard, wrote in an op-ed:

       The strongest possible pressure must be turned on the 
     Burmese generals, who apparently calculated their opposition 
     could be decapitated while the world was preoccupied with 
     events in the Middle East. They shouldn't be allowed to get 
     away with such a cowardly fast one. The Bush administration 
     should support tougher sanctions now. Senator Mitch 
     McConnell, R-KY., is pushing for increased sanctions.

  That is the bill we have before us.
  ``He will need help . . .''
  And we obviously are going to have help with 56 cosponsors, and I 
hope a very overwhelming vote shortly.
  ``He will need help, or the Bush administration could accomplish the 
same thing by executive order.''
  A Baltimore Sun editorial rightly concluded: ``. . . this regime 
ought to be treated somewhat like North Korea, from which imports have 
long been barred.''
  Finally, in endorsing the act, the American Apparel and Footwear 
Association called upon ``the rest of Congress for the swift and 
immediate passage of such import legislation.''
  The idea of a ban on imports from Burma is not a new one to this 
body. In the 107th Congress, S. 926 sought to impose such restrictions 
and was cosponsored by 21 Senators. I would offer that the need for an 
important ban has only become more urgent in the wake of the May 30 
attack on democracy in Burma.
  Supporters of a free Burma want America to take the lead in defending 
democracy in that country.
  Supporters of a free Burma believe that serving the cause of freedom 
is America's challenge and obligation. We should not abandon the people 
of Burma during the greatest moments of need. The people of Burma have 
made their aspirations known, and the regime has not silenced them into 
submission. They have not stilled their hearts for political change and 
they will not succeed in stemming our collective resolve.
  Supporters of a free Burma agree with President Bush that:

       Men and women in every culture need liberty like they need 
     food and water and air. Everywhere that freedom arrives, 
     humanity rejoices: and everywhere that freedom stirs, let 
     tyrants fear.

  It's time for tyrants to fear in Burma.
  I ask unanimous consent that the following items be printed in the 
Record: a Washington Post article dated June 9; a letter from Under 
Secretary of State Rich Armitage; editorials from the Los Angeles 
Times, and the Baltimore Sun, and a Rena Pederson article in the Weekly 
Standard.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                [From the Washington Post, June 9, 2003]

          Attack on Burmese Activist Seen as Work of Military

                 (By Alan Sipress and Ellen Nakashima)

       Bangkok, June 8.--Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu 
     Kyi's motorcade was rattling along a pocked one-lane road 
     near Mandalay in Northern Burma after the sunset when a pair 
     of men, disguised in the burnt orange robes of Buddhist 
     monks, motioned for it to stop. They asked her to alight and 
     make an impromptu speech to at least 100 people gathered at a 
     narrow bridge over a creek and blocking her way, according to 
     Burmese exiles who spoke with witnesses. But she was running 
     late. It was already pitch dark amid the rice paddies.
       When one of her bodyguards, a young unarmed man, got out of 
     the four-wheel-drive vehicle to convey Suu Kyi's regrets, the 
     crowd set upon her convoy, attacking the entourage with 
     wooden clubs and bamboo spikes, according to the exiles and 
     diplomats who also have spoken to witnesses. Several hundred 
     more assailants ambushed the motorcade from the rear.
       By the time the battle was over late in the evening of May 
     30, at least four of Suu Kyi's bodyguards were dead. Burmese 
     exiles and diplomats said scores of her supporters were also 
     probably killed. And Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize 
     laureate, suffered head and shoulder injuries, they said, 
     when her car windows were shattered and she was detained by 
     Burmese soldiers along with at least 17 supporters.
       U.S. and other diplomats have concluded that the attack was 
     an ambush orchestrated by Burma's military rulers and carried 
     out by a pro-government militia reinforced by specially 
     trained prison inmates.
       Suu Kyi, 57, has remained in custody, incommunicado and out 
     of public sight ever since, prompting protests from the 
     United Nations, the United States other governments.
       The attack was not only a stunning bid to intimidate Suu 
     Kyi and deflate a pro-democracy movement that over recent 
     months had been attracting larger and larger crowds despite 
     mounting governmental harassment, according to exiles and 
     diplomats in Rangoon and Bangkok. It was also an effort by 
     Burma's top leader, Gen. Than Shwe, who had been 
     consolidating control in recent months, to make clear he had 
     lost patience with those in the military advocating dialogue 
     with Suu Kyi.
       ``This was a brutal power play to show them who is in 
     charge here,'' a European diplomat said. ``This was a message 
     from Than

[[Page 14485]]

     Shwe to the softies in the military that you [had] better 
     watch out. You are not to tolerate Aung San Suu Kyi.''
       Although supporters of political reform have despaired of 
     progress for months, the attack outside Mandalay--the 
     bloodiest confrontation since Burma crushed a pro-democracy 
     uprising in 1988--could mark the end to the spring of hope 
     that began almost exactly one year ago.
       Under intense international pressure, the Burmese 
     government had released Suu Kyi from house arrest in May 
     2002. Some high-ranking military officers had calculated that 
     Suu Kyi's popularity had faded during her detention and that 
     she no longer posed the same threat as she had in 1990 when 
     her party, the National League for Democracy, won a landslide 
     election victory, Burmese and other analysts said. Those 
     results were voided by the military, plunging Burma into its 
     current political crisis and a decade of international 
     isolation.
       The Burmese government, however, discovered that Suu Kyi 
     still attracted jubilant crowds when she traveled the country 
     reopening nearly 200 local offices for her party. Tens of 
     thousands turned out to chant her name. Many supporters 
     walked miles to see her. Increasingly, her rallies drew 
     Buddhist monks, who command great respect in Burmese society, 
     further alarming the military.
       ``They are worried that despite all the threats they can 
     employ against the pro-democracy movement, people are 
     continuing to go out and see Aung San Suu Kyi,'' said Win 
     Min, a Burmese researcher who studies civilian-military 
     relations.
       Suu Kyi, who has always preached reconciliation, was also 
     becoming openly critical of the government's unwillingness to 
     engage in meaningful dialogue for a political settlement. The 
     optimism that accompanied her release from house arrest had 
     long dissipated.
       These developments were an affront to Than Shwe, the 
     junta's leader, who so loathes Suu Kyi that, as one European 
     diplomat said, he ``hates even to hear her name mentioned.''
       Than Shwe, 70, chairman of the ruling State Peace and 
     Development Council and armed forces commander, has moved 
     since last year to strengthen his grip on power. He has 
     beefed up the United Solidarity and Development Association, 
     the pro-government militia that witnesses said attacked Suu 
     Kyi's motorcade. He has manipulated the military, government 
     and courts to weaken his leading rivals while placing his 
     loyalists in influential post, said diplomats and Burmese 
     exiles.
       ``Than Shwe has been taking his time,'' said Zin Linn of 
     the opposition National Coalition Government of the Union of 
     Burma. ``He has purged many of the senior military men who 
     are soft-liners and are in some way impressed with Aung San 
     Suu Kyi'' and Tin Oo, the vice chairman of her party.
       Most notably, Than Shwe's ascent has come at the expense of 
     Gen. Khin Nyunt, 64, the head of military intelligence and a 
     leading advocate of dialogue with Suu Kyi. His patron, former 
     dictator Gen. Ne Win, died in December. While Khin Nyunt 
     remains the third-highest-ranking official in the junta, his 
     authority in running military intelligence has been limited 
     and he has told diplomats that he no longer has a mandate to 
     pursue the reconciliation talks, which had been medicated by 
     U.N. special envoy Razali Ismail.
       The dispute pits so-called pragmatists, such as Khin Nyunt, 
     who believe Burma can string out the talks with Suu Kyi while 
     placating foreign governments, against officers urging that 
     the pro-democracy movement be crushed. But diplomats and 
     analysts stress that the military is united in its 
     determination to retain power.
       Suu Kyi's recent month-long swing through northern Burma 
     offered an opportunity for Than Shwe to deliver a resounding 
     message to the pragmatists that their moment had passed, 
     diplomats and exiles said.
       As expedition to the northernmost state of Kachin, which 
     began May 6, was her seventh road trip since her release. It 
     was meant in part to bolster the morale of loyalists in her 
     party, who were disappointed that the reconciliation talks 
     had ground to a halt, said Debbie Stothard, coordinator of 
     ALTSEAN-Burma, a human rights group in Southeast Asia.
       The trips, especially this last, had provoked growing 
     harassment by the government, which has staged protests by 
     machete-wielding activists, blasted music to drown out Suu 
     Kyi's speeches and blocked her way with logs and barbed wire. 
     At least once, a firetruck turned its hoses on her 
     supporters.
       If the military wanted to escalate the confrontation, 
     Sagaing Division northwest of Mandalay was a good place, 
     Burmese exiles and diplomats said. This impoverished region 
     is the stronghold of Lt. Gen. Soe Win, a Sagaing native and 
     former military commander in the area. He was promoted by 
     Than Shwe in February to the junta's fourth-highest position. 
     Soe Win is also a leading activist in the militia and had 
     toured several towns earlier this year demanding that 
     dialogue with Suu Kyi be halted.
       Diplomats and exiles said they have received reports that 
     Soe Win was at a military headquarters in nearby Monywa 
     either during or shortly before the ambush against Suu Kyi's 
     motorcade. Exiles said they believe he ran the operation.
       Military officials knew Suu Kyi was coming. She had been 
     required to give them her itinerary.
       ``Clearly, orders were given for a violent attack,'' a U.S. 
     Embassy official in Rangoon said.
       The following account of the May 30 attack was provided by 
     that official based on the findings of a two-person U.S. 
     Embassy team dispatched to Sagaing Division late last week to 
     investigate the incident. Much of the story has been 
     corroborated by information from witnesses, provided to other 
     diplomats and exiles.
       As Suu Kyi's motorcade traveled north toward the town of 
     Dipeyin about two miles from Monywa, it was met by 100 to 200 
     people at the bridge. Most of them were disguised as monks 
     but shed the costumes when the fighting erupted. About 400 
     other convicts and militia recruits disguised as monks with 
     shaved heads, and wearing white armbands, blocked the 
     motorcade from behind.
       Though Suu Kyi's supporters tried to assuage the mob, the 
     assailants began beating them and smashing the vehicles' 
     windows. Trying to stave off the attack and shelter Suu Kyi, 
     members of her party stood on the road and locked arms.
       At the site, the investigating team found bloodied clothes, 
     clubs and spears, broken glass and debris from damaged 
     vehicles.
       ``It was pretty clear that a big fight had taken place,'' 
     the embassy official said.
       The team's findings contradict the brief version provided 
     by the government--that the confrontation lasted two hours 
     and was provoked by Suu Kyi's party. The government said four 
     people were killed and 50 others injured.
       The U.S. team reported that gunfire was heard in the middle 
     of the night when the army arrived to clean up the site. 
     According to other accounts, gunshots rang out during or 
     shortly after the clash.
       Reports reaching other diplomats and exile groups said Suu 
     Kyi's driver, trying to remove the democracy activist from 
     the melee, gunned the engine as the crowd pounded the car 
     with rocks and other objects. She was detained by security 
     forces farther down the road in Dipeyin.
       Tin Oo, 75, the vice chairman of Suu Kyi's party, was 
     assaulted when he left his car, according to Burmese exiles, 
     who have expressed concern about his condition and 
     whereabouts.
       Following the attack, the military closed most of the 
     party's offices across Burma, arrested other democracy 
     activists and criticized Suu Kyi's movement in the press. 
     Some suggest that these steps were part of a planned, 
     concerted crackdown, not just a hurried attempt to prevent 
     Suu Kyi's supporters from protesting the attack and arrests. 
     They noted that in the weeks before the incident, 10 
     activists from the opposition party were arrested and 
     sentenced to prison terms of two to 28 years.
       Since the attack, more than 100 party activists have been 
     arrested and at least a dozen imprisoned, said Stothard, 
     coordinator of the human rights group.
       Those killed trying to protect Suu Kyi, or ``The Lady,'' as 
     she is popularly known, reportedly included Toe Lwin, 32, a 
     rising star in the party's youth division who held a 
     philosophy degree and was studying English in Rangoon, a 
     Western diplomat said. He was in Suu Kyi's vehicle, wearing 
     his orange opposition party jacket with its red badge 
     emblazoned with a gold fighting peacock. Suu Kyi treated 
     these supporters as ``surrogate sons,'' and saw in them a 
     future generation of political leaders, Stothard said.
       Suu Kyi is being held at Yemon military camp, about 25 
     miles outside Rangoon, without access to her doctor, party 
     members or Western envoys, concerned diplomats said.
       ``If they lift her incommunicado status, she will speak,'' 
     a European diplomat said. ``She will speak the truth and this 
     will be damaging for them.''
                                  ____



                                    Deputy Secretary of State,

                                         Washington, June 6, 2003.
     Hon. Mitch McConnell,
     Chairman, Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Committee on 
         Appropriations, U.S. Senate.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: We are outraged by the May 30 attack on 
     Aung San Suu Kyi and her convoy. The deteriorating conditions 
     in Burma are of grave concern to the Administration and we 
     appreciate your leadership in advancing legislation to 
     respond to these events.
       The Department of State also appreciates the opportunity to 
     review and comment on the ``Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act 
     of 2003 (S. 1182),'' which you introduced on June 4, 2003. We 
     fully support the goal and intent of this legislation and 
     agree on the need for many similar measures. For example, we 
     are working on a unilateral expansion of the visa ban, 
     extending it to all officials of the Union Solidarity 
     Development Association (part of the SPDC) and their 
     immediate families, rather than just to senior officials, as 
     is current practice. We will also be adding managers of the 
     state-run enterprises and their families to the list.
       We agree on the need to prevent IFI funds going to the 
     junta. We will continue to use

[[Page 14486]]

     our voice and vote in those institutions to oppose loans that 
     benefit the military regime. We also agree on the need to 
     express strong support for the NLD, and are doing so in every 
     international forum in which the United States participates, 
     including at the UN. Also significant are the findings of the 
     annual Country Report on Human Rights Practices, Trafficking 
     in Persons Report and Report on International Religious 
     Freedom, which identify and strongly condemn known SPDC 
     abuses. The President's Annual Report on Major Drug Transit 
     or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries has also identified 
     Burma as a country that demonstrably has failed to meet its 
     international obligations regarding narcotics.
       In addition to the above efforts, which are already 
     underway, we are determined to pursue additional measures 
     against the regime, including an asset freeze, a possible ban 
     on remittances and, with appropriate legislation, a ban on 
     travel to Burma. We hope to move forward with these measures 
     expeditiously and with the support of the Congress. We are 
     also considering an import ban, as proposed in your 
     legislation. We support the intent behind the ban but are 
     reviewing the proposal in light of our international 
     obligations, including our WTO commitments.
       Again, thank you for your leadership on this issue and your 
     commitment to the cause of freedom. We look forward to 
     working with you on the bill.
           Sincerely,
     Richard L. Armitage.
                                  ____


              [From the Los Angeles Times, June 11, 2003]

                         Freeze Myanmar Assets

       The military thugs running Myanmar finally may have opened 
     their eyes to the esteem in which Aung San Suu Kyi is held 
     outside their nation. They already knew how much their 
     oppressed citizens thought of the woman who should be leading 
     the nation formerly known as Burma: The huge numbers greeting 
     her on her journeys around her country provided graphic 
     evidence of her popularity.
       Harboring despots' fears of ouster by a charismatic pro-
     democracy leader, the army rulers arrested Suu Kyi, again, 
     after a deadly attack on her motorcade May 30. However, they 
     let United Nations representative Razali Ismail meet with the 
     democracy activist Tuesday after stalling for days.
       Delay is not new for Razali, who has sought for two years 
     to push the nation's autocrats toward democracy. He deserves 
     credit for insisting on a meeting with Suu Kyi, so does his 
     boss, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who denounces the 
     generals.
       In 1947 a political rival assassinated Suu Kyi's father, an 
     architect of the independence movement. Forty years later, 
     his daughter began campaigning against the military regimes 
     that ruled the country for much of its post-independence 
     history. In 1990, she and her party won a parliamentary 
     election but the military scrapped those results and kept her 
     under house arrest. It also refused to let her leave to 
     receive her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize or to be with her husband 
     as he lay dying in England.
       But a year ago, the junta let Suu Kyi travel again. Seeing 
     her popularity undimmed, the government organized the May 30 
     ambush of her motorcade and cited the violence as cause for 
     her arrest. She was held incommunicado until Razali met her. 
     Nearby nations like Thailand and Malaysia feebly protested 
     the assault and arrest.
       The U.S. Congress is considering tougher measures to freeze 
     the assets of the Myanmar government held in the United 
     States and to bar the country's leaders from traveling here.
       Those steps are warranted unless Suu Kyi is released and 
     allowed to travel freely. The United States and other 
     countries earlier imposed economic sanctions on Myanmar that 
     devastated its economy. Trade with Thailand and China, plus 
     the export of narcotics, has kept it afloat.
       The trading partners, other countries in the region and aid 
     givers like Japan need to get tougher by imposing sanctions 
     and aid suspensions to push the country toward democracy; 
     that's the outcome Myanmar's citizens show they favor every 
     time they get the chance.
                                  ____


                 [From the Baltimore Sun, June 6, 2003]

                           Squeeze the Junta

       A top United Nations envoy was to arrive today in Myanmar, 
     formerly known as Burma, and not a moment too soon: Human 
     rights and democracy once again are under siege by the narco-
     state's ruling military party.
       The United Nations is demanding that Yangon's generals 
     release 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, 
     arrested Saturday after a violent attack on her pro-democracy 
     party by security forces.
       The violence, in which activists allege scores were killed, 
     and the subsequent closing of Myanmar's universities and all 
     of the offices of Ms. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy 
     mark a sudden darkening of the new dawn proclaimed last May 
     when the military regime last released her from house arrest, 
     promising dialogue with the NLD aimed at national 
     reconciliation.
       The renewed repression begs for stronger economic sanctions 
     by the United States to squeeze this illegal junta.
       This is a regime that competes with North Korea on human-
     rights abuses--including long quashing the NLD, a legally 
     elected opposition party. As U.N. Secretary General Kofi 
     Annan recently put it, the political aspirations of the 
     Burmese people ``are overwhelming in favor of change.''
       In 1990, Ms. Suu Kyi's party crushed the military's 
     candidates in Myanmar's last legal parliamentary election; 
     since then, she has spent much of the time under house 
     arrest. In response, the United States barred new American 
     investments in Myanmar in 1997. But that didn't end the 
     involvement of Unocal Corp., the California energy giant, in 
     a 1995 deal with the junta to extract natural gas off the 
     Burmese coast and transport it via a 250-mile pipeline--a 
     project allegedly built with forced labor and accompanied by 
     military murders and rapes.
       As a result, Unocal faces a groundbreaking federal lawsuit 
     brought by international activists for 15 unnamed Burmese 
     villagers under a 1789 U.S. statute allowing lawsuits against 
     U.S. multinational corporations, holding them abroad to the 
     same standards as at home. The outcome could be far-reaching; 
     the Bush administration has weighed in on Unocal's side, 
     arguing that such human-rights cases interfere with U.S. 
     foreign policy and the war on terrorism.
       This is precisely the wrong stance. Instead, the U.S. 
     government ought to be moving quickly toward tightening the 
     screws on Myanmar's generals and anyone keeping them afloat 
     financially.
       Trade sanctions against Myanmar were proposed last year but 
     dropped when Ms. Suu Kyi was last released. This week, House 
     and Senate bills were entered that call for an import ban and 
     other sanctions, all of which seem fully warranted. Already, 
     a leading U.S. apparel and footwear trade group and many 
     large retailers--from Wal-Mart to Saks--are boycotting 
     Burmese goods.
       In other words, this regime ought to be treated somewhat 
     like North Korea, from which imports have long been barred. 
     Granted, Myanmar doesn't pose North Korea's nuclear threat, 
     but it plays such a major role in the world's heroin trade 
     that it's a destabilizing force internationally.
       Ms. Suu Kyi is again detained and her party remains under 
     attack because Myanmar's generals figure they can get away 
     with it. The United States must send a stronger message that 
     that's no longer an option.
                                  ____


      Burma's Junta ``Disappears'' the Country's Leading Democract

                           (By Rena Pederson)

       In the Trademark manner of thugocracies, Burma's military 
     government, seeking to silence its critics, sent a mob to 
     attack the motorcade of longtime democracy activist Aung San 
     Suu Kyi on the night of Friday, May 30, as she traveled to a 
     speaking engagement in the north of the country. The Nobel 
     Peace Prize winner was assaulted and taken to an undisclosed 
     location.
       The government would say only that she had been placed in 
     ``protective custody'' and that she had not been injured. But 
     reports persisted that Suu Kyi had suffered a severe blow to 
     the head and possibly a broken arm. Inside Burma, it was said 
     that hundreds of her supporters had been murdered; 
     international news agencies reported at least 70 killed and 
     50 injured. At least 18 people were believed detained.
       ``The problem with getting an accurate story about what 
     happened is that everyone who could speak the truth in Burma 
     is under arrest,'' said one democracy advocate in Washington. 
     The government controls the only two newspapers and TV 
     stations, and the leading journalist is in prison. One in 
     four citizens reportedly spies for the government, so 
     everyone is guarded about what is said in public.
       Nevertheless, clandestine sources inside Burma that have 
     proved reliable in the past report that hundreds of armed men 
     attacked the motorcade, some disguised as Buddhist monks. 
     Some were convicts released at the government's behest. They 
     beat Suu Kyi's supporters with bamboo clubs three feet long 
     and riddled her car with bullets. The window was shattered, 
     and either a rock or a brick was thrown at Suu Kyi's head 
     while she was seated in the car. Several students reportedly 
     tried to shield her with their bodies, but they were beaten 
     severely, and she was dragged away bleeding. According to 
     this account, she was taken to a military hospital for 
     stitches and then transferred to Yemon military camp about 25 
     miles from Rangoon.
       Plainly, Suu Kyi, who is 57 and weighs about 100 pounds, 
     faces long odds--though not for the first time. Since 1988, 
     she has been standing up to one of the most brutal regimes in 
     the world. In the process, she has become the photogenic 
     symbol of democracy in Asia. In 1990, her party, the National 
     League for Democracy, won 80 percent of the vote in elections 
     the junta mistakenly had thought they could control. Instead 
     of seating the winners in parliament, the generals threw many 
     NLD leaders in jail and placed Suu Kyi under house arrest, 
     where she remained for most of the ensuing 13 years.
       In this country, few people know her name, much less how to 
     pronounce it (awn sawn soo chee). But her story has the sweep 
     and drama

[[Page 14487]]

     of ``Gone With The Wind.'' Her father, General Aung San, was 
     a leader of the democracy movement in Burma after World War 
     II and was expected to become the first president after Great 
     Britain relinquished control. He was assassinated when his 
     daughter was only 2. His wife, a wartime nurse, went on to 
     become ambassador to India.
       Suu Kyi was educated at Oxford and married a fellow 
     student, who became a professor of Tibetan studies. She lived 
     quietly in England as a wife and mother of two boys until her 
     own mother suffered a stroke in 1988, and she returned to 
     Burma to care for her. In riots that year, soldiers shot and 
     killed more student demonstrators than would die in 1989 at 
     Tiananmen Square. Suu Kyi was entreated to stay and help lead 
     the democracy effort, which she did, at great personal 
     sacrifice. She has seen her sons only sporadically since. And 
     four years ago, as her husband was dying of cancer, the junta 
     refused to grant him a visa to visit her.
       The international response to her rearrest has been near 
     unanimous condemnation. In the midst of peace negotiations in 
     the Middle East, President Bush expressed his deep concern 
     and called for the immediate release of Suu Kyi and her 
     supporters, as did United Nations Secretary General Kofi 
     Annan. The most tepid responses came from Burma's Southeast 
     Asian neighbors, who have their own concerns about stability. 
     They asked for an explanation of Suu Kyi's detention, but 
     would not demand her release. Japan, the leading investor in 
     Burma, said the situation was not ``good'' and dialogue was 
     needed for a democratic solution.
       It will be up to the United States to increase pressure on 
     the Burmese generals, who apparently thought they could 
     decapitate their opposition while the world was concentrating 
     on the Middle East. The Bush administration must back up its 
     words with actions. On Capitol Hill, Sen. Mitch McConnell, a 
     Kentucky Republican, and Rep. Tom Lantos, a Democrat from 
     California, moved to toughen existing sanctions on Thursday. 
     They will need help. As the Boston Globe pointed out, 
     President Bush could issue an executive order that would 
     accomplish the same thing.
       The world hardly needs another crisis at this moment, but 
     the situation in Burma could be destabilizing. Burma has been 
     seeking aid from China, its neighbor to the north, which 
     wouldn't mind having Burma as a vassal state providing port 
     access to the Indian Ocean. That prospect has alarmed India, 
     its neighbor to the west. At the same time, Thailand, to the 
     east, is overwhelmed by the thousands of refugees pouring 
     across the border each day to escape the rapacious Burmese 
     military.
       Further complicating the picture, Burma is one of the 
     world's largest producers of heroin and amphetamines. Drug 
     dealers are often seen playing golf with high-ranking 
     generals and hold high positions in major banks. And, oh yes, 
     Burma has one of the fastest-growing AIDS rates in the 
     world--and one of the worst health systems.
       When I spoke with Aung San Suu Kyi in February, she 
     expressed frustration that the junta had not opened a 
     dialogue with her party after her release from house arrest 
     in May 2002. ``The government promised that it would begin 
     discussions about the transition to democracy,'' she said. 
     ``They have not. They promised they would release all 
     political prisoners. They have not.'' And they promised to 
     allow the publication of independent newspapers. She asked 
     with a wry smile, ``You haven't seen one, have you?''
       This spring she began speaking out more forcefully. When 
     she ventured into the northern states two weeks ago, 
     thousands of supporters risked their lives to greet the woman 
     they call ``the Lady.'' Government harassment then increased. 
     On May 24, 10 NLD members were jailed. On May 29, the day 
     before the ambush, clashes broke out between government 
     supporters armed with machetes and NLD backers, leaving 
     several dead.
       Even if Aung San Suu Kyi eventually emerges unharmed, the 
     movement for free elections has been set back by the violent 
     turn of events. The main office of the National League for 
     Democracy, in Rangoon, has been closed, padlocked, and placed 
     under guard, and other party offices have been shuttered. 
     Universities, too, have been shut to prevent student 
     protests.
       ``The Lady'' is in greater jeopardy than ever before. It 
     remains to be seen what the long-repressed Burmese people and 
     the much-distracted international community will do about it.

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I note that Senator Feinstein is 
here. I yield the floor and retain the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I thank the Chair, and I also thank the distinguished 
Senator from Kentucky for his leadership on this issue. I am very proud 
to join with him.
  Madam President, in 1996, Senator William Cohen and I introduced a 
sanctions bill on Bumra. It passed in 1996, and was signed by the 
President. In 1997, the sanctions were exercised.
  We had a brief period of hope during that time, and the ASEAN nations 
were going to be helpful. It looked like the military junta was going 
to be receptive. Then, recently, for a brief period, Aung San Suu Kyi, 
the democratic leader of Burma, was released, and discussions took 
place. Well, that was short lived and this diabolical attack took place 
on Aung San Suu Kyi.
  According to reports, her motorcade was met by 100 to 200 people at a 
bridge near Mandalay in northern Burma. Most of these people were 
disguised as monks. Another 400 people--convicts and other militia 
recruits who were also disguised as monks--blocked the convoy from the 
rear. Both groups then discarded their costumes and attacked the 
entourage with bamboo sticks and wooden clubs, smashing vehicles and 
beating up their targets. Officially, four people were killed and 50 
injured. Witnesses contend that as many as 70 may have been killed and 
many more injured.
  This is outrageous. The level of coordination, the deception, and the 
brutality of the crimes cannot go unanswered. They really demand a 
forceful and a substantive response that makes clear the United States 
will not deal with this junta and will not tolerate such blatant 
disregard for common human decency.
  This legislation sends a message. It says: We will not import their 
products. And those Burmese exports to the United States are about 25 
percent of what Burma exports. So it is a considerable message. It has 
to be remembered, Aung San Suu Kyi is the democratic leader of Burma. 
She has never been permitted to serve. Her people have been arrested. 
Members of the Parliament have been arrested and held in custody. Over 
1,300 political prisoners are still in jail, many of them elected 
parliamentarians. The practice of rape as a form of repression has been 
sanctioned by the Burmese military. The use of forced labor is 
widespread. Trafficking in young boys and girls as sex slaves is 
rampant, and the government engages in the production and distribution 
of opium and methamphetamine. So the United States must act. Now, in 
general, I do not support trade embargoes as an effective instrument of 
foreign policy. However, there are certain circumstances--South Africa 
was one of them, largely because of the world response, and the world 
saying enough is enough--where there must be change, and where we are 
prepared to carry out these sanctions together to effect that change. I 
hope in this sense the United States will lead the way to enact these 
sanctions in a meaningful way in which other nations will follow.
  Our legislation imposes a complete ban on all imports until the 
President determines and certifies to Congress that Burma has made 
substantial and measurable progress on a number of democracy and human 
rights issues.
  As Senator McConnell will indicate, there is a provision in the 
legislation, similar to the most favored nation status for China, that 
will allow an annual review of this to assess progress. It allows the 
President to waive the ban should he determine and notify Congress that 
it is in the national security interest of the United States to do 
this. It would freeze the assets of the Burmese regime in the United 
States. It directs United States executive directors at international 
financial institutions to vote against loans to Burma. It expands the 
visa ban against past and present leadership of the junta, and it 
encourages the Secretary of State to highlight the abysmal record of 
the junta in the international community.
  Now, Senator McConnell mentioned that both business and labor are 
united in support of this legislation. He said the American Apparel and 
Footware Association, which represents apparel, footware, and sewn 
products companies and their suppliers, has called for this ban. The 
president and CEO has stated--and I think this is worth being in the 
Record--``The government of Burma continues to abuse its citizens 
through force and intimidation, and refuses to respect the basic human 
rights of its people. AAFA believes this unacceptable behavior should 
be met with

[[Page 14488]]

condemnation from not only the international public community, but from 
private industry as well.''
  So well said.
  A number of stores, including Saks, Macy's, Bloomingdales, Ames, and 
The Gap have already voluntarily stopped importing or selling goods 
from Burma. The AFL-CIO and other labor groups also support this 
legislation.
  In addition, the International Labor Organization, for the first time 
in its history, called on all ILO members to impose sanctions on Burma.
  Such diversity in support of this legislation speaks volumes about 
the brutality of this military junta and its single-minded 
unwillingness to take even a modest step toward democracy and national 
reconciliation.
  And to add to it, Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratic leader, is once 
again being held in custody. This is unacceptable.
  The military junta knows full well they do not enjoy the popular 
support of the Burmese people. That is why they resort to such actions.
  As Aung San Suu Kyi traveled the country, and thousands turned out to 
hear her speak, the junta realized that after years of house arrest and 
repression, they had failed to curb the power of her message of 
democracy, of human rights, and the rule of law. They realized that the 
Burmese people were determined to see the democratic elections of 1990 
fully implemented without delay. So in a cowardly and despicable manner 
they took this action.
  Now we must take action. We must take a stand on the side of the 
people of Burma and on the side of the values we cherish the most.
  I urge support and I hope it will be unanimous.
  Thank you very much, Madam President. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator 
Kohl be added as a cosponsor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I say to my friend from California, 
as she was describing the provisions of the bill, the way it is now 
structured, we will have an annual debate about whether or not these 
sanctions should be lifted. It will be reminiscent of the most favored 
nation debates that we had annually regarding the People's Republic of 
China, which has now graduated to a new status.
  But if ever there were a regime that deserved an annual review by 
those of us here in the Congress, this is a regime that deserves that. 
So I think that is a debate we are going to look forward to having.
  Would you not agree, I say to my friend from California?
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I certainly agree, I say to the Senator through the 
Chair. I think it would be very useful. And I think when the 
recalcitrance, the repression, is on the floor of this Senate every 
year, hopefully it will be helpful in changing the minds of this 
military junta.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I first introduced a bill on this 
subject back in 1993. It is one of these issues that, I must 
regretfully say, you take an interest in and follow over a period of 
time and never see anything change. There is never any progress that 
could be measured--until a year or so ago when the junta led Aung San 
Suu Kyi basically out of house arrest. We were supposed to applaud that 
as some kind of remarkable step in the direction of recognizing the 
outcome of the election in 1998 in which she and her party got 80 
percent of the vote. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 while she 
was essentially incarcerated. She remained under house arrest--except 
for about a year or so--ever since.
  Various strategies have been tried. The Thai Prime Minister, who was 
in town yesterday--some of us talked with him, and I know he met with 
the President--this new Prime Minister in Thailand decided to engage in 
what he called ``constructive engagement.'' Obviously, constructive 
engagement doesn't work. What this regime needs is to be isolated. I 
know there are some skeptics even in this body with regard to the 
ability of sanctions to have a real impact.
  Let me tell you, if there is one place in the world where sanctions 
worked, it was South Africa. The reason it worked there is because 
everybody participated and they were truly isolated. They became a 
pariah regime throughout the world, and that led to the dramatic 
changes that brought Nelson Mandela to power after decades in jail.
  That can happen here. The United States needs to lead. Secretary 
Powell is going out to the ASEAN regional forum in Phnom Penh on June 
18 and 19 next week. This is an opportunity for him to put it at the 
top of the agenda.
  I said to the Thai Prime Minister that I thought constructive 
engagement wasn't working and they needed to join with us and help us 
lead the other ASEAN countries in the direction of a sanctions regime, 
on a multilateral basis, that could shut these people down. Some would 
say, well, if you have effective economic sanctions, it hurts the 
people. It doesn't hurt the people in Burma because the regime takes 
all profits off of the exports. They make money on the exports and the 
drug traffic, which they are quite good at.
  So this regime needs to be squeezed by the entire world, isolated, 
and that is a strategy that we hope to begin today with the passage of 
this legislation in the next 30 or 45 minutes.
  I know on our side, Senator McCain wants to speak, Kay Hutchison 
wants to speak, and, I believe, Senator Brownback wants to speak. How 
much time remains?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There are 15 minutes 43 seconds.


                           Amendment No. 882

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, there is a substitute amendment at 
the desk. I ask for its consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Kentucky [Mr. McConnell], for himself, 
     Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. McCain, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Alexander, Mr. 
     Allard, Mr. Allen, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Biden, Mr. Bingaman, Mrs. 
     Boxer, Mr. Breaux, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Chambliss, 
     Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Coleman, Ms. Collins, Mr. Corzine, Mr. 
     Daschle, Mr. Dayton, Mrs. Dole, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Durbin, Mr. 
     Edwards, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Frist, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. 
     Burns, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Harkin, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Jeffords, 
     Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Kyl, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Leahy, 
     Mr. Levin, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Lugar, Ms. Mikulski, Ms. 
     Murkowski, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Nelson of Nebraska, Mr. Reid, Mr. 
     Rockefeller, Mr. Santorum, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Schumer, Mr. 
     Smith, Mr. Specter, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Voinovich, Mr. Wyden, 
     Mr. Grassley, and Mr. Baucus, proposes an amendment numbered 
     882.

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that further 
reading of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')


                 Amendment No. 883 To Amendment No. 882

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, there is a technical amendment to the 
substitute at the desk, and I ask for its consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Kentucky [Mr. McConnell], for himself, Mr. 
     Grassley, and Mr. Baucus, proposes an amendment numbered 883 
     to amendment No. 882.

  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that further reading of the 
amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

 (Purpose: To clarify the duration of certain sanctions against Burma, 
                        and for other purposes)

       On page 5, line 5, insert ``and except as provided in 
     section 9'' after ``law''.
       Beginning on page 7, line 23, strike all through page 8, 
     line 3, and insert the following:
       (4) Appropriate congressional committees.--In this Act, the 
     term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the 
     Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Finance, and 
     the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 
     Committee on International Relations, the Committee on Ways 
     and Means, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House 
     of Representatives.
       On page 8, beginning on line 5, strike all through line 13, 
     and insert the following:

[[Page 14489]]

       (1) In general.--The President may waive the prohibitions 
     described in this section for any or all products imported 
     from Burma to the United States if the President determines 
     and notifies the appropriate congressional committees that to 
     do so is in the vital national security interest of the 
     United States.
       On page 11, beginning on line 16, strike ``Committees on 
     Appropriations and Foreign Relations of the Senate'' and all 
     that follows through ``House of Representatives'' on line 19, 
     and insert ``appropriate congressional committees''.
       On page 12, beginning on line 1, strike ``Committees on 
     Appropriations and Foreign Relations of the Senate'' and all 
     that follows through ``House of Representatives'' on line 4, 
     and insert ``appropriate congressional committees''.
       On page 12, after line 16, insert the following:
       (3) Report on trade sanctions.--Not later than 90 days 
     before the date that the import restrictions contained in 
     section 3(a)(1) are to expire, the Secretary of State, in 
     consultation with the United States Trade Representative and 
     other appropriate agencies, shall submit to the appropriate 
     congressional committees, a report on--
       (A) conditions in Burma, including human rights violations, 
     arrest and detention of democracy activists, forced and child 
     labor, and the status of dialogue between the SPDC and the 
     NLD and ethnic minorities;
       (B) bilateral and multilateral measures undertaken by the 
     United States Government and other governments to promote 
     human rights and democracy in Burma; and
       (C) the impact and effectiveness of the provisions of this 
     Act in furthering the policy objectives of the United States 
     toward Burma.

     SEC. 9. DURATION OF SANCTIONS.

       (a) Termination by Request From Democratic Burma.--The 
     President may terminate any provision in this Act upon the 
     request of a democratically elected government in Burma, 
     provided that all the conditions in section 3(a)(3) have been 
     met.
       (b) Continuation of Import Sanctions.--
       (1) Expiration.--The import restrictions contained in 
     section 3(a)(1) shall expire 1 year from the date of 
     enactment of this Act unless renewed under paragraph (2) of 
     this section.
       (2) Resolution by congress.--The import restrictions 
     contained in section 3(a)(1) may be renewed annually for a 1-
     year period if, prior to the anniversary of the date of 
     enactment of this Act, and each year thereafter, a renewal 
     resolution is enacted into law in accordance with subsection 
     (c).
       (c) Renewal Resolutions.--
       (1) In general.--For purposes of this section, the term 
     ``renewal resolution'' means a joint resolution of the 2 
     Houses of Congress, the sole matter after the resolving 
     clause of which is as follows: ``That Congress approves the 
     renewal of the import restrictions contained in section 
     3(a)(1) of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003.''
       (2) Procedures.--
       (A) In general.--A renewal resolution--
       (i) may be introduced in either House of Congress by any 
     member of such House at any time within the 90-day period 
     before the expiration of the import restrictions contained in 
     section 3(a)(1); and
       (ii) the provisions of subparagraph (B) shall apply.
       (B) Expedited consideration.--The provisions of section 152 
     (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 
     U.S.C. 2192 (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f)) apply to a renewal 
     resolution under this Act as if such resolution were a 
     resolution described in section 152(a) of the Trade Act of 
     1974.

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
substitute amendment be agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 882) was agreed to.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the technical amendment 
to amendment No. 882 be agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 883) was agreed to.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I will retain the remainder of my 
time, if I may.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, I will just use a quick minute. I 
mentioned some of the retail establishments supporting this but I left 
out a couple. I mentioned Saks Fifth Avenue, and there is also Macy's, 
the Gap, Bloomingdale's, Ames, Williams Sonoma, IKEA, Wal-Mart, 
Nautica, and Pottery Barn. I am very proud of these retail 
establishments for standing up and joining us. I wanted to recognize 
that on the floor.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I am glad the Senator from California 
mentioned those important corporations. Obviously, they could 
conceivably benefit from low-cost imports but they are choosing not to 
allow the regime to make a profit off of these American corporations. 
They deserve our commendation.
  I reserve the remainder of my time, and I suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BIDEN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BIDEN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to be able to 
proceed on the time controlled by Senator Feinstein.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BIDEN. Madam President, I rise in support of the efforts of 
Senator McConnell and Senator Feinstein and acknowledge the leadership 
of Senator Baucus, as well, in working this out. Senator McConnell has 
been tireless in his efforts to promote democracy in Burma and has been 
an acknowledged leader in this area. I thank him for not relenting.
  I think it is to state the obvious that it is vital for us to express 
our concern for the freedom of Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National 
League for Democracy and a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. On May 30, 
Government-affiliated thugs ambushed an automobile convoy carrying the 
leader and many of her supporters. Dozens of people were reportedly 
killed and injured in the clash. She was detained by Government 
authorities, who also ordered the NLD offices closed nationwide.
  Aung San Suu Kyi remains under arrest, and the Government has refused 
to allow supporters or members of the diplomatic community to meet with 
her.
  When Burma's military rulers freed Aung San Suu Kyi of house arrest 
last year, they claimed her release was unconditional and they pledged 
to continue the U.N.-facilitated dialog, which led to her freedom. With 
last month's premeditated attack and her current detention, the junta 
has abrogated all of its commitments and warrants no more time.
  It is not hard to discern the motives of the junta.
  They are scared. They are scared the people of Burma will rally and 
remove them from power, and they are right to be afraid. As Aung San 
Suu Kyi has toured schools, hospitals, businesses, and government 
organizations around Burma, she has been met by joyous crowds, and it 
is obvious to all observers that she remains as loved by the people of 
Burma as the military junta is reviled. It is time for the present 
military oligarchy to fade into history.
  Burma's transition to democracy would be a most welcome development 
for all of Southeast Asia.
  Despite pledges to crack down on narcotics production, the military 
continues to collaborate with heroin and methamphetamine traffickers. 
It has failed to address the legitimate demands of ethnic minorities 
for significant regional autonomy within a federal state, preferring 
military pressure to political accommodation.
  The generals have enriched themselves while bankrupting the country. 
They have dismantled Burma's education system and ignored the growing 
threat to public health posed by AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. As 
the State Department notes with characteristic understatement in its 
most recent human rights report:

       The quality of life in Burma continues to deteriorate.

  That may be the understatement of the month. It is well past time for 
the generals to do what they said they would do; namely, begin a 
process that would eventually transfer the reins to a representative 
civilian government that would enjoy domestic and international 
legitimacy.
  Unfortunately, there are few indications that the regime intends to 
step down. Indeed, they apparently had high hopes the United States 
Government, taking note of Aung San Suu Kyi's release last year, would 
take steps to lift the many sanctions imposed when the army brutally 
suppressed Burma's democracy movement in 1988. The regime

[[Page 14490]]

spent $450,000 to retain the services of a prominent Washington 
lobbying firm to help push the President and Congress to normalize 
relations, restore access to international financial institutions, and 
resume foreign aid.
  They were willing to spend $450,000 to improve their image, but last 
year the officials operating the government spent less than $40,000 
nationwide on HIV/AIDS care and prevention. Each of the nation's 35,000 
primary schools receives on average less than $1 from the central 
government each year; $35,000 for the national education budget; 
$450,000 for lobbying in Washington.
  No amount of money can hide the character of the Burmese military 
rulers. As the United States people stood with Nelson Mandela in his 
bid for freedom and democracy for the people of South Africa, so we 
should now stand with those who are moving Burma toward a free and open 
society and the National League for Democracy as they try through 
peaceful means to end the tyrannical, brutal rule of Burma's military 
rulers.
  Again, I thank Senators McConnell and Feinstein for their leadership 
in this area, and I am confident we will win wide support of our 
colleagues. It is time that we are clearly standing on the right side 
of this issue.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The assistant Republican leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I thank my friend, the ranking member 
of the Foreign Relations Committee, for his contributions to the 
debate. I very much appreciate it.
  I yield 8 minutes to the Senator from Arizona.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.
  Mr. McCAIN. Madam President, I thank my colleague from Kentucky, 
Senator McConnell, for his leadership, and I thank the Senator from 
California, Mrs. Feinstein. I thank Senator McConnell for his 
longstanding support of this brave and heroic person and the movement 
she leads.
  Several years ago, I happened to visit Myanmar, which I will refer to 
from now on as Burma. I had the great honor--one of the great honors of 
my life--to meet this incredible hero, this incredible leader, this 
incredible person who has spent her life under duress, under 
punishment, under pressure, under house arrest, even to the point of 
physical mistreatment at the hands of this gang of thugs that runs and 
has ruined this country.
  I will never forget the day I met her. I will never forget the grace, 
the dignity, and the heroism that was clearly radiating from every part 
of this incredible person who very appropriately has been recognized 
with the Nobel Peace Prize.
  I remind my colleagues that she has been kept under house arrest for 
many years. She was released in 1995 finally, and then she was again 
confined to house arrest in 2000. Just a few days ago, as a motorcade 
of about 250 people drove through, about 500 armed soldiers, members of 
the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association, and 
an unknown number of convicts recruited from Mandalay prison with the 
promise of reward and freedom rushed and attacked it.
  In the ensuing melee, which lasted about an hour, the attackers beat 
up NLD members, shot them with catapults, soldiers opening and firing, 
killing and wounding a large number of NLD members.
  Aung San Suu Kyi was taken into custody in an unknown place. 
Apparently, thank God, according to the U.N. envoy, Mr. Ishmael, she is 
in good physical condition.
  This junta has ruined the country. It has deprived the people of 
their fundamental freedoms. This gang of thugs has mistreated this 
great person in the most disgraceful fashion. She should be free. She 
should be free to lead her country as was already endorsed by one free 
and fair election overwhelmingly.
  Why did they do that this time? Because everyplace Aung San Suu Kyi 
went, the people welcomed her by the thousands, and the junta could not 
stand it. So they had to kill her people, her supporters, and they had 
to throw her back into prison.
  What did one of the leaders who is supposed to be a moderate, whom I 
also met when I was in Burma, GEN Khin Nyunt--remember that name--say? 
He said:

       Everyone needs to abide by the rules and regulations to be 
     observed everywhere.

  Adding:

       It is to be noted that the basic human rights would not 
     protect those who violate an existing law.

  What existing law? What existing law that would ever be judged a 
legitimate law in any court in the world was Aung San Suu Kyi in 
violation of when they killed her supporters, mistreated her, and put 
her back into prison?
  I do not know why the Japanese, the Thais, the Chinese, and the ASEAN 
nations, that ostensibly are supposed to be standing up for freedom and 
democracy, are not doing everything possible to punish this regime, 
free this incredible person, and let the people of Burma have a free 
and fair election.
  I thank, again, Senator McConnell. I point out that we should be 
taking every single measure possible, and I do not believe the 
Secretary of State should attend the ASEAN gathering in Phnom Penh, 
Cambodia, unless Aung San Suu Kyi and the situation in Burma are No. 1 
on the agenda of ASEAN. Are we going to sit by and watch the 
brutalization of a people, the imprisonment of a Nobel Peace Prize 
winner, and the repression and devastation of a nation be carried out 
by a gang of thugs that call themselves generals? I hope not.
  I hope the message today in the legislation we are considering, 
thanks to the Senator from Kentucky, is a message that this is the 
beginning--this is the beginning--of our efforts to free this person 
and to free the people of Burma.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I strongly support the Burmese Freedom 
and Democracy Act of 2002 that has been introduced by Senators 
McConnell and Feinstein. The legislation, as was said, seeks to 
pressure the military junta in Burma to release Aung San Suu Kyi, and 
to help bring democracy and human rights to Burma.
  Several days last week--in fact, time and time again--Senator 
McConnell came to the floor to speak on this issue. I want to commend 
my colleague, the senior Senator from Kentucky, for his steadfast 
leadership. I associate myself gladly with his remarks. I have also 
joined him as an original cosponsor of this legislation.
  The message the legislation sends to the ruling junta in Burma is 
clear: Its behavior is outrageous. By any standard anywhere in the 
world, its behavior is outrageous. Aung San Suu Kyi is the rightful and 
democratically elected leader of Burma. It is that simple. Aung San Suu 
Kyi is the rightful, elected leader of Burma, and the ruling junta does 
not want her to take office because they know that their days of 
repression, corruption, torture, and murder would be over. She and her 
fellow opposition leaders must be immediately released.
  This legislation also sends a clear signal to the administration, to 
ASEAN members, and to the international community that we need to turn 
up the heat on this illegitimate regime.
  The efforts of Senators McConnell and Feinstein are already having an 
impact. On June 5, 2003, our State Department issued a strong 
statement, which reads:

       The continued detention in isolation of Aung San Suu Kyi 
     and other members of her political party is outrageous and 
     unacceptable.

  I agree. But we all know that U.S. actions can only go so far. 
Bringing democracy and human rights to Burma is going to require active 
pressure from Burma's neighbors in Southeast Asia, particularly 
Thailand, Japan, and China. I hope they apply the pressure for human 
rights and democracy that many of them profess to support. They should 
disavow the failed policies of engagement.
  I am pleased to see that the McConnell-Feinstein legislation attempts 
to trigger a process to ratchet up the regional pressure on the Burmese 
Government. I am glad to see that the United States has demarched every

[[Page 14491]]

government in Southeast Asia on this issue. I agree with the Bush 
administration on this very much. We have to bring this kind of 
pressure. As Senator McConnell has pointed out, the administration 
could, on its own initiative, impose many of the sanctions called for 
in this legislation.
  All of us were relieved yesterday when the U.N. envoy in Burma was 
finally able to see Aung San Suu Kyi. According to CNN, the U.N. envoy 
said that she shows no sign of injury following clashes with the pro-
government group. His exact words were:

       She did not have a scratch on her and was feisty as usual.

  That is indeed good.
  I was also glad to see the U.N. envoy calling on the members of the 
ASEAN to drop the organization's policy of nonintervention. He stated:

       ASEAN has to break through the straitjacket and start 
     dealing with this issue. . . .The situation in Burma can only 
     be changed if regional actors take their positions to act on 
     it.

  I agree. The international community has the responsibility to act 
together to pressure the SPDC. The time, if there ever was a time, for 
appeasement is over. It is always a time for democracy to flourish. 
Democracy has spoken. It is being held back by the junta in Burma. It 
is time for them to step aside.
  I see the distinguished senior Senator from Kentucky in the Chamber. 
I again commend him for his leadership, and I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Alexander). The Senator from Kentucky.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I thank my good friend from Vermont for his important 
contribution in this debate and his kind words about how we got to this 
point. Ultimately, I guess we will all be judged by whether or not this 
is effective, I say to my friend from Vermont. For these sanctions to 
be truly effective, we have to lead and the rest of the world has to 
join us in sanctions of a regime that truly operates on a multilateral 
basis like those that worked in South Africa.
  I ask unanimous consent that Senator Campbell be added as a cosponsor 
to this bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today I am pleased to express my strong 
support for the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003. This bill 
sends a powerful message to the ruling military junta in Burma that 
their violent restrictions against freedom and democracy will not be 
tolerated and will have serious consequences. Their recent actions have 
yet again demonstrated to the world that this junta cannot be trusted.
  The international community cannot allow the crimes committed by the 
Burmese military against the rightfully elected leader of Burma, Aung 
San Suu Kyi, her followers, and the Burmese people to go unpunished. 
So, it is my great hope that the actions that the Senate is taking 
today will provide the international leadership needed to put the 
spotlight on the Burmese military junta and make them change their 
ways.
  I know that other countries, including the European Union, are also 
considering sanctions against Burma. A multilateral effort must be made 
so that we send the right message and so that our efforts are as 
effective as possible.
  I am proud to be an original cosponsor of the Burmese Freedom and 
Democracy Act of 2003. I look forward to continuing to work with my 
colleagues to help bring freedom and justice to the Burmese people.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, when Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters 
were so viciously assaulted last month, Burma's brutal leaders were 
responsible for yet another major crime against human rights. The 
violent repression of these democracy activists is a tragic and 
appalling example of the Burmese Government's shameful and continuing 
suppression of genuine reform.
  Only a year ago, Suu Kyi had been released from one of her previous 
house arrests in Burma, and that arrest had lasted 19 months. This new 
atrocity has outraged the world once again, and stronger action by the 
United States and the entire international community is long overdue.
  The Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act calls for stiffer economic 
sanctions and the immediate release of Suu Kyi and her supporters. She 
won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her inspiring courageous 
leadership. Again and again, she shows us why she deserves it. She is 
an inspiration to all who care about justice and human rights.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I stand today in support of S. 1182, 
introduced by Senator McConnell that I am cosponsoring. This bill 
answers the rising concern that democracy cannot begin to take its 
first promising steps in Burma. The news in the last few days clearly 
indicates that democracy in Burma is in serious trouble again.
  On Friday, May 30, in its latest crackdown against the National 
League of Democracy, Burma's military regime detained Aung San Suu Kyi, 
a popular prodemocracy activist, and other leaders of her political 
party. There are reports that her car had been hit by gunfire, and 
conflicting reports whether she had been hurt.
  The clash came in a town 400 miles north of the capital city of 
Rangoon. She was transported to Rangoon where she remains under house 
arrest. It took nearly 2 weeks of constant international pressure on 
Burma's military regime for a United Nation's envoy to visit her 
yesterday. The envoy reported she is in good spirits and had not been 
hurt in the clash that resulted in her detention, but Burmese officials 
still refuse to give a timetable for her release.
  When Aung San Suu Kyi was detained, the Burmese Government closed the 
offices of the National League of Democracy and arrested some of its 
provincial leaders. They also closed all university and college 
campuses. The Burmese military government is acting with renegade 
abandon.
  The detention of Aung San Suu Kyi follows a clear pattern by the 
ruling military over the past decade to prevent her and her political 
party from assuming power, despite the democratic election they won by 
a landslide in 1990. Barely a year ago, the Burmese Government released 
her from 19 months of house arrest, but only after intense 
international pressure.
  Aung San Suu Kyi captured the world's attention as a leader in the 
prodemocracy movement in her country after her Government refused to 
let her party take office. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 
for her nonviolent efforts to promote democracy. Today, the military 
rule in Burma has shackled Aung Sun Suu Kyi again, but the world has 
not lost notice.
  It is time to isolate this oppressive regime and demand the release 
of those it is holding for doing nothing more than seeking democracy 
for their nation.
  Senator McConnell's bill will sanction the ruling Burmese military 
junta, strengthen Burma's democratic forces, and support and recognize 
the National League of Democracy as the legitimate representative of 
the Burmese people. It is time to increase the pressure on those who 
seek to snuff out the flame of democracy in a nation whose people 
clearly support it.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I rise today to echo the condemnations of 
the military rulers of Burma that my colleagues have so forcefully 
offered.
  Burma should by all rights be a prosperous country. It has over 50 
million people, abundant natural resources, and a population hungry for 
democracy.
  Instead, it is an international outcast, ruled by a few military men 
who finance their country through drug trafficking and forced labor.
  Perhaps most egregious is the failure of the military rulers to 
recognize the results of a free and fair election in which the Burmese 
people overwhelmingly chose Aung San Suu Kyi as their leader. Rather 
than sitting at the head of a democratic Burmese Government, she is 
sitting in a Burmese jail, a prisoner of the military rulers.
  The existence of a democratically elected government-in-waiting makes

[[Page 14492]]

Burma unique, but that is not all that makes Burma unique.
  Suu Kyi has consistently supported sanctions against the military 
rulers of Burma, and 3 years ago, the International Labor Organization, 
for the first time in its 82-year history, urged the world to impose 
sanctions against those rulers.
  The bill we consider today will send a strong message to the 
illegitimate military regime in Burma that their recent actions in 
attacking Suu Kyi and her followers and imprisoning Suu Kyi are 
intolerable. A unanimous passage would send that signal loud and clear.
  These sanctions would be most effective if the whole world joined us. 
Unilateral sanctions can send a strong message, but they are rarely 
effective. In fact, they can even end up unintentionally adding further 
misery to an already oppressed people while leaving their rulers 
unscathed.
  Multilateral sanctions, on the other hand, can have a dramatic 
effect. I know that others are considering sanctions, including the 
European Union. I applaud their attention to this issue and urge them 
to act as we have acted.
  I also urge the administration to work with our allies, particularly 
those in the region, to create a united front of sanctions against the 
military rulers of Burma. We must work toward multilateral support.
  Importantly, this bill ensures that Burma will never fade from 
congressional minds. We will not simply impose sanctions now and then 
forget all about Burma.
  Every year, we will vote on renewing sanctions. Every year, we will 
be talking about Burma and how best we can work to aid those working 
for democratic change in that country.
  The military rulers of Burma should know that their crimes against 
Suu Kyi, her followers, and the Burmese people will be neither forgiven 
nor forgotten.
  I appreciate the leadership of Senators McConnell and Feinstein on 
this issue. They deserve our thanks for consistently bringing the 
important issue of human suffering in Burma to the attention of this 
body.
  I would also like to thank Senator Grassley. He and I worked hard to 
make changes to this bill that, in my view, make it better.
  I urge my colleagues to pass this bill unanimously today, and I urge 
the House of Representatives and the President to act soon to pass this 
bill into law. Let's send the strongest signal possible to the 
illegitimate regime in Burma.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, 13 years ago, Aung San Suu Kyi and her 
party, the National League for Democracy, won an election in Burma with 
82 percent of the vote.
  It was a clear sign that the Burmese people had rejected its military 
rulers that had been in place since 1962. Unfortunately, the people of 
Burma were denied its true leader when the military regime arrested Suu 
Kyi and thousands of her supporters.
  For the past 13 years, Suu Kyi has courageously pushed for democratic 
reform in Burma through nonviolent means even through she spent a great 
deal of this time under house arrest. For her bravery and dedication to 
freedom and democracy, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
  Last year, the military rulers of Burma released Suu Kyi from house 
arrest. But, apparently, the strong support Suu Kyi continues to 
receive from the Burmese people was too much for the ruling military 
regime.
  On May 30, in a northern Burmese town 400 miles from Rangoon, 
supporters of the military regime attacked Suu Kyi's convoy and had her 
arrested. Suu Kyi and thousands of her supporters were reportedly 
injured in the attack. Scores of Suu Kyi supporters were reportedly 
killed.
  The international community must not let this act of brutality stand. 
That is why I am pleased to cosponsor and support Senator McConnell's 
legislation to increase sanctions on Burma.
  This legislation will impose a total import ban on Burmese goods, 
freeze the military regime's assets in the United States, tighten the 
visa ban on Burmese Government officials, and make it U.S. policy to 
oppose any new international loans to Burma's current leaders.
  This is an important step. It is also important to make sure that the 
international community and regional powers do their part to provide 
real and sustained pressure on Burma's illegitimate rulers.
  I was pleased to see that the United States has sent formal 
diplomatic requests to 11 nations in the region asking them to pressure 
the Burmese Government on the release of Suu Kyi.
  I also sent a letter to the Japanese Ambassador asking his nation to 
put more pressure on Burma's military rules after Japan's Foreign 
Minister indicated that this incident would not set back 
democratization efforts in Burma. I know our Japanese friends will help 
us in this important issue of human rights and provide a stronger 
condemnation of the attack on Suu Kyi.
  All nations, the international community, and regional organizations 
must take a stand against this outrage carried out by Burma's military 
leaders. We must do our part to support this brave woman and her 
followers.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise today to support S. 1215 and to 
express my dismay about the current human rights situation in Burma.
  On May 30, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and at least 17 
officials of her party were detained after a violent clash with members 
of the Union Solidarity Development Association, a government-created 
organization that has increasingly taken on paramilitary activities.
  The military junta that rules Burma has stated that ``only'' four 
died in the violence.
  But the National League for Democracy, Suu Kyi's party, has put the 
death toll at 75. Furthermore, it is likely the Burmese Government 
deliberately provoked the clashes to justify cracking down on 
opposition leaders and closing down universities.
  Since May 30, the junta has kept Suu Kyi, who is the 1991 Nobel Peace 
Prize recipient, in an undisclosed location.
  We have recently received word from a U.N. envoy that Suu Kyi is 
safe, and members of the Burmese Government have promised that they 
will release her expeditiously.
  I join with my colleagues in this body, and with the American people, 
in demanding that the Burmese regime fulfill this promise immediately. 
The Government must also find those responsible for the violence and 
hold them accountable.
  The bill we have before us today addresses the serious human rights 
situation in Burma. The recent violence and detainment of opposition 
leaders exemplify Government repression conducted on a systematic and 
frequent basis.
  S. 1215 would punish Burma's dictators, who have a chokehold on the 
nation's economic life, by barring the import into the United States of 
goods manufactured in Burma and by freezing the U.S. assets of the 
regime's leading generals. These are targeted sanctions that would 
punish the military dictators in Burma, those who are directly 
responsible for suppressing human rights there.
  Nearly 55 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and 
only weeks after fighting a war to liberate 24 million Iraqis, the U.S. 
Senate must remain steadfast in its resolve to preserve the freedom of 
peoples throughout the world.
  As a strong advocate for human rights and democratic governance in 
Southeast Asia, I call on this body to stand up to the military junta 
of Burma by passing this important legislation. We need to send a 
message to these thugs that their brutal reign of oppression and terror 
does not go unnoticed and will not last.
  Mr. McCONNELL. How much time do I have remaining?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Five minutes.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I reserve the remainder of my time, and I suggest the 
absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.

[[Page 14493]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I believe I have about 5 minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. That is correct.
  Mr. McCONNELL. How much time remains on the other side?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. One minute 48 seconds.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Maybe we could get some time on the other side. I 
yield the remainder of my time to the Senator from Kansas.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I thank my colleagues for allowing me 
to speak on this legislation.
  The weekend before last, the military junta in Burma, ironically 
going by the name of the State Peace and Development Council, staged a 
violent clash between a government-supported militia called the United 
Solidarity and Development Association and activists of the National 
League for Democracy, the NLD.
  As reported in the press, during the ensuing assault on the NLD, 
these thugs attacked the caravan of supporters led by Nobel Peace Prize 
laureate and democratic activist Aung San Suu Kyi and subsequently 
detained her and 19 members of the NLD, killed scores of NLD activists 
and, in the aftermath, closed down universities and NLD offices in the 
country. This is intolerable. Today I hope this institution can stand 
tall by roundly condemning this thieving, bantam tyranny that is taking 
place in Burma.
  The regime claims they are detaining her, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, 
and NLD supporters for their safety. They accuse her of causing unrest 
and violence and claim she is in danger because of inflammatory 
speeches she has been giving on her tour of northern Burma.
  I find this accusation to be absolutely ridiculous, but nevertheless, 
a common refrain coming from a government known for flaunting its human 
rights abuses which include slave labor, rape and forced prostitution, 
pressing children into the military, all a carefully constructed 
campaign to terrorize the people of Burma and consolidate the petty 
kleptocracy.
  Aung San Suu Kyi's whereabouts are now known; the UN Secretary 
General's envoy Mr. Razali Ishmail is in Rangoon working to negotiate 
her release. I cannot bring myself to believe a word of what the SPDC 
says. It was reported in the press that she has a serious head injury; 
however, today I hear that Mr. Razali has seen her and that she is 
unharmed. My colleague from Kentucky and I do not believe it. And the 
regime has done nothing to reassure any member of the international 
community of their intentions. Aung San Suu Kyi is not free, Burma is 
not free.
  In fact, this is part of a clear pattern of continually thwarting the 
advance of democracy and freedom in Burma--something for which Aung San 
Suu Kyi is the living symbol. More than that, she has recruited some of 
the most talented and most dedicated young people to her cause.
  As reported by yesterday's Washington Post, one of those young people 
was a young man by the name of Toe Lwin. This young man, and many 
others in NLD like him, dedicated every once of his being to the cause. 
Bringing change to Burma and protecting Aung San Suu Kyi were the 
things for which he was willing to die.
  This young man died trying to protect her. I am told that she sees 
all of these dedicated, inspiring young people as her children. I am 
sure that it breaks her heart to know that blood has been spilt in this 
effort.
  We cannot seek a better tribute to this young man's life than by 
aiding the cause of democracy by passing this bill.
  The SPDC seems like a bunch of bush-league autocrats. But what I want 
my colleagues to know is that this group of thugs is not just some 
common banana republic or petty dictatorship.
  In 1988, the then-called State Law and Order Restoration Council, 
SLORC, took power and began its repression of pro-democracy 
demonstrations. After National Assembly elections in 1990, which were 
poised to overwhelmingly bring to power Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD, 
SLORC annulled the elections, began jailing thousands of democracy 
activists, suppressed all political liberties, and periodically placed 
Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.
  And this is just the opening line of the story. These thugs conscript 
thousands of their citizens, including children, into the military to 
serve as porters and to work on state development projects. In 
addition, narcotics is a big business for the ruling Burmese generals; 
however, there are some who will claim that we are getting full 
cooperation in combatting Burma's trade in heroin and amphetamines.
  The most recent International Narcotics Control Strategy Report 
published by the Department of State reads, ``Burma is the world's 
second largest producer of illicit opium.'' It continues stating ``. . 
. no Burma Army Officer over the rank of full Colonel has ever been 
prosecuted for drug offenses in Burma. This fact, the prominent role in 
Burma of the family of notorious narcotics traffickers, and the 
continuance of large-scale narcotics trafficking over the years of 
intrusive military rule have given rise to speculation that some senior 
military leaders protect or are otherwise involved with narcotics 
traffickers.''
  Yet I understand there was an active effort by some embedded 
bureaucrats to give the junta a free pass on drug certification. We are 
not dealing with the boy scouts of Southeast Asia.
  I think that is the wrong approach to dealing with the problem of the 
SPDC's brutal rule. If today's paper is accurate, then it looks as if 
our government is beginning to take the correct steps to respond to the 
situation. We have put eleven countries on notice, notably Thailand and 
China, for their support of Burma.
  This may be the mortal blow that weakens the regime. That is why next 
Wednesday I have planned hearings to discuss the support for the SPDC 
coming from key players in the region. Some of these countries need to 
give us some private assurances about their willingness to forgo 
continued support of the regime. Others need to be put on notice for 
the degree and nature of support for the SPDC junta.
  Singapore, North Korea, Russia, and Malaysia have all been in 
cooperation or given assistance in the political, economic or military 
spheres. I will be inviting members of the administration and the NGO 
community to give their knowledge of on-the-ground support for the 
SPDC.
  This week, the Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand is in 
town for an important visit with President Bush. It was reported that 
the President has already weighed in with the Prime Minister. I hope to 
do the same when I attend a luncheon today for the Prime Minister 
hosted by Senator Bond.
  Because they can predict the perils of dealing with a thieving, 
murderous dictatorship, many companies, especially here in the U.S., 
are avoiding doing business with these guys altogether. Department 
stores, clothing manufacturers, footwear and apparel companies are all 
telling the junta to take a hike.
  Maybe the Senate should consider telling them the same.
  I note my personal experience. I was on the Thai-Burma border in late 
2000. This was on a trip where we were working on the issue of 
trafficking in persons, sex trafficking. We found at that point in time 
in 2000, and it continues today, one of the highest trafficked areas in 
the world was between Burma and Thailand. What was taking place was the 
people of Burma were fleeing this totalitarian dictatorship that 
brutalized its own people. The people of Burma were fleeing into 
Thailand. On that border, then, they were fresh meat for the people who 
traffic in persons, primarily for sex exploration, primarily of young 
girls. We saw girls 11, 12, 13 years of age, even younger, being 
taken--abducted in some cases--and in some cases sold because the 
family was so poor, sold into what they thought was a condition they 
would serve someone in a home or work in a restaurant. Instead, they 
were put in a brothel in Bangkok or someplace else in Thailand

[[Page 14494]]

to a horrific environment at this very young age, with most of them 
contracting AIDS, tuberculosis, and dying at a young age. This was one 
of the key traffic areas of the world. It was being caused by this 
government in Burma that cared nothing about its people.
  These were the most wonderful people in the world. They were trying 
to eke out some mere existence. This was a government that cared 
absolutely nothing at all about them.
  Now they have gone and arrested the Nobel Prize-winning activist, 
democracy activist who has done this in a peaceful way in Burma to try 
to bring her country forward. They have taken the next step down the 
road on this anarchy of horrific treatment of their own people, a 
complete movement against the way the rest of the world is moving.
  I support this resolution. It is very timely. I applaud Senator 
McConnell for his work. It is important we send this message that this 
regime is treating its own people so badly that these sorts of 
conditions arise. We need to be on record. The rest of the world needs 
to be on record to press this regime to stop persecuting its own people 
in such terrible ways.
  I hope this will send a message to the regime in Burma and to people 
around the rest of the world that we will continue to bring economic 
and diplomatic pressure in a quick fashion against this regime in 
Burma. This should not wait for years to develop.
  Furthermore, there are big questions many times about whether these 
sanctions work. Against a big economy there are legitimate questions. 
Against a small economy, against a situation in a country such as 
Burma, where it is located, I think these work very well and it sends 
an extraordinary message to Burma. It also sends a big message to 
Thailand, which is a key country for us, to get their attention that 
they should not repatriate the Burmese back into Burma and we should 
recognize the refugee status for the Burmese in Thailand, a country 
that wants to work closely and carefully with us.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Kansas for his 
contribution. I am not aware of any more speakers on this side.
  Mr. LEAHY. Nor on this side. I am willing to yield back the remainder 
of the time.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Therefore, I ask unanimous consent all time be yielded 
back.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and was read 
the third time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill having been read the third time, the 
question is, Shall it pass?
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) 
and the Senator from New York (Mr. Schumer) are necessarily absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) would vote ``yea''.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 97, nays 1, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 220 Leg.]

                                YEAS--97

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Chafee
     Chambliss
     Clinton
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Cornyn
     Corzine
     Craig
     Crapo
     Daschle
     Dayton
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Ensign
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham (FL)
     Graham (SC)
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hollings
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     McCain
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Miller
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Nickles
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wyden

                                NAYS--1

     Enzi
       
       

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Kerry
     Schumer
       
  The bill (S. 1215), as amended, was passed, as follows:

                                S. 1215

       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 ``Burmese Freedom and 
     Democracy Act of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has 
     failed to transfer power to the National League for Democracy 
     (NLD) whose parliamentarians won an overwhelming victory in 
     the 1990 elections in Burma.
       (2) The SPDC has failed to enter into meaningful, political 
     dialogue with the NLD and ethnic minorities and has dismissed 
     the efforts of United Nations Special Envoy Razali bin Ismail 
     to further such dialogue.
       (3) According to the State Department's ``Report to the 
     Congress Regarding Conditions in Burma and U.S. Policy Toward 
     Burma'' dated March 28, 2003, the SPDC has become ``more 
     confrontational'' in its exchanges with the NLD.
       (4) On May 30, 2003, the SPDC, threatened by continued 
     support for the NLD throughout Burma, brutally attacked NLD 
     supporters, killed and injured scores of civilians, and 
     arrested democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi and other 
     activists.
       (5) The SPDC continues egregious human rights violations 
     against Burmese citizens, uses rape as a weapon of 
     intimidation and torture against women, and forcibly 
     conscripts child-soldiers for use in fighting indigenous 
     ethnic groups.
       (6) The SPDC has demonstrably failed to cooperate with the 
     United States in stopping the flood of heroin and 
     methamphetamines being grown, refined, manufactured, and 
     transported in areas under the control of the SPDC serving to 
     flood the region and much of the world with these illicit 
     drugs.
       (7) The SPDC provides safety, security, and engages in 
     business dealings with narcotics traffickers under indictment 
     by United States authorities, and other producers and 
     traffickers of narcotics.
       (8) The International Labor Organization (ILO), for the 
     first time in its 82-year history, adopted in 2000, a 
     resolution recommending that governments, employers, and 
     workers organizations take appropriate measures to ensure 
     that their relations with the SPDC do not abet the 
     government-sponsored system of forced, compulsory, or slave 
     labor in Burma, and that other international bodies 
     reconsider any cooperation they may be engaged in with Burma 
     and, if appropriate, cease as soon as possible any activity 
     that could abet the practice of forced, compulsory, or slave 
     labor.
       (9) The SPDC has integrated the Burmese military and its 
     surrogates into all facets of the economy effectively 
     destroying any free enterprise system.
       (10) Investment in Burmese companies and purchases from 
     them serve to provide the SPDC with currency that is used to 
     finance its instruments of terror and repression against the 
     Burmese people.
       (11) On April 15, 2003, the American Apparel and Footwear 
     Association expressed its ``strong support for a full and 
     immediate ban on U.S. textiles, apparel and footwear imports 
     from Burma'' and called upon the United States Government to 
     ``impose an outright ban on U.S. imports'' of these items 
     until Burma demonstrates respect for basic human and labor 
     rights of its citizens.
       (12) The policy of the United States, as articulated by the 
     President on April 24, 2003, is to officially recognize the 
     NLD as the legitimate representative of the Burmese people as 
     determined by the 1990 election.

     SEC. 3. BAN AGAINST TRADE THAT SUPPORTS THE MILITARY REGIME 
                   OF BURMA.

       (a) General Ban.--
       (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law 
     and except as provided in section 9, until such time as the 
     President determines and certifies to Congress that Burma has 
     met the conditions described in paragraph (3), no article may 
     be imported into the United States that is produced, mined, 
     manufactured, grown, or assembled in Burma.
       (2) Ban on imports from certain companies.--The import 
     restrictions contained in paragraph (1) shall apply to, among 
     other entities--

[[Page 14495]]

       (A) the SPDC, any ministry of the SPDC, a member of the 
     SPDC or an immediate family member of such member;
       (B) known narcotics traffickers from Burma or an immediate 
     family member of such narcotics trafficker;
       (C) the Union of Myanmar Economics Holdings Incorporated 
     (UMEHI) or any company in which the UMEHI has a fiduciary 
     interest;
       (D) the Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) or any company 
     in which the MEC has a fiduciary interest;
       (E) the Union Solidarity and Development Association 
     (USDA); and
       (F) any successor entity for the SPDC, UMEHI, MEC, or USDA.
       (3) Conditions described.--The conditions described in this 
     paragraph are the following:
       (A) The SPDC has made substantial and measurable progress 
     to end violations of internationally recognized human rights 
     including rape, and the Secretary of State, after 
     consultation with the ILO Secretary General and relevant 
     nongovernmental organizations, reports to the appropriate 
     congressional committees that the SPDC no longer 
     systematically violates workers rights, including the use of 
     forced and child labor, and conscription of child-soldiers.
       (B) The SPDC has made measurable and substantial progress 
     toward implementing a democratic government including--
       (i) releasing all political prisoners;
       (ii) allowing freedom of speech and the press;
       (iii) allowing freedom of association;
       (iv) permitting the peaceful exercise of religion; and
       (v) bringing to a conclusion an agreement between the SPDC 
     and the democratic forces led by the NLD and Burma's ethnic 
     nationalities on the transfer of power to a civilian 
     government accountable to the Burmese people through 
     democratic elections under the rule of law.
       (C) Pursuant to the terms of section 706 of the Foreign 
     Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 
     107-228), Burma has not failed demonstrably to make 
     substantial efforts to adhere to its obligations under 
     international counternarcotics agreements and to take other 
     effective counternarcotics measures, including the arrest and 
     extradition of all individuals under indictment in the United 
     States for narcotics trafficking, and concrete and measurable 
     actions to stem the flow of illicit drug money into Burma's 
     banking system and economic enterprises and to stop the 
     manufacture and export of methamphetamines.
       (4) Appropriate congressional committees.--In this Act, the 
     term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the 
     Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Finance, and 
     the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 
     Committee on International Relations, the Committee on Ways 
     and Means, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House 
     of Representatives.
       (b) Waiver Authorities.--
       (1) In general.--The President may waive the prohibitions 
     described in this section for any or all products imported 
     from Burma to the United States if the President determines 
     and notifies the appropriate congressional committees that to 
     do so is in the vital national security interest of the 
     United States.
       (2) International obligations.--The President may waive any 
     provision of this Act found to be in violation of any 
     international obligations of the United States pursuant to 
     any final ruling relating to Burma under the dispute 
     settlement procedures of the World Trade Organization.

     SEC. 4. FREEZING ASSETS OF THE BURMESE REGIME IN THE UNITED 
                   STATES.

       Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall direct, and 
     promulgate regulations to the same, that any United States 
     financial institution holding funds belonging to the SPDC or 
     the assets of those individuals who hold senior positions in 
     the SPDC or its political arm, the Union Solidarity 
     Development Association, shall promptly report those assets 
     to the Office of Foreign Assets Control. The Secretary of the 
     Treasury may take such action as may be necessary to secure 
     such assets or funds.

     SEC. 5. LOANS AT INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.

       The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United 
     States executive director to each appropriate international 
     financial institution in which the United States 
     participates, to oppose, and vote against the extension by 
     such institution of any loan or financial or technical 
     assistance to Burma until such time as the conditions 
     described in section 3(a)(3) are met.

     SEC. 6. EXPANSION OF VISA BAN.

       (a) In General.--
       (1) Visa ban.--The President is authorized to deny visas 
     and entry to the former and present leadership of the SPDC or 
     the Union Solidarity Development Association.
       (2) Updates.--The Secretary of State shall coordinate on a 
     biannual basis with representatives of the European Union to 
     ensure that an individual who is banned from obtaining a visa 
     by the European Union for the reasons described in paragraph 
     (1) is also banned from receiving a visa from the United 
     States.
       (b) Publication.--The Secretary of State shall post on the 
     Department of State's website the names of individuals whose 
     entry into the United States is banned under subsection (a).

     SEC. 7. CONDEMNATION OF THE REGIME AND DISSEMINATION OF 
                   INFORMATION.

       (a) In General.--Congress encourages the Secretary of State 
     to highlight the abysmal record of the SPDC to the 
     international community and use all appropriate fora, 
     including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional 
     Forum and Asian Nations Regional Forum, to encourage other 
     states to restrict financial resources to the SPDC and 
     Burmese companies while offering political recognition and 
     support to Burma's democratic movement including the National 
     League for Democracy and Burma's ethnic groups.
       (b) United States Embassy.--The United States embassy in 
     Rangoon shall take all steps necessary to provide access of 
     information and United States policy decisions to media 
     organs not under the control of the ruling military regime.

     SEC. 8. SUPPORT DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS IN BURMA.

       (a) In General.--The President is authorized to use all 
     available resources to assist Burmese democracy activists 
     dedicated to nonviolent opposition to the regime in their 
     efforts to promote freedom, democracy, and human rights in 
     Burma, including a listing of constraints on such 
     programming.
       (b) Reports.--
       (1) First report.--Not later than 3 months after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 
     provide the appropriate congressional committees a 
     comprehensive report on its short- and long-term programs and 
     activities to support democracy activists in Burma, including 
     a list of constraints on such programming.
       (2) Report on resources.--Not later than 6 months after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 
     provide the appropriate congressional committees a report 
     identifying resources that will be necessary for the 
     reconstruction of Burma, after the SPDC is removed from 
     power, including--
       (A) the formation of democratic institutions;
       (B) establishing the rule of law;
       (C) establishing freedom of the press;
       (D) providing for the successful reintegration of military 
     officers and personnel into Burmese society; and
       (E) providing health, educational, and economic 
     development.
       (3) Report on trade sanctions.--Not later than 90 days 
     before the date that the import restrictions contained in 
     section 3(a)(1) are to expire, the Secretary of State, in 
     consultation with the United States Trade Representative and 
     other appropriate agencies, shall submit to the appropriate 
     congressional committees, a report on--
       (A) conditions in Burma, including human rights violations, 
     arrest and detention of democracy activists, forced and child 
     labor, and the status of dialogue between the SPDC and the 
     NLD and ethnic minorities;
       (B) bilateral and multilateral measures undertaken by the 
     United States Government and other governments to promote 
     human rights and democracy in Burma; and
       (C) the impact and effectiveness of the provisions of this 
     Act in furthering the policy objectives of the United States 
     toward Burma.

     SEC. 9. DURATION OF SANCTIONS.

       (a) Termination by Request From Democratic Burma.--The 
     President may terminate any provision in this Act upon the 
     request of a democratically elected government in Burma, 
     provided that all the conditions in section 3(a)(3) have been 
     met.
       (b) Continuation of Import Sanctions.--
       (1) Expiration.--The import restrictions contained in 
     section 3(a)(1) shall expire 1 year from the date of 
     enactment of this Act unless renewed under paragraph (2) of 
     this section.
       (2) Resolution by congress.--The import restrictions 
     contained in section 3(a)(1) may be renewed annually for a 1-
     year period if, prior to the anniversary of the date of 
     enactment of this Act, and each year thereafter, a renewal 
     resolution is enacted into law in accordance with subsection 
     (c).
       (c) Renewal Resolutions.--
       (1) In general.--For purposes of this section, the term 
     ``renewal resolution'' means a joint resolution of the 2 
     Houses of Congress, the sole matter after the resolving 
     clause of which is as follows: ``That Congress approves the 
     renewal of the import restrictions contained in section 
     3(a)(1) of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003.''
       (2) Procedures.--
       (A) In general.--A renewal resolution--
       (i) may be introduced in either House of Congress by any 
     member of such House at any time within the 90-day period 
     before the expiration of the import restrictions contained in 
     section 3(a)(1); and
       (ii) the provisions of subparagraph (B) shall apply.
       (B) Expedited consideration.--The provisions of section 152 
     (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 
     U.S.C. 2192 (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f)) apply to a renewal 
     resolution

[[Page 14496]]

     under this Act as if such resolution were a resolution 
     described in section 152(a) of the Trade Act of 1974.
  Mr. SANTORUM. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________