[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 24, 2001)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 20725-20729]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-10260]



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Part II





The President





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Memorandum of April 12, 2001--Report to the Congress Regarding 
Conditions in Burma and U.S. Policy Toward Burma
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  Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 79 / Tuesday, April 24, 2001 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

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                Memorandum of April 12, 2001

                
Report to the Congress Regarding Conditions in 
                Burma and U.S. Policy Toward Burma

                Memorandum for the Secretary of State

                Pursuant to the requirements set forth under the 
                heading ``Policy Toward Burma'' in section 570(d) of 
                the Fiscal Year 1997 Foreign Operations Appropriations 
                Act, as contained in the Omnibus Consolidated 
                Appropriations Act (Public Law 104-208), a report is 
                required every 6 months following enactment concerning:

1)

progress toward democratization in Burma;

2)

progress on improving the quality of life of the Burmese people, including 
progress on market reforms, living standards, labor standards, use of 
forced labor in the tourism industry, and environmental quality; and

3)

progress made in developing a comprehensive, multilateral strategy to bring 
democracy to and improve human rights practices and the quality of life in 
Burma, including the development of a dialogue between the State Peace and 
Development Council and democratic opposition groups in Burma.

                You are hereby authorized and directed to transmit the 
                attached report fulfilling these requirements for the 
                period September 28, 2000, through March 27, 2001, to 
                the appropriate committees of the Congress and to 
                arrange for its publication in the Federal Register.

                    (Presidential Sig.)B

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, April 12, 2001.

                Billing code 4710-10-M

[[Page 20726]]

                Plan for Implementation of Section 570 of Public Law 
                104-208 (Omnibus Appropriations Act, Fiscal Year 1997)

                Conditions in Burma and U.S. Policy Toward Burma for 
                the Period 
                September 28, 2000-March 27, 2001

                Introduction and Summary

                Over the past 6 months, Burma's military regime appears 
                to have moved from a consistent policy of confrontation 
                with the National League for Democracy (NLD) to a 
                policy of negotiation and dialogue with the NLD's 
                General Secretary, Aung San Suu Kyi. It is still too 
                early to determine the regime's intentions and 
                motivations. While both sides have held the substance 
                of this dialogue in strictest confidence, there have 
                been a number of goodwill gestures, including the 
                release of some political prisoners and a halt to the 
                vicious attacks on Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD by the 
                regime-owned press. Nonetheless, the government 
                continues to hold over 1,600 political prisoners. Aung 
                San Suu Kyi remains in detention in her home, but has 
                told visitors from the United Nations, the European 
                Union, and the United States that she supports the 
                current dialogue and is comfortable with her current 
                circumstances.

                The quality of life in Burma has continued to 
                deteriorate. Poverty is widespread, and the economy has 
                begun to show the stresses of a severe foreign exchange 
                shortage, corruption, mismanagement, and diversion of 
                resources to the military. Human rights abuses have 
                also continued. Burma's citizens live subject to the 
                arbitrary and sometimes brutal dictates of the military 
                regime. In ethnic minority areas, there were continuing 
                reports of extrajudicial killings, rape and 
                disappearances. Prison conditions are harsh and life-
                threatening, and arbitrary arrest and detention for the 
                expression of dissenting political views are a common 
                occurrence.

                Forced labor also continues to be a serious problem. In 
                November 2000, the Governing Body of the International 
                Labor Organization (ILO) concluded that the Government 
                of Burma had not taken effective action to deal with 
                the ``widespread and systematic'' use of forced labor 
                in the country. For the first time in its history, the 
                ILO has taken action to secure a member state's 
                compliance with worker rights standards. Acting on a 
                June ILO Conference decision, the ILO Director General 
                called on all ILO members to review their ties with the 
                regime to ensure that those ties did not abet the 
                practice of forced labor in Burma. The United States 
                strongly supported this decision.

                U.S. policy goals in Burma include progress towards 
                democracy, restoration of civilian government, improved 
                human rights and a more effective counternarcotics 
                effort. We support the ongoing dialogue between Aung 
                San Suu Kyi and the military regime and hope that it 
                will lead to meaningful democratic change. We also 
                consult regularly, at senior levels, with countries 
                that share our concerns regarding Burma's current human 
                rights practices.

                In coordination with the European Union and other 
                states with similar but not identical policies, the 
                United States has imposed sanctions on Burma. These 
                include an arms embargo, an investment ban, a visa ban 
                on high-level officials, and other measures. Our goal 
                in applying these sanctions was to encourage a 
                transition to democratic rule and greater respect for 
                human rights. Should there be significant progress 
                towards those goals--whether as a result of the current 
                dialogue between Aung San Suu Kyi and the military 
                regime or otherwise--then the United States would be 
                obliged to look seriously at measures to support 
                constructive change.

                Measuring Progress toward Democratization

                During the review period (September 2000 to March 
                2001), Burma's military regime moved from a consistent 
                policy of confrontation with National League for 
                Democracy to a policy of negotiation and dialogue with 
                the NLD's General Secretary, Aung San Suu Kyi. However, 
                it is still too early to

[[Page 20727]]

                know if the move represents a genuine change. After 
                twice preventing Aung San Suu Kyi from traveling 
                outside of Rangoon City, and confining her 
                incommunicado in her home starting on September 21, 
                2000, the military regime, on the advice of UN Special 
                Representative Razali Ismail, and in the face of 
                increasing international condemnation, particularly 
                over human rights abuses and its policy of imposing 
                forced labor, opened a quiet dialogue with Aung San Suu 
                Kyi in October 2000. This dialogue has apparently 
                contributed to some greater mutual understanding. While 
                none of the substance of the current dialogue has yet 
                been revealed by either side, there have been a series 
                of confidence-building gestures. In December, the 
                regime released six of the NLD's nine central executive 
                committee members from detention in their homes. The 
                current efforts here have also halted the virulent 
                attacks on Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD that had become 
                a staple of newspaper coverage in Burma and have 
                allowed the NLD to resume some normal party activities.

                At the specific request of UN Special Representative 
                Razali Ismail, the Burmese regime also released about 
                100 political prisoners. These included a number of 
                aged and ill prisoners, such as U Chein Poh, a 
                respected lawyer who was unjustly imprisoned in 
                September; five political prisoners who had been held 
                past the term of their sentences in Mandalay; and 
                approximately 85 NLD supporters who had been arrested 
                at the time Aung San Suu Kyi was detained on September 
                21, 2000. However, approximately 1,600 political 
                prisoners remain, a number that may be higher than at 
                the beginning of 2000.

                The regime has also gradually increased access to Aung 
                San Suu Kyi. Since December, visitors have included 
                Aung San Suu Kyi's son and his family, select members 
                of the NLD's central executive committee, UN Special 
                Representative Razali Ismail, representatives of the 
                European Union, Australian human rights specialist 
                Chris Sidoti, and U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of 
                State Ralph Boyce. In each of these meetings, Aung San 
                Suu Kyi has emphasized that, although she remains under 
                virtual house arrest, she is content with the status of 
                her dialogue with the regime. However, she has not 
                revealed any portion of the substance of that dialogue 
                to any outsider.

                Counternarcotics

                Burma remains the world's second largest producer of 
                illicit opium and heroin. However, production of both 
                heroin and opium has declined in Burma since 1996. In 
                2000, Burma produced an estimated 1085 metric tons of 
                opium, down approximately 60 percent from the 2,560 
                metric tons of opium produced in 1996.

                Although opium production has declined, methamphetamine 
                production has soared, particularly in outlying regions 
                that are governed by former ethnic insurgent groups 
                which have signed cease-fire agreements with the 
                government. In 2000, the Burmese Government seized 
                approximately 27 million methamphetamine tablets, 
                compared with approximately 6 million tablets in 1996.

                There is no evidence that the Burmese Government is 
                involved on an institutional level in the drug trade. 
                However, there are persistent and reliable reports that 
                officials, particularly corrupt army personnel posted 
                in outlying areas, are either directly involved in drug 
                production and trafficking or provide protection to 
                those who are. In addition, while the Government has 
                encouraged ethnic insurgents who have signed cease-fire 
                agreements to curb narcotics production and 
                trafficking, it has not, in general, taken action 
                against them. One exception to this general rule 
                occurred in November 2000, when the government occupied 
                the territory of the Mong ko Defense army and arrested 
                its leader, Mon Sa La, on drug trafficking charges.

                The United States does not believe that Burma's current 
                counternarcotics efforts are commensurate with the 
                scale of the problem in Burma. Nevertheless, the United 
                States has continued to work with the UN Drug Control

[[Page 20728]]

                Program (UNDCP) and other donors to support opium 
                reduction and crop substitution programs. In September 
                2000, the United States obligated approximately 
                $600,000 to support UNDCP's Wa Alternative Development 
                Project, which is targeted at the reduction of opium 
                production in the territories of the United Wa State 
                Army, now the largest cease-fire group in Burma.

                The Quality of Life in Burma

                While potentially one of the richest countries in the 
                region, Burma remains one of the world's poorest with 
                an average per capita GDP of approximately $300, 
                according to World Bank figures. Primarily an 
                agricultural economy, Burma also has substantial 
                mineral, fishing and timber resources. However, almost 
                four decades of military misrule and mismanagement and 
                the diversion of resources to military use have 
                produced a chaotic economy characterized by widespread 
                poverty.

                Over the past 6 months, a growing foreign exchange 
                shortage has produced a rapid depreciation in Burma's 
                official currency, the kyat, against the dollar. Valued 
                at approximately 360 kyat to the dollar in September 
                2000, that rate has now fallen to approximately 500 
                kyat per dollar. At the same time, a breakdown in 
                public confidence in the FEC (foreign exchange 
                certificate), a scrip the government circulates in 
                place of the dollar, has resulted in a sharp decline in 
                its value against the dollar as well. In rural areas, 
                government restrictions on private sector rice exports 
                in the face of a bumper crop reduced rice prices to 
                levels below farmer costs, but in urban areas, this 
                same policy helped hold down living costs and 
                inflation. According to an urban retail price index 
                calculated by the U.S. Embassy, between September 2000 
                and March 2001, inflation in urban areas of Burma 
                dropped from an average annual rate in excess of 30 
                percent to a rate of approximately 15 percent.

                Severe human rights abuses also continued throughout 
                Burma during the reporting period. Burma's citizens 
                live subject to the arbitrary and sometimes brutal 
                dictates of Burma's military regime. In ethnic minority 
                areas, in particular, there continued to be many 
                credible reports of extrajudicial killings, rape, and 
                disappearances, as well as systemic forced labor. 
                Prison conditions remained harsh, and arbitrary arrest 
                and detention for the expression of dissenting 
                political views were common occurrences.

                Several high-profile political prisoners were released 
                during the review period. These included James 
                Mawdsley, a British citizen, who was released in 
                October 2000, shortly after the UN Working Group on 
                Arbitrary Detention informed the Burmese Government 
                that Mawdsley's detention violated international 
                standards of human rights. As of March 2001, however, 
                among the more than 1,600 political prisoners under 
                detention or in prison, there were 38 members of 
                parliament.

                Forced labor also remained an issue of serious concern. 
                In November 2000, the International Labor Organization 
                (ILO) Governing Body concluded that the Government of 
                Burma had not taken effective action to deal with the 
                ``widespread and systematic'' use of forced labor in 
                the country and, for the first time in its history, 
                took action under its Constitution to compel a member 
                state to comply with ILO worker rights standards. 
                Pursuant to that decision, taken by the International 
                Labor Conference in June, the ILO Director General in 
                December 2000 called on all member governments, worker 
                and employee delegations, and sister UN organizations 
                to review their ties with Burma to ensure that they did 
                not abet the practice of forced labor. The United 
                States strongly supported this decision, but has 
                deferred action on the ILO's call pending the outcome 
                of the ongoing dialogue between Aung San Suu Kyi and 
                the military government.

[[Page 20729]]

                Development of a Multilateral Strategy

                U.S. policy goals in Burma are progress towards 
                democracy, restoration of civilian rule, improved human 
                rights, and more effective counternarcotics efforts. We 
                support the ongoing dialogue between Aung San Suu Kyi 
                and the military government in the hope that it will 
                eventually lead to meaningful democratic change in 
                Burma. We also consult regularly, at senior levels, 
                with countries with major interests in Burma and/or 
                major concerns regarding Burma's human rights 
                practices.

                The United States has co-sponsored annual resolutions 
                at the UN General Assembly and the UN Commission on 
                Human Rights that target Burma. We have also supported 
                the ILO's unprecedented decision to compel Burma's 
                compliance with its obligations to respect worker 
                rights, in particular, to end the pervasive use of 
                forced labor. We strongly support the mission of the UN 
                Secretary General's Special representative for Burma, 
                Razali Ismail, who helped persuade the military 
                government to open a dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi 
                over Burma's political future.

                In coordination with the European Union and other 
                states with similar, but not identical, policies, the 
                United States has imposed sanctions on Burma. These 
                sanctions include a total arms embargo, a ban on all 
                new U.S. investment in Burma, the suspension of all 
                bilateral aid, the withdrawal of general system of 
                preferences privileges, the denial of Overseas Private 
                Investment Corporation and Eximbank programs, visa 
                restrictions on Burma's senior leaders, and a hold on 
                all new lending or grant programs by the World Bank, 
                the International Monetary Fund, the Asian Development 
                Bank, and other international financial institutions in 
                which the United States has a major interest. We have 
                also downgraded the level of our diplomatic 
                representation from Ambassador to Charge d'Affaires.

                Our goal in applying these sanctions is to encourage a 
                transition to democratic rule, civilian government, and 
                greater respect for human rights. Should there be 
                significant progress towards those goals, whether as a 
                result of the current dialogue between Aung San Suu Kyi 
                and the military government or otherwise, then the 
                United States would be obliged to look seriously at 
                measures to support this process of constructive 
                change.

[FR Doc. 01-10260
Filed 4-23-01; 8:45 am]
Billing code 4710-10-M