    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [April 30, 2008]
    [Pages 609-610]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Message to the Congress Reporting on Blocking Property and Prohibiting
    Certain Transactions Related to Burma
    April 30, 2008

    To the Congress of the United States:
        Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50
    U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), I hereby report that I have issued an
    Executive Order (the ``order'') that takes additional steps with respect
    to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13047 of May 20,
    1997, and expanded in Executive Order 13448 of October 18, 2007.
        In 1997, the United States put in place a prohibition on new
    investment in Burma in response to the Government of Burma's large scale
    repression of the democratic opposition in that country. On July 28,
    2003, those sanctions were expanded by steps taken in Executive Order
    13310, which contained prohibitions implementing sections 3 and 4 of the
    Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-61) (the
    ``Act'') and supplemented that Act with additional restrictions. On
    October 18, 2007, I determined that the Government of Burma's continued
    repression of the democratic opposition in Burma, manifested at the time
    in the violent response to peaceful demonstrations, the commission of
    human rights abuses related to political repression, and engagement in
    public corruption, including by diverting or misusing Burmese public
    assets or by misusing public authority, warranted an expansion of the

    [[Page 610]]

    then-existing sanctions. Executive Order 13448, issued on that date,
    incorporated existing designation criteria set forth in Executive Order
    13310, blocked the property and interests in property of persons listed
    in the Annex to that Executive Order, and provided additional criteria
    for designations of certain other persons.
        The order supplements the existing designation criteria set forth in
    Executive Order 13310, as incorporated in and expanded by Executive
    Order 13448. The order blocks the property and interests in property in
    the United States of persons listed in the Annex to the order and
    provides additional criteria for designations of persons determined by
    the Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with the Secretary of
    State, to be owned or controlled by, directly or indirectly, the
    Government of Burma or an official or officials of the Government of
    Burma; to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial,
    material, logistical, or technical support for, or goods or services in
    support of, the Government of Burma, the State Peace and Development
    Council of Burma, the Union Solidarity and Development Association of
    Burma, any successor entity to any of the foregoing, any senior official
    of any of the foregoing, or any person whose property and interests in
    property are blocked pursuant to Executive Order 13310, Executive Order
    13448, or the order; or to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted
    or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any
    person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to
    Executive Order 13310, Executive Order 13448, or the order.
        The order leaves in place the existing prohibitions on new
    investment, the exportation or reexportation to Burma of financial
    services, and the importation of any article that is a product of Burma,
    which were put into effect in Executive Order 13047 and Executive Order
    13310.
        The order authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, after
    consultation with the Secretary of State, to take such actions,
    including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all
    powers granted to the President by IEEPA and section 4 of the Burmese
    Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 as may be necessary to carry out the
    purposes of the order.
        I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.

                                                              George W. Bush

     The White House,

     April 30, 2008.

    Note: This message was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    May 1. The related Executive order is listed in Appendix D at the end of
    this volume.