[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 21 (Monday, May 26, 1997)]
[Pages 750-752]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Message to the Congress on Burma

May 20, 1997

To the Congress of the United States:

    Pursuant to section 570(b) of the Foreign Operations, Export 
Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1997 (Public Law 
104-208) (the ``Act''), I hereby report to the Congress that I have 
determined and certified that the Government of Burma has, after 
September 30, 1996, committed large-scale repression of the democratic 
opposition in Burma. Further, pursuant to section 204(b) of the 
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1703(b)) (IEEPA) 
and section 301 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1631), I 
hereby report that I have exercised my statutory authority to declare a 
national emergency to respond to the actions and policies of the 
Government of Burma and have issued an

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Executive order prohibiting United States persons from new investment in 
Burma.
    The order prohibits United States persons from engaging in any of 
the following activities after its issuance:
    --entering a contract that includes the economic development of 
      resources located in Burma;
    --entering a contract providing for the general supervision and 
      guarantee of another person's performance of a contract that 
      includes the economic development of resources located in Burma;
    --purchasing a share of ownership, including an equity interest, in 
      the economic development of resources located in Burma;
    --entering into a contract providing for the participation in 
      royalties, earnings, or profits in the economic development of 
      resources located in Burma, without regard to the form of the 
      participation;
    --facilitating transactions of foreign persons that would violate 
      any of the foregoing prohibitions if engaged in by a United States 
      person; and
    --evading or avoiding, or attempting to violate, any of the 
      prohibitions in the order.
    Consistent with the terms of section 570(b) of the Act, the order 
does not prohibit the entry into, performance of, or financing of most 
contracts for the purchase or sale of goods, services, or technology. 
For purposes of the order, the term ``resources'' is broadly defined to 
include such things as natural, agricultural, commercial, financial, 
industrial, and human resources. However, not-for-profit educational, 
health, or other humanitarian programs or activities are not considered 
to constitute economic development of resources located in Burma. In 
accordance with section 570(b), the prohibition on an activity that 
constitutes a new investment applies if such activity is undertaken 
pursaunt to an agreement, or pursuant to the exercise of rights under an 
agreement that is entered into with the Government of Burma or a non-
governmental entity in Burma, on or after the effective date of the 
Executive order.
    My Administration will continue to consult and express our concerns 
about developments in Burma with the Burmese authorities as well as 
leaders of ASEAN, Japan, the European Union, and other countries having 
major political, security, trading, and investment interests in Burma 
and seek multilateral consensus to bring about democratic reform and 
improve human rights in that country. I have, accordingly, delegated to 
the Secretary of State the responsibilities in this regard under section 
570(c) and (d) of the Act.
    The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of 
State, is authorized to issue regulations in exercise of my authorities 
under IEEPA and section 570(b) of the Act to implement this prohibition 
on new investment. All Federal agencies are also directed to take 
actions within their authority to carry out the provisions of the 
Executive order.
    I have taken these steps in response to a deepening pattern of 
severe repression by the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) 
in Burma. During the past 7 months, the SLORC has arrested and detained 
large numbers of students and opposition supporters, sentenced dozens to 
long-term imprisonment, and prevented the expression of political views 
by the democratic opposition, including Aung San Suu Kyi and the 
National League for Democracy (NLD). It is my judgment that recent 
actions by the regime in Rangoon constitute large-scale repression of 
the democratic opposition committed by the Government of Burma within 
the meaning of section 570(b) of the Act.
    The Burmese authorities also have committed serious abuses in their 
recent military campaign against Burma's Karen minority, forcibly 
conscripting civilians and compelling thousands to flee into Thailand. 
Moreover, Burma remains the world's leading producer of opium and 
heroin, with official tolerance of drug trafficking and traffickers in 
defiance of the views of the international community.
    I believe that the actions and policies of the SLORC regime 
constitute an extraordinary and unusual threat to the security and 
stability of the region, and therefore to the national security and 
foreign policy of the United States.
    It is in the national security and foreign policy interests of the 
United States to seek an end to abuses of human rights in Burma

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and to support efforts to achieve democratic reform. Progress on these 
issues would promote regional peace and stability and would be in the 
political, security, and economic interests of the United states.
    The steps I take today demonstrate my Administration's resolve to 
support the people of Burma, who made clear their commitment to human 
rights and democracy in 1990 elections, the results of which the regime 
chose to disregard.
    I am also pleased to note that the Administration and the Congress 
speak with one voice on this issue, as reflected in executive-
legislative cooperation in the enactment of section 570 of the Foreign 
Operations Act. I look forward to continued close consultation with the 
Congress on efforts to promote human rights and democracy in Burma.
    In conclusion, I emphasize that Burma's international isolation is 
not an inevitability, and that the authorities in Rangoon retain the 
ability to secure improvements in relations with the United States as 
well as with the international community. In this respect, I once again 
call on the SLORC to lift restrictions on Aung San Suu Kyi and the 
political opposition, to respect the rights of free expression, 
assembly, and association, and to undertake a dialogue that includes 
leaders of the NLD and the ethnic minorities and that deals with the 
political future of Burma.
    In the weeks and months to come, my Administration will continue to 
monitor and assess action on these issues, paying careful attention to 
the report of the U.N. Special Rapporteur appointed by the U.N. Human 
Rights Commission and the report of the U.N. Secretary General on the 
results of his good offices mandate. Thus, I urge the regime in Rangoon 
to cooperate fully with those two important U.N. initiatives on Burma.
    I am enclosing a copy of the Executive order that I have issued. The 
order is effective at 12:01 a.m., eastern daylight time, May 21, 1997.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
May 20, 1997.