[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 31 (Monday, August 4, 2003)]
[Pages 993-995]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
<R04>
Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on the Burmese Freedom and
Democracy Act of 2003 and the Accompanying Executive Order
July 28, 2003
Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
Consistent with 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
issued an Executive Order (the ``Order'') that expands the sanctions
against Burma currently in place pursuant to the national emergency with
respect to Burma declared in Executive Order 13047 of May 20, 1997.
Further, I hereby provide the notification to the Congress required by
section 3(b) of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 (the
``Act'') regarding my exercise of the waiver authorities provided in
that section.
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. Since that
time, the Government of Burma has rejected our efforts and the efforts
of others in the international community to end its repressive
activities. In May of this year, that rejection manifested itself in a
brutal and organized attack on the motorcade of Aung San Suu Kyi, a
Nobel Peace Prize winner and leader of the peaceful democratic
opposition party
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in Burma, the National League for Democracy. The Government of Burma has
continued to ignore our requests for her to be released from
confinement, for the other National League for Democracy leaders who
were jailed before and after the attack to be released, and for the
offices of the National League for Democracy to be allowed to reopen.
I have now determined that this continued and increasing repression
by the Government of Burma warrants an expansion of the sanctions
against that government. I applaud the Congress' efforts to address the
Government of Burma's action. The prohibitions contained in my Order
implement sections 3 and 4 of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of
2003 and supplement that Act with additional restrictions.
The Order blocks all property and interests in property of the State
Peace and Development Council of Burma, the Myanma Foreign Trade Bank,
the Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank (MICB), and the Myanma
Economic Bank as well as all property and interests in property of
persons determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation
with the Secretary of State, to be senior officials of the Government of
Burma, the State Peace and Development Council of Burma, the Union
Solidarity and Development Association of Burma, or any successor entity
to any of the foregoing; or to be owned or controlled by, or acting or
purporting to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any of
the foregoing. The Order also prohibits the exportation or re-
exportation of financial services to Burma either from the United States
or by any United States person and, 30 days from the effective date of
the Order, the importation into the United States of any article that is
a product of Burma.
The Department of the Treasury, in consultation with the Department
of State, will implement a remittance program authorizing limited
personal transfers of funds and will authorize most transactions
relating to humanitarian, educational, and official United States
Government activities. Additionally, the Order grandfathers any
activity, or trans-actions incident to any activity, other than the
import of any products of Burma, undertaken pursuant to any agreement
that was entered into by a United States person with the Government of
Burma or a nongovernmental entity in Burma prior to May 21, 1997, the
effective date of Executive Order 13047.
I have determined that the waiver of the prohibitions described in
section 3 of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 with respect
to any or all articles that are a product of Burma is in the national
interest of the United States to the extent that prohibiting the
importation of such articles would conflict with the international
obligations of the United States under the Vienna Convention on
Diplomatic Relations, the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the
United Nations Headquarters Agreement, and other legal instruments
providing equivalent privileges and immunities. In addition, in the
exercise of my constitutional authorities under Article II of the
Constitution to conduct the foreign relations of the United States, I
will construe the Act in a manner that will in no way impair the
existing ability of United States diplomatic and consular officials to
import articles that are a product of Burma that are necessary to the
performance of their functions as United States Government officials in
Burma.
The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of
State, is authorized to issue regulations in the exercise of authorities
under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and sections 3(a)
and 4 of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003, other than the
authority to make the determinations and certification to the Congress
that Burma has met the conditions described in section 3(a)(3), to
implement the measures provided in the Order. The Secretary of State is
also authorized to exercise the functions and authorities conferred upon
the President by section 3(b) of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act
of 2003. All Federal agencies are directed to take actions within their
authority to carry out the provisions of the Order.
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I have enclosed a copy of the Executive Order I have issued. This
Order becomes effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on July 29,
2003.
Sincerely,
George W. Bush
Note: Identical letters were sent to J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the
House of Representatives, and Richard B. Cheney, President of the
Senate. H.R. 2330, approved July 28, was assigned Public Law No. 108-61.