IV

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 188

Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to increasing political

oppression in Burma.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 13, 1996

Mr. ROHRABACHER submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was

referred to the Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to

increasing political oppression in Burma.

Whereas since 1962 Burma has been ruled by a military dictatorship;

Whereas as part of a crackdown against the Burmese pro-democracy movement, the State Law and Order Restoration

Council (hereafter in this resolution referred to as

‘‘SLORC’’) was established by the military dictatorship

in 1988;

Whereas on May 27, 1990, the people of Burma voted overwhelmingly in a free election for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

and the National League for Democracy (hereafter in

this resolution referred to as ‘‘NLD’’);
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•HCON 188 IH

Whereas despite numerous pledges, the SLORC has failed to

honor the results of the 1990 elections;

Whereas the United States has not sent an ambassador to

Rangoon in protest of the failure of the SLORC to honor

the 1990 elections and the continued human rights

abuses suffered by the Burmese people;

Whereas in response to the massacre of thousands of Burmese participating in peaceful democratic demonstrations, the Congress adopted a provision as part of the

Customs and Trade Act of 1990 requiring the President

to impose appropriate economic sanctions on Burma;

Whereas currently the United States has suspended economic

aid to Burma, placed an embargo on arms sales, denied

Burma benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), and decertified Burma as a narcotics cooperating country;

Whereas the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal

Years 1994 and 1995 (Public Law 103–236), approved

April 30, 1994, placed Burma on the list of international

‘‘outlaw’’ states that includes Libya, North Korea, and

Iraq and which is set forth in section 307(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2227(a)), thus

mandating that voluntary United States funding for any

United Nations agency will be automatically reduced if

the agency conducts programs in Burma;

Whereas on July 15, 1994, the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 234 calling on the executive branch to encourage

members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations

(ASEAN) to work with the United States to achieve the

transfer of power to the winners of Burma’s 1990 democratic election;
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•HCON 188 IH

Whereas on July 25, 1994, the House of Representatives

adopted House Resolution 471, which urged the Burmese

regime to transfer power to democratically elected leaders

of Burma and to respect human rights;

Whereas on June 28, 1995, the House of Representatives

agreed to an amendment to H.R. 1868, which prohibited

funds for international narcotics control or crop substitution assistance for the Burmese regime;

Whereas in early 1995 the SLORC conducted a military campaign against ethnic minorities, many of whom are Christian, along the border between Burma and Thailand, including the headquarters of the Democratic Alliance of

Burma at Mannerplaw;

Whereas on July 10, 1995, after six years of unlawful detention, the SLORC released Nobel Peace Prize winner Daw

Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the NLD;

Whereas since the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the SLORC

has rejected her efforts to establish a timetable for dialogue and national reconciliation and has denied the

NLD a meaningful role in a credible political process;

Whereas the 1995 Human Rights Watch World Report states

that Muslims in the Arakan State, a province of Burma,

are subject to forced relocations, forced labor, and religious persecution;

Whereas on December 19, 1995, the House of Representatives adopted House Resolution 274, which calls on the

Burmese regime to begin a political dialogue with democratically elected leaders of Burma, release political prisoners, guarantee respect for basic human rights, and restore civilian and democratic rule to the people of Burma;
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•HCON 188 IH

Whereas Aung San Suu Kyi has called for a halt to private

foreign investment until progress towards democracy begins in Burma;

Whereas various United States cities have passed resolutions

condemning United States private investment in Burma;

Whereas protests on university campuses against United

States policy in Burma are growing in frequency;

Whereas the SLORC regime has purchased $2,000,000,000

in weapons over the last 3 years from the People’s Republic of China and other countries;

Whereas on June 7, 1996, SLORC passed Law 5/96, which

outlawed the drawing up, writing, or distribution of the

state constitution of Burma without legal authorization;

Whereas penalties for writing a constitution involve a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 20 years in prison,

in addition to unspecified fines;

Whereas during the period of May 26th-29th, 1996, 258 delegates to a conference on democracy in Rangoon were arrested and jailed;

Whereas of the 258 delegates arrested, 238 were elected in

1990 as members of the parliament;

Whereas the Report of the Special Representative of the

United Nations, published in March, 1996, indicated that

forced labor, forced porterage, torture, and arbitrary killing are still widespread in Burma;

Whereas SLORC has refused to file any charges against

Khun Sa, the world’s most notorious heroin trafficker,

and rejected requests by the United States to have him

extradited to the United States;
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Whereas the Karenni and the Karen, ethnic groups in

Burma, are strong supporters of democracy and the

United States;

Whereas thousands of innocent Karenni civilians have been

killed by unprovoked attacks by SLORC troops in the

Karenni state;

Whereas the Karen ethnic group faces constant attacks by

SLORC troops, resulting in many deaths and destruction

of villages; and

Whereas in the near future, Aung San Suu Kyi and members

of the democratic movement in Burma may begin to

write a legitimate state constitution for the people of

Burma: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That if the SLORC regime arrests Aung San

3 Suu Kyi, otherwise limits her freedom, or exiles her—

4 (1) the Congress will adopt legislation to pro5 hibit future investment in Burma; and

6 (2) the United States should use all means nec7 essary to bring Khun Sa to trial in the United

8 States.

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