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[House Document 107-212]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

107th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 107-212 

 
    PERIODIC REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO BURMA

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

A 6-MONTH PERIODIC REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO 
  BURMA DECLARED BY EXECUTIVE ORDER 13047 OF MAY 20, 1997, PURSUANT 
  TO 50 U.S.C. 1641(c).

    May 16, 2002.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the 
     Committee on International Relations and ordered to be printed

                               __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
99-011                     WASHINGTON : 2002

To the Congress of the United States:
    As required by section 401(c) of the National Emergencies 
Act, 50 U.S.C. 1641(c), and section 204(c) of the International 
Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1703(c), I transmit 
herewith a 6-month periodic report prepared by my 
Administration on the national emergency with respect to Burma 
that was declared in Executive Order 13047 of May 20, 1997.

                                                    George W. Bush.
    The White House, May 16, 2002.
    Periodic Report on the National Emergency With Respect to Burma

    This is a report to the Congress on developments over the 
course of the past 6 months concerning the national emergency 
with respect to Burma that was declared in Executive Order 
13047 of May 20, 1997, pursuant to, inter alia, section 570 of 
the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs 
Appropriations Act, 1997 (Public Law 104-208) and the 
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (``IEEPA''). This 
report is submitted pursuant to section 204(c) of IEEPA, 50 
U.S.C. 1703(c), and section 401(c) of the National Emergencies 
Act, 50 U.S.C. 1641(c).
    1. Since the issuance of Executive Order 13047, the 
Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control 
(``OFAC'') has administered the Burma sanctions. OFAC continues 
to disseminate details of this program to the financial, 
securities, and international trade communities by both 
electronic and conventional media, as well as to the U.S. 
Embassy in Rangoon for distribution to U.S. companies operating 
in Burma. In the 6-month period since November 20, 2001, OFAC 
has issued no specific licenses authorizing transactions 
otherwise prohibited by the Burmese Sanctions Regulations, 31 
C.F.R. Part 537 (the ``Regulations''), and has neither assessed 
nor collected any civil monetary penalty for a violation of the 
Regulations.
    2. The expenses incurred by the Federal Government in the 
6-month period from November 20, 2001, that are directly 
attributable to the exercise of powers and authorities 
conferred by the declaration of a national emergency with 
respect to Burma are estimated at approximately $13,000, most 
of which represent wage and salary costs for Federal personnel. 
Personnel costs were largely centered in the Department of the 
Treasury (particularly in the Office of Foreign Assets Control, 
the Office of the Under Secretary for Enforcement, and the 
Office of the General Counsel) and the Department of State.
    3. After 19 months of UN-facilitated dialogue, the regime 
released opposition Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from house 
arrest on May 6, 2002. We welcome her release and hope this 
signals that the ruling generals in Rangoon are serious about 
political reform and democratization. We hope her release will 
be the first step in a process that leads to national 
reconciliation and a restoration of democracy. The regime still 
holds more than 1,000 political prisoners, and well-documented 
human rights abuses, particularly against ethnic minorities, 
continue. Burma has taken limited but still insufficient steps 
to counter narcotics productions and trafficking. Only a return 
to democracy and reintegration with the international community 
can bring the freedom and prosperity which the people of Burma 
both long for and deserve.
    The net effect of U.S. and international measures to 
pressure the SPDC to end its repression and move toward 
democratic government has been a further decline in investor 
confidence in Burma and deeper stagnation of the Burmese 
economy. Observers agree that the Burmese economy appears to be 
further weakening and that the government has a serious 
shortage of foreign exchange reserves with which to pay for 
imports. While Burma's economic crisis is largely a result of 
the State Peace and Development Council's (``SPDC'') own heavy-
handed mismanagement, the SPDC is unlikely to find a way out of 
the crisis unless political developments permit an easing of 
international pressure. The United States will closely monitor 
the situation within Burma as developments unfold. We will also 
consult with ASEAN, Japan, the European Union and other 
partners on how the international community can most 
effectively encourage further progress toward restoration of 
democracy.

                                  
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