H. Res. 471

In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

July 25, 1994.

Whereas in 1988, the Burmese regime brutally suppressed

nationwide pro-democracy demonstrations, resulting in

the deaths of several thousand people and the imprisonment of several thousand others;

Whereas in 1989, the Burmese regime placed under house arrest Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of Burma’s founding father and the most prominent figure in the pro-democracy movement;

Whereas in May 1990, the Burmese people in free and fair

elections awarded over 80 percent of the National Assembly seats to the National League for Democracy;

Whereas the military regime responded to this expression of

the will of the Burmese people not only by refusing to relinquish power, but by further cracking down on opposition politicians and those who supported democracy and

human rights in Burma;

Whereas the inhumane practices of the regime prompted a

quarter million Rohingya refugees to flee into Bangladesh, where most remain today in refugee camps;

Whereas in 1991, Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel

Peace Prize for her efforts on behalf of a peaceful transition to democracy in Burma;
2

HRES 471 EH

Whereas in 1993, several past winners of the Nobel Peace

Prize, having been denied permission to visit Burma,

traveled to Thailand to call for the release of Aung San

Suu Kyi;

Whereas martial law remains in effect in Burma today, with

hundreds of political prisoners in custody, human rights

frequently violated, and national minorities driven into

exile;

Whereas the Government of Burma has denied international

humanitarian agencies free and confidential access to

prisoners;

Whereas credible reports continue to link Burmese Government officials to the illegal trafficking into Thailand, for

purposes of forced prostitution, of approximately 10,000

Burmese women and girls each year, many of whom are

deported back to Burma infected with the virus that

causes the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (commonly referred to as the ‘‘HIV virus’’);

Whereas the national convention convened by the Burmese

Government in January 1993 to begin work on a new

constitution does not have the mandate of the Burmese

people, not appear to be progressing toward putting political power in the hands of a freely elected civilian government;

Whereas the United Nations Commission on Human Rights

and United Nations General Assembly have adopted consensus resolutions deploring the human rights situation

in Burma and expressing grave concerns about the lack

of progress toward democracy as well as abuses such as

summary and arbitrary executions, torture, forced labor,
3

HRES 471 EH

and oppressive measures against women and ethnic and

religious minorities;

Whereas Burma has for many years been the world’s largest

producer of opium and heroin;

Whereas the United States Government in each of the past

5 years has denied the Government of Burma certification under chapter 8 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 due to a lack of cooperation on narcotics control efforts;

Whereas the problem of drug production and trafficking in

Burma cannot be adequately addressed until there is a

restoration of democracy in that country;

Whereas credible reports continue to kink Burmese Government officials and military officers to drug trafficking;

Whereas since 1988 the United States has been in the forefront of international efforts to promote democracy and

human rights in Burma;

Whereas in 1992, the House of Representatives adopted

House Resolution 473, which condemned human rights

abuses in Burma and called upon the President to seek

a mandatory international arms embargo against Burma;

Whereas in fiscal year 1993 the Congress earmarked

$1,000,000 to support assistance for Burmese refugees

and students on both sides of the Thai/Burma border;

Whereas United States corporations are under increasing

pressure from stockholders to divest their holdings in

Burma and otherwise to refuse to do business in Burma

so long as the current military regime continues to abuse

the political and human rights of its people;
4

HRES 471 EH

Whereas the Government of Thailand has invited the Burmese regime to participate in some of the meetings of the

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in July

1994;

Whereas the Government of Thailand has prohibited senior

officials of the National Coalition Government of the

Union of Burma from entering Thailand;

Whereas July 19, 1994, will mark the 5th anniversary of

Aung San Suu Kyi’s imprisonment;

Whereas in March 1994 the United Nations Commission on

Human Rights noted measures taken by the Government

of Burma (including the reopening of universities, the release of over 2,000 political prisoners, the signing of a

Memorandum of Understanding providing for a United

Nations Commission on Human Rights presence in

Arakan province to monitor the voluntary repatriation

and reintegration of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh,

and the achievement of cease-fire agreements with several

ethnic and religious minority groups in Burma), but at

the same time deplored the continued seriousness of the

human rights situation in Burma; and

Whereas the Government of Burma has for the first time

permitted meetings between foreign visitors and political

prisoners (including Aung San Suu Kyi), but continues

to deny the United Nations special rapporteur access to

Aung San Suu Kyi: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved,
5

HRES 471 EH

1 SECTION 1. ACTIONS THAT SHOULD BE TAKEN BY THE

2 GOVERNMENT OF BURMA.

3 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that

4 the Government of Burma should—

5 (1) immediately and unconditionally release

6 Burma’s political prisoners, including Aung San Suu

7 Kyi;

8 (2) permit the transfer of political power to an

9 elected civilian government based upon the results of

10 the 1990 election;

11 (3) fully respect the human rights and fun12 damental freedoms that are the birthright of all peo13 ples;

14 (4) end the practice of forced labor, including

15 portering for the military;

16 (5) allow free and confidential access to all pris17 oners, including prisoners of conscience, by inter18 national humanitarian agencies;

19 (6) permit international human rights organiza20 tions regular access to villages and detention centers

21 to monitor the repatriation of Burmese victims of il22 legal trafficking into Thailand for purposes of forced

23 prostitution;

24 (7) implement fully the Memorandum of Under25 standing with United Nations Commission on

26 Human Rights and create the necessary conditions
6

HRES 471 EH

1 to ensure an end to the flows of refugees to neigh2 boring countries and to facilitate the speedy repatri3 ation and full reintegration, under conditions of

4 safety and dignity, of those who have already fled

5 Burma;

6 (8) respect fully the obligations set forth in the

7 1949 Geneva Conventions, in particular the obliga8 tions in common article III, and make use of such

9 relief services as may be offered by impartial hu10 manitarian bodies; and

11 (9) take effective law enforcement actions

12 against those individuals within the Burmese Gov13 ernment (including the Burmese military), as well as

14 those outside the government, who are engaged in

15 the production and trafficking of illicit narcotics.

16 SEC. 2. ACTIONS THAT SHOULD BE TAKEN BY THE GOV17 ERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

18 Is it further the sense of the House of Representa19 tives that the President, the Secretary of State, and other

20 United States Government officials and representatives

21 should—

22 (1) urge the Government of Burma to release,

23 immediately and unconditionally, Aung San Suu Kyi

24 and other political prisoners;
7

HRES 471 EH

1 (2) maintain the current United States ban on

2 all forms of nonhumanitarian assistance to Burma;

3 (3) disperse the funds previously appropriated

4 to support assistance for Burmese refugees and stu5 dents along the Thai/Burma border;

6 (4) maintain current limitations on the provi7 sion of bilateral narcotics control assistance to the

8 Government of Burma until that government dem9 onstrates a genuine commitment to combating the

10 scourge of illicit narcotics production and trafficking

11 while continuing, and if appropriate, strengthening

12 international efforts through the United Nations

13 Drug Control Program to reduce and eliminate the

14 massive heroin production and trade from Burma

15 that now threatens the world;

16 (5) continue to oppose loans to Burma in ac17 cordance with chapter 8 of part I of the Foreign As18 sistance Act of 1961;

19 (6) consider imposing further economic sanc20 tions against Burma, and encourage other members

21 of the international community to take similar steps;

22 (7) elevate the issues of democracy and human

23 rights in Burma in the conduct of United States re24 lations with other members of the international com25 munity, particularly in coordination with Japan,
8

HRES 471 EH

1 China, and the members of the Association of South2 east Asian Nations;

3 (8) maintain United States support for the ap4 pointment by the United Nations Secretary General

5 of the special envoy to focus on conflict resolution as

6 the basis of national reconciliation and the restora7 tion of democracy in Burma;

8 (9) urge the Government of Thailand to work

9 with the Government of Burma to investigate the in10 volvement of border policy in both countries in the

11 illegal trafficking of women and girls into Thailand

12 for purposes of forced prostitution;

13 (10) ensure that, during the July 1994 Post14 Ministerial Conference of the Association of South15 east Asian Nations, the Secretary of State calls on

16 the members of the Association of Southeast Asian

17 Nations to support the international consensus on

18 Burma by urging the Government of Burma to un19 conditionally release Aung San Suu Kyi and to indi20 cate its willingness to cooperate with a special envoy

21 appointed by the United Nations Security General;

22 (11) maintain the unilateral United States

23 arms embargo against Burma, and encourage the

24 other members of the international community, most

25 particularly People’s Republic of China, Thailand,
9

HRES 471 EH

1 and the other members of the Association of South2 east Asian Nations to prohibit arms sales and trans3 fers to Burma;

4 (12) encourage other members of the inter5 national community to halt all nonhumanitarian as6 sistance to Burma or, at a minimum, to condition

7 any new official assistance on significant progress by

8 the Government of Burma toward respecting the

9 human rights and fundamental freedoms of its peo10 ple;

11 (13) encourage the legislatures of other nations

12 to call for the restoration of a democratic govern13 ment in Burma, including the release from prison of

14 Aung San Suu Kyi and the other parliamentarians

15 elected in 1990; and

16 (14) continue to encourage the United Nations

17 and its specialized agencies operating in Burma—

18 (A) to use particular care to ensure that

19 their activities meet basic human needs, do not

20 benefit the present military regime in Rangoon,

21 and promote the enjoyment of internationally

22 recognized human rights, and
10

HRES 471 EH

1 (B) to work through nongovernmental or2 ganizations to the greatest possible extent.

Attest:

Clerk.