IV

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. RES. 471

To urge the Government of Burma (Myanmar) to release Aung San Suu

Kyi, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 29, 1994

Mr. ACKERMAN (for himself and Mr. LEACH) submitted the following

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

RESOLUTION

To urge the Government of Burma (Myanmar) to release

Aung San Suu Kyi, and for other purposes.

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;
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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;

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 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, nor 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
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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,

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 credible reports continue to link 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;

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

2 SECTION 1. ACTIONS THAT SHOULD BE TAKEN BY THE

3 GOVERNMENT OF BURMA.

4 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that

5 the Government of Burma should—
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1 (1) immediately and unconditionally release

2 Burma’s political prisoners, including Aung San Suu

3 Kyi;

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

5 elected civilian government based upon the results of

6 the 1990 election;

7 (3) fully respect the human rights and fun8 damental freedoms that are the birthright of all peo9 ples;

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

11 portering for the military;

12 (5) allow free and confidential access to all pris13 oners, including prisoners of conscience, by inter14 national humanitarian agencies;

15 (6) implement fully the Memorandum of Under16 standing with United Nations Commission on

17 Human Rights and create the necessary conditions

18 to ensure an end to the flows of refugees to neigh19 boring countries and to facilitate the speedy repatri20 ation and full reintegration, under conditions of

21 safety and dignity, of those who have already fled

22 Burma;

23 (7) respect fully the obligations set forth in the

24 1949 Geneva Conventions, in particular the obliga25 tions in common article III, and make use of such
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1 relief services as may be offered by impartial hu2 manitarian bodies; and

3 (8) take effective law enforcement actions

4 against those individuals within the Burmese Gov5 ernment (including the Burmese military), as well as

6 those outside the government, who are engaged in

7 the production and trafficking of illicit narcotics.

8 SEC. 2. ACTIONS THAT SHOULD BE TAKEN BY THE GOV9 ERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

10 It is further the sense of the House of Representa11 tives that the President, the Secretary of State, and other

12 United States Government officials and representatives

13 should—

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

15 immediately and unconditionally, Aung San Suu Kyi

16 and other political prisoners;

17 (2) maintain the current United States ban on

18 all forms of nonhumanitarian assistance to Burma;

19 (3) disperse the funds previously appropriated

20 to support assistance for Burmese refugees and stu21 dents along the Thai/Burma border;

22 (4) maintain current limitations on the provi23 sion of bilateral narcotics control assistance to the

24 Government of Burma until that government dem25 onstrates a genuine commitment to combating the
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1 scourge of illicit narcotics production and traffick2 ing;

3 (5) continue to oppose loans to Burma in ac4 cordance with chapter 8 of part I of the Foreign As5 sistance Act of 1961;

6 (6) consider imposing further economic sanc7 tions against Burma, and encourage other members

8 of the international community to take similar steps;

9 (7) elevate the issues of democracy and human

10 rights in Burma in the conduct of United States re11 lations with other members of the international com12 munity, particularly in coordination with Japan,

13 China, and the members of the Association of South14 east Asian Nations;

15 (8) maintain United States support for the ap16 pointment by the United Nations Secretary General

17 of a special envoy to focus on conflict resolution as

18 the basis of national reconciliation and the restora19 tion of democracy in Burma;

20 (9) ensure that, during the July 1994 Post21 Ministerial Conference of the Association of South22 east Asian Nations, the Secretary of State calls on

23 the members of the Association of Southeast Asian

24 Nations to support the international consensus on

25 Burma by urging the Government of Burma to un-
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1 conditionally release Aung San Suu Kyi and to indi2 cate its willingness to cooperate with a special envoy

3 appointed by the United Nations Secretary General;

4 (10) maintain the unilateral United States

5 arms embargo against Burma, and encourage the

6 other members of the international community, most

7 particularly the members of the Association of

8 Southeast Asian Nations and the People’s Republic

9 of China, to prohibit arms sales and transfers to

10 Burma;

11 (11) encourage other members of the inter12 national community to halt all nonhumanitarian as13 sistance to Burma or, at a minimum, to condition

14 any new official assistance on significant progress by

15 the Government of Burma toward respecting the

16 human rights and fundamental freedoms of its peo17 ple; and

18 (12) continue to encourage the United Nations

19 and its specialized agencies operating in Burma—

20 (A) to use particular care to ensure that

21 their activities meet basic human needs, do not

22 benefit the present military regime in Rangoon,

23 and promote the enjoyment of internationally

24 recognized human rights, and
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1 (B) to work through nongovernmental or2 ganizations to the greatest possible extent.

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