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[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 471 Introduced in House (IH)]

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;
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 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 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
    Resolved,

SECTION 1. ACTIONS THAT SHOULD BE TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT OF BURMA.

    It is the sense of the House of Representatives that the Government 
of Burma should--
            (1) immediately and unconditionally release Burma's 
        political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi;
            (2) permit the transfer of political power to an elected 
        civilian government based upon the results of the 1990 
        election;
            (3) fully respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms 
        that are the birthright of all peoples;
            (4) end the practice of forced labor, including portering 
        for the military;
            (5) allow free and confidential access to all prisoners, 
        including prisoners of conscience, by international 
        humanitarian agencies;
            (6) implement fully the Memorandum of Understanding with 
        United Nations Commission on Human Rights and create the 
        necessary conditions to ensure an end to the flows of refugees 
        to neighboring countries and to facilitate the speedy 
        repatriation and full reintegration, under conditions of safety 
        and dignity, of those who have already fled Burma;
            (7) respect fully the obligations set forth in the 1949 
        Geneva Conventions, in particular the obligations in common 
        article III, and make use of such relief services as may be 
        offered by impartial humanitarian bodies; and
            (8) take effective law enforcement actions against those 
        individuals within the Burmese Government (including the 
        Burmese military), as well as those outside the government, who 
        are engaged in the production and trafficking of illicit 
        narcotics.

SEC. 2. ACTIONS THAT SHOULD BE TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED 
              STATES.

    It is further the sense of the House of Representatives that the 
President, the Secretary of State, and other United States Government 
officials and representatives should--
            (1) urge the Government of Burma to release, immediately 
        and unconditionally, Aung San Suu Kyi and other political 
        prisoners;
            (2) maintain the current United States ban on all forms of 
        nonhumanitarian assistance to Burma;
            (3) disperse the funds previously appropriated to support 
        assistance for Burmese refugees and students along the Thai/
        Burma border;
            (4) maintain current limitations on the provision of 
        bilateral narcotics control assistance to the Government of 
        Burma until that government demonstrates a genuine commitment 
        to combating the scourge of illicit narcotics production and 
        trafficking;
            (5) continue to oppose loans to Burma in accordance with 
        chapter 8 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961;
            (6) consider imposing further economic sanctions against 
        Burma, and encourage other members of the international 
        community to take similar steps;
            (7) elevate the issues of democracy and human rights in 
        Burma in the conduct of United States relations with other 
        members of the international community, particularly in 
        coordination with Japan, China, and the members of the 
        Association of Southeast Asian Nations;
            (8) maintain United States support for the appointment by 
        the United Nations Secretary General of a special envoy to 
        focus on conflict resolution as the basis of national 
        reconciliation and the restoration of democracy in Burma;
            (9) ensure that, during the July 1994 Post-Ministerial 
        Conference of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the 
        Secretary of State calls on the members of the Association of 
        Southeast Asian Nations to support the international consensus 
        on Burma by urging the Government of Burma to unconditionally 
        release Aung San Suu Kyi and to indicate its willingness to 
        cooperate with a special envoy appointed by the United Nations 
        Secretary General;
            (10) maintain the unilateral United States arms embargo 
        against Burma, and encourage the other members of the 
        international community, most particularly the members of the 
        Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the People's 
        Republic of China, to prohibit arms sales and transfers to 
        Burma;
            (11) encourage other members of the international community 
        to halt all nonhumanitarian assistance to Burma or, at a 
        minimum, to condition any new official assistance on 
        significant progress by the Government of Burma toward 
        respecting the human rights and fundamental freedoms of its 
        people; and
            (12) continue to encourage the United Nations and its 
        specialized agencies operating in Burma--
                    (A) to use particular care to ensure that their 
                activities meet basic human needs, do not benefit the 
                present military regime in Rangoon, and promote the 
                enjoyment of internationally recognized human rights, 
                and
                    (B) to work through nongovernmental organizations 
                to the greatest possible extent.
                                 <all>
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