IV

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 211

Commending Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on the 10th anniversary of her receiving

the Nobel Peace Prize and expressing the sense of the Congress with

respect to the Government of Burma.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 2, 2001

Mr. KING (for himself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. PITTS, Mr. STARK, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr.

OWENS, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. EVANS, Mr.

UNDERWOOD, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. CASTLE, and Mr. CHABOT) submitted the

following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on

International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Commending Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on the 10th anniversary of her receiving the Nobel Peace Prize and expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to the Government of Burma.

Whereas, since 1962, the people of Burma have lived under

a repressive military regime;

Whereas, in 1988, the people of Burma rose up in massive

pro-democracy demonstrations;

Whereas, in response to this call for change, the Burmese

military brutally suppressed these demonstrations;
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Whereas opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was

placed under house arrest after the start of these demonstrations;

Whereas, in the 1990 Burmese elections, Daw Aung San Suu

Kyi led the National League for Democracy to a landslide victory, winning 80 percent of the parliamentary

seats;

Whereas the ruling military regime rejected this election and

proceeded to arrest hundreds of members of the National

League for Democracy;

Whereas Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s freedom of speech was restricted by the military regime;

Whereas in recognition of her efforts to bring democracy to

Burma, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel

Peace Prize on October 14, 1991;

Whereas Daw Aung San Suu Kyi remained under unlawful

house arrest until 1995;

Whereas, even after her release, the Burmese military regime,

known as the State Peace and Development Council, has

continued to ignore the basic human rights of 45,000,000

Burmese citizens and has brutally suppressed any opposition to its authority;

Whereas, according to the State Department, the Burmese

Government has made no significant effort to stop the

practice of human trafficking, whereby thousands of people have been sent to Thailand for the purpose of factory

and household work and for sexual exploitation;

Whereas the Burmese Government has forced civilians to

work in industrial, military, and infrastructure construction operations throughout Burma, and on a large-scale
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basis has targeted ethnic and religious minorities for this

work;

Whereas a Department of Labor report in 2000 described the

human rights abuses of forced laborers, including beating, torture, starvation, and summary executions;

Whereas Burma significantly contributes to the worldwide

scourge of heroin and methamphetamines through largescale cultivation and production of these drugs;

Whereas the Drug Enforcement Agency has reported that

Burma is the world’s second largest producer of opium

and opiate-based drugs;

Whereas officials in Thailand have estimated that as many as

800 million tablets of methamphetamine will be smuggled

into their country this year, contributing to the growing

methamphetamine problem in Thailand;

Whereas there are more than 5,000,000 internal refugees in

Burma;

Whereas the Burmese Government has restricted Daw Aung

San Suu Kyi’s political activities through threats and intimidation;

Whereas in September 2000, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was

placed under house arrest when she attempted to visit a

National League for Democracy party office on the outskirts of Rangoon, and again when she attempted to travel by train to Mandalay;

Whereas the Burmese Government has recently allowed the

National League for Democracy to open some political offices, and has released some political prisoners, although

over 1,800 such prisoners are believed to remain imprisoned;
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Whereas the Burmese Government has made little progress

in improving human rights conditions and opening the

way for free elections;

Whereas the Burmese Government has rejected the efforts of

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to establish a timetable for a

dialogue on national reconciliation;

Whereas the Burmese Government has continued to restrict

the political power of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the

National League for Democracy;

Whereas Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s struggle to assert the

rights of her people has spread beyond politics and into

popular culture, as evidenced by others championing her

cause, most notably the rock group U2 in their song

‘‘Walk On’’, which is banned in Burma; and

Whereas, in the face of oppression, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

has remained an outspoken champion of democracy and

freedom: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That—

3 (1) the Congress commends and congratulates

4 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on the 10th anniversary of

5 her receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, and recognizes

6 her remarkable contributions and tireless work to7 ward bringing peace and democracy to Burma;

8 (2) it is the sense of the Congress that the

9 President and Secretary of State should continue to

10 encourage the Government of Burma to restore basic

11 human rights to the Burmese people, to eliminate
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1 the practice of human trafficking, to address the

2 manufacture of heroine and methamphetamines, to

3 continue the process of releasing political prisoners,

4 to recognize the results of the 1990 democratic elec5 tions, and to allow Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the

6 National League for Democracy to enjoy unfettered

7 freedom of speech and freedom of movement; and

8 (3) it is the sense of the Congress that Daw

9 Aung San Suu Kyi should be invited to address a

10 joint meeting of the Congress.

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