III

Calendar No. 294

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 211

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 15, 2001

Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

DECEMBER 14, 2001

Reported by Mr. BIDEN, with an amendment and an amendment to the

preamble

[Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic]

[Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the part printed in italic]

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

prodemocracy 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 these demonstrations;

Whereas in the 1990 Burmese elections, Daw Aung San Suu

Kyi led the National League for Democracy and affiliated

parties 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

(SPDC), has continued to ignore the basic human rights

of 48,000,000 Burmese citizens and has brutally suppressed any opposition to its authority;

Whereas according to the State Department, the SPDC has

made no significant progress toward stopping 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 SPDC has forced civilians to work in industrial,

military, and infrastructure construction operations

throughout Burma, and on a large-scale basis has targeted ethnic and religious minorities for this work;
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Whereas a Department of Labor report in 2000 described the

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

Whereas the worldwide scourge of heroin and

methamphetamines is significantly aggravated by largescale cultivation and production of these drugs in Burma;

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 as many as a million internally displaced

persons in Burma;

Whereas the SPDC has severely restricted Daw Aung San

Suu Kyi’s political activities;

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 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has recently begun talks

with the SPDC which are welcomed by the international

community, although the slow pace of the talks reflects

on the SPDC’s sincerity to move toward national reconciliation;

1 Whereas the SPDC has recently allowed the National

2 League for Democracy to open some political offices,
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1 and has released some political prisoners, although over

2 1,800 such prisoners are believed to remain imprisoned;

3 Whereas with the exception of these positive developments

4 the SPDC has made little progress in improving

5 human rights conditions and restoring democracy to

6 the country;

7 Whereas the SPDC has continued to restrict the political

8 power of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the National

9 League for Democracy;

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

11 rights of her people has spread beyond politics and into

12 popular culture, as evidenced by others championing

13 her cause, most notably the rock group U2 in their song

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

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

16 has remained an outspoken champion of democracy

17 and freedom: Now, therefore, be it

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 prodemocracy demonstrations;

Whereas, in response to this call for change, the Burmese military brutally suppressed these demonstrations;

Whereas opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was placed

under house arrest after these demonstrations;

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

Kyi led the National League for Democracy and affiliated
5

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parties 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, assembly, association, and movement 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 December 10, 1991;

Whereas Daw Aung San Suu Kyi remained under unlawful

house arrest until 1995;

Whereas, even after the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the

Burmese military regime, known as the State Peace and

Development Council (in this concurrent resolution referred to as the ‘‘SPDC’’), has continued to ignore the

basic human rights of 48,000,000 Burmese citizens and

has brutally suppressed any opposition to its authority;

Whereas, according to the Department of State, the SPDC has

made no significant progress toward stopping the practice

of human trafficking, whereby thousands of people have

been sent to Thailand and other countries for the purpose

of factory and household work and for sexual exploitation;

Whereas the SPDC has forced civilians to work in industrial,

military, and infrastructure construction operations

throughout Burma, and on a large-scale 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;
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Whereas the Drug Enforcement Administration 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 as many as a million internally displaced

persons in Burma;

Whereas the SPDC continues to severely restrict the political

activities of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the National

League for Democracy;

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 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the SPDC have recently

begun talks under the auspices of the United Nations Special Envoy to Burma, Razali Ismail, which are welcomed

by the international community;

Whereas the SPDC 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;

Whereas, with the exception of these positive developments, the

SPDC has made little progress in improving human rights

conditions and restoring democracy to Burma;

Whereas the United Nations General Assembly has recently expressed its concern over the slow progress in the talks between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the SPDC;
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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;

Whereas Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom; and

Whereas, in the face of oppression and at great personal sacrifice, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has remained an outspoken champion of democracy and freedom: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives

2 concurring),

3 That—

4 (1) the Congress commends and congratulates

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

6 her receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, and recognizes

7 her remarkable contributions and tireless work to8 ward bringing peace and democracy to Burma;

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

10 President and Secretary of State should continue to

11 encourage the Government of Burma to restore basic

12 human rights to the Burmese people, to eliminate

13 the practice of human trafficking, to address the

14 manufacture of heroin and methamphetamines, to

15 continue the process of releasing political prisoners,

16 to recognize the results of the 1990 democratic elec-
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1 tions, and to allow Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the

2 National League for Democracy to enjoy unfettered

3 freedom of speech and freedom of movement; and

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

5 Aung San Suu Kyi should be invited to address a

6 joint meeting of the Congress at such time and

7 under such circumstances as will, in the judgment of

8 Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, advance rather than en9 danger her continued ability to work within Burma

10 for the rights of the Burmese people.

11 SECTION 1. COMMENDATION OF DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI

12 AND SENSE OF CONGRESS WITH RESPECT TO

13 THE GOVERNMENT OF BURMA.

14 (a) COMMENDATION OF DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI.—

15 Congress—

16 (1) commends and congratulates Daw Aung San

17 Suu Kyi on the 10th anniversary of her receiving the

18 Nobel Peace Prize; and

19 (2) recognizes her remarkable contributions and

20 tireless work toward bringing national reconciliation

21 and democracy to Burma.

22 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress

23 that the President and the Secretary of State should con24 tinue to encourage the SPDC to—
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1 (1) restore basic human rights to the Burmese

2 people;

3 (2) eliminate the practice of human trafficking;

4 (3) address the manufacture of heroin and

5 methamphetamines;

6 (4) release all political prisoners;

7 (5) remove all restrictions on the freedom of

8 speech, assembly, association, and movement of Daw

9 Aung San Suu Kyi and members of the National

10 League for Democracy;

11 (6) recognize the results of the 1990 democratic

12 elections; and

13 (7) take concrete steps to achieve national rec14 onciliation and the restoration of democracy through

15 genuine and substantive dialogue with Daw Aung

16 San Suu Kyi.
Calendar No. 294

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 211

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Commending Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on the 10th

anniversary of her receiving the Nobel PeacePrize and expressing the sense of the Congresswith respect to the Government of Burma.

DECEMBER 14, 2001

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the

preamble