III 

Calendar No. 321 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 320 

Congratulating the people of Burma on their commitment to peaceful 

elections. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 19, 2015 

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. RUBIO) 

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on Foreign Relations 

DECEMBER 10, 2015 

Reported by Mr. CORKER, with an amendment 

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

RESOLUTION 

Congratulating the people of Burma on their commitment 

to peaceful elections. 

Whereas Burma conducted general elections on November 8, 

2015, the country’s first national vote since a civilian 

government was introduced in 2011 that ended nearly 50 

years of military rule; 

Whereas the people of Burma have, by their vigorous participation in electoral campaigning and public debate, 

strengthened the foundations of a free and democratic 

way of life; 


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•SRES 320 RS 

Whereas preliminary reports indicate that voter turnout exceeded 80 percent; 

Whereas international observers have reported that election 

day was largely free and fair and conducted in an orderly 

and peaceful fashion despite broader structural concerns 

such as the disenfranchisement of the Rohingya; 

Whereas the ruling military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party suffered a dramatic loss at the polls, 

and the National League for Democracy won a sizable 

majority in both chambers of Burma’s Union Parliament, 

the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, and will select Burma’s next 

President; 

Whereas Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has 

symbolized the struggle for freedom and democracy in 

Burma and has actively supported democratic reform 

through her leadership of the National League for Democracy; 

Whereas the National League for Democracy espouses a policy of nonviolent movement towards multi-party democracy in Burma, supports national reconciliation, and endorses strengthening democratic institutions, protecting 

human rights, implementing free market economic reforms, and reinforcing rule of law; 

Whereas President Thein Sein and Commander-in-Chief Min 

Aug Hlaing made public commitments to respect the election results and vowed to abide by the law to ensure an 

orderly and prompt transition to a new government; and 

Whereas the continued democratic development of Burma is 

a matter of fundamental importance to the advancement 

of United States interests in Southeast Asia and is supVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:02 Dec 10, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR320.RS SR320

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•SRES 320 RS 

ported by the United States Senate: Now, therefore, be 

it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) congratulates the people of Burma for em3 bracing democracy through their participation in the 

4 November 8, 2015, general elections and for their 

5 continuing efforts in developing a free, democratic 

6 society that respects internationally recognized 

7 human rights; 

8 (2) recognizes the National League for Democ9 racy’s victory as a reflection of the will of the Bur10 mese people; 

11 (3) calls on the Union Solidarity Development 

12 Party to undertake a peaceful transfer of power and 

13 abide by the law to ensure an orderly and prompt 

14 transition to a new government; 

15 (4) encourages all parties to pursue national 

16 reconciliation talks and work together in the spirit 

17 of national unity to seek what is best for the coun18 try; 

19 (5) recognizes that while the Government of 

20 Burma has made important progress towards de21 mocratization, there remain important impediments 

22 to the realization of full democratic and civilian gov23 ernment, including the reservation of unelected seats 


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•SRES 320 RS 

1 for the military and the disenfranchisement of 

2 groups of people including the Rohingya; 

3 (6) expresses hope that newly elected members 

4 of parliament and a prompt and orderly transition 

5 to a new government will herald a new generation of 

6 responsible leadership in Burma; 

7 (7) calls on the Government of Burma to sup8 port meaningful efforts to reform the 2008 Constitu9 tion of Burma, with the full and unfettered partici10 pation of the people of Burma and in a manner that 

11 promotes and protects democratic development of 

12 Burma and safeguards against arbitrary interference 

13 by the military; 

14 (8) supports negotiations between the Govern15 ment of Burma and ethnic-based peoples and organi16 zations; 

17 (9) encourages the President of the United 

18 States to take further steps toward normalization of 

19 relations with Burma and consider the potential re20 laxation of restrictions should the Union Solidarity 

21 Development Party respect the election results and 

22 proceed with a prompt and orderly transition in 

23 power; and 

24 (10) reaffirms that the people of the United 

25 States will continue to stand with the people of 


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•SRES 320 RS 

1 Burma in support of democracy, partnership, and 

2 peace. 

3 That the Senate— 

4 (1) congratulates the people of Burma for em5 bracing democracy through their participation in the 

6 November 8, 2015, general elections, and for their 

7 continuing efforts in developing a free, democratic so8 ciety that respects internationally recognized human 

9 rights; 

10 (2) recognizes the National League for Democ11 racy’s victory as a reflection of the will of the Bur12 mese people; 

13 (3) calls on the Union Solidarity and Develop14 ment Party to undertake a peaceful transfer of power 

15 and abide by the law to ensure an orderly and 

16 prompt transition to a new government; 

17 (4) encourages all parties to pursue national rec18 onciliation talks and work together in the spirit of 

19 national unity to seek what is best for the country; 

20 (5) recognizes that while the Government of 

21 Burma has made important progress towards democ22 ratization, there remain serious challenges and im23 pediments to the realization of full democratic and ci24 vilian government, including the reservation of 


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•SRES 320 RS 

1 unelected seats for the military and the disenfran2 chisement of groups of people including the Rohingya; 

3 (6) expresses hope that newly elected members of 

4 parliament will contribute to the ongoing political 

5 transformation and will herald a new generation of 

6 responsible democratic leadership in Burma; 

7 (7) calls on the Government of Burma to support 

8 meaningful efforts to reform the 2008 Constitution of 

9 Burma, with the full and unfettered participation of 

10 all the people of Burma and in a manner that pro11 motes and protects democratic development of Burma 

12 and safeguards against arbitrary interference by the 

13 military; 

14 (8) calls on the Government of Burma to release 

15 all political prisoners; 

16 (9) supports negotiations between the Govern17 ment of Burma and ethnic groups and organizations 

18 toward a genuine national ceasefire; 

19 (10) encourages the President of the United 

20 States, in close and timely consultation with Con21 gress, to continue to support efforts to promote gen22 uine democratic transition and to ensure that any 

23 changes in United States policy toward Burma, in24 cluding the consideration of any potential relaxation 


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•SRES 320 RS 

1 of restrictions, are aligned with support for a genuine 

2 and sustainable democratic transition; and 

3 (11) reaffirms that the people of the United 

4 States will continue to stand with the people of 

5 Burma in support of democracy, partnership, and 

6 peace. 


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Calendar No. 321 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 320 

RESOLUTION 

Congratulating the people of Burma on their 

commitment to peaceful elections. 

DECEMBER 10, 2015 

Reported with an amendment 


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