I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2327 

To direct the Secretary of State to provide assistance to civil society organizations in Burma that work to secure the release of prisoners of conscience 

and political prisoners in Burma, and assistance to current and former 

prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in Burma, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 15, 2019 

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan (for himself and Mrs. WAGNER) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of State to provide assistance to 

civil society organizations in Burma that work to secure 

the release of prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in Burma, and assistance to current and former 

prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in Burma, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Burma Political Pris5 oners Assistance Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) Aung San Suu Kyi and the National 

4 League for Democracy (NLD) pledged that they 

5 ‘‘would not arrest anyone as political prisoners’’, but 

6 have failed to fulfill this promise since they took con7 trol of Burma’s Union Parliament and the Govern8 ment’s executive branch in April 2016. 

9 (2) As of March 1, 2019, there are 354 political 

10 prisoners in Burma, 43 of them serving sentences, 

11 86 awaiting trial inside prison, and 225 awaiting 

12 trial outside prison, according to the Assistance As13 sociation for Political Prisoners in Burma. 

14 (3) During its three years in power, the NLD 

15 Government has provided pardons for Burma’s polit16 ical prisoners on three occasions. State Counsellor 

17 Aung San Suu Kyi took steps to secure the release 

18 of nearly 235 political prisoners. On May 23, 2017, 

19 former President Htin Kyaw granted pardons to 259 

20 prisoners, including 89 political prisoners. On April 

21 17, 2018, current President Win Myint pardoned 

22 8,541 prisoners, including 36 political prisoners. 

23 (4) The Burmese security forces have used colo24 nial-era laws to arrest and charge political prisoners 

25 and prisoners of conscience. These laws include but 

26 are not limited to provisions of the Penal Code, the 


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1 Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Act, the 

2 1908 Unlawful Associations Act, the 2013 Tele3 communications Act, and the 1923 Official Secrets 

4 Act. 

5 (5) On January 5, 2015, then-President Thein 

6 Sein announced the reconstitution of the ‘‘Scruti7 nizing Committee into the Prisoners of Conscience 

8 Affairs Committee’’, which was to comprise 28 mem9 bers and which would ‘‘promptly [carry] out pris10 oners of conscience affairs at the grassroots level’’. 

11 However, the Committee never met and no informa12 tion has been made publicly available regarding its 

13 mandate, procedures, or activities. 

14 (6) On December 12, 2017, Reuters reporters 

15 Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested and 

16 charged with violating the Official Secrets Act, con17 tinuing a trend of restricting media and free speech 

18 and attempting to thwart coverage of the events in 

19 Rakhine State. 

20 (7) On September 3, 2018, Wa Lone and Kyaw 

21 Soe Oo were convicted and sentenced to seven years 

22 in prison. Time Magazine included pictures of the 

23 two reporters on the cover of its ‘‘Person of the 

24 Year’’ issue on December 10, 2018, as two of the 

25 ‘‘Guardians and the War on Truth’’. 


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1 (8) According to Burmese free speech organiza2 tion Athan, 44 journalists and 142 activists since 

3 2016 were charged with colonial-era laws used to sti4 fle dissent and restrict activist groups and have 

5 faced trial. 

6 (9) Since December 2018, three Kachin activ7 ists were sentenced to six months in prison in con8 nection with peaceful antiwar protests; a protester 

9 demonstrating against the Myitsone Dam (a con10 troversial Chinese-backed hydropower project) was 

11 charged for peaceful demonstrations, and police used 

12 excessive force to crack down on peaceful protesters 

13 in Kayah State, with some of the demonstrators 

14 charged under vaguely worded, repressive laws. 

15 (10) On August 18, 2017, Aung Ko Htwe was 

16 arrested because he gave a media interview in which 

17 he described his experience as a child soldier, includ18 ing how the military abducted and forcibly recruited 

19 him when he was 13 years old. He was charged 

20 under Section 505(b) of Burma’s Penal Code. He 

21 faces up to two-and-a-half years in jail from the date 

22 of his conviction. 

23 SEC. 3. CHILD SOLDIERS. 

24 It is the sense of Congress that former child soldier 

25 Aung Ko Htwe should be immediately and unconditionally 


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1 released, and that no one should be jailed for freely ex2 pressing him or herself or for speaking against the use 

3 of child soldiers. 

4 SEC. 4. PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that Burma must imme6 diately drop defamation charges against the three Kachin 

7 activists, Lum Zawng, Nang Pu, and Zau Jet, who led 

8 a peaceful rally in Mytkyina, the capital of Kachin State 

9 in April 2018, and that the prosecution of Lum Zawng, 

10 Nang Pu, and Zau Jet is an attempt by the Burmese au11 thorities to intimidate, harass, and silence community 

12 leaders and human rights defenders who speak out about 

13 military abuses and the impact on civilian populations. 

14 SEC. 5. PRESS FREEDOM. 

15 It is the sense of Congress that Burma must imme16 diately and unconditionally release Wa Lone and Kyaw 

17 Soe Oo, and that the imprisonment of these two Reuters 

18 journalists for documenting and reporting the crimes 

19 under international law committed against the Rohingya 

20 people is a gross injustice. Congress holds that press free21 dom is a fundamental human right and should be upheld 

22 and protected in Burma and everywhere. 

23 SEC. 6. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

24 It is the policy of the United States that— 


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1 (1) all prisoners of conscience and political pris2 oners in Burma should be unconditionally and im3 mediately released; 

4 (2) the Administration and the Department of 

5 State should use all of their diplomatic tools to en6 sure that all prisoners of conscience and political 

7 prisoners in Burma are released; and 

8 (3) the Burmese Government should repeal or 

9 amend all laws that violate the rights to freedom of 

10 expression, peaceful assembly, or association, and 

11 ensure that laws such as the Telecommunications 

12 Law of 2013 and the Unlawful Associations Act of 

13 1908, and laws relating to the right to peaceful as14 sembly, all comply with international human rights 

15 standards. 

16 SEC. 7. POLITICAL PRISONERS ASSISTANCE. 

17 The Secretary of State shall provide assistance to 

18 civil society organizations in Burma that work to secure 

19 the release of prisoners of conscience and political pris20 oners in Burma, and assistance to current and former 

21 prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in Burma. 

22 Such assistance shall include the following: 

23 (1) Support for the documentation of human 

24 rights violations with respect to prisoners of con25 science and political prisoners. 


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1 (2) Support for advocacy in Burma to raise 

2 awareness of issues relating to prisoners of con3 science and political prisoners. 

4 (3) Support for efforts to repeal or amend laws 

5 that are used to imprison individuals as either pris6 oners of conscience or political prisoners. 

7 (4) Support, including travel costs, and legal 

8 fees, for families of prisoners of conscience and polit9 ical prisoners. 

10 (5) Support for health, including mental health, 

11 and post-incarceration assistance in gaining access 

12 to education and employment opportunities or other 

13 forms of reparation to enable former prisoners of 

14 conscience and political prisoners to resume a nor15 mal life. 

16 (6) The creation, in consultation with former 

17 political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, their 

18 families, and representatives, of an independent pris19 oner review mechanism in Burma to review the cases 

20 of individuals who may have been charged or de21 prived of their liberty for peacefully exercising their 

22 human rights, review all laws used to arrest, pros23 ecute, and punish individuals as political prisoners 

24 and prisoners of conscience, and provide recVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2327.IH H2327

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1 ommendations to the Burmese Government for the 

2 repeal or amendment of all such laws. 

3 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE.—The term 

6 ‘‘prisoner of conscience’’ means a person imprisoned 

7 or otherwise physically restricted primarily because 

8 of his or her political, religious, or other conscien9 tiously held beliefs, ethnic origin, sex, race, ethnicity, 

10 language, national or social origin, economic status, 

11 birth, sexual orientation, or gender identity, or for 

12 exercising his or her right to freedom of expression 

13 or other human rights, and who has not used vio14 lence or advocated violence. 

15 (2) POLITICAL PRISONER.—The term ‘‘political 

16 prisoner’’ means a person who is arrested, detained, 

17 or imprisoned for political reasons under political 

18 charges or wrongfully under criminal and civil 

19 charges because of his or her perceived or known ac20 tive role in, perceived or known supporting role in, 

21 or perceived or known association with activities pro22 moting freedom, justice, equality, human rights, or 

23 civil and political rights, including ethnic rights. 

Æ 


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