H. Res. 471
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,
July 25, 1994.
Whereas in 1988, the Burmese regime brutally suppressed
nationwide pro-democracy demonstrations, resulting in
the deaths of several thousand people and the imprison-
ment of several thousand others;
Whereas in 1989, the Burmese regime placed under house ar-
rest Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of Burma’s found-
ing father and the most prominent figure in the pro-de-
mocracy movement;
Whereas in May 1990, the Burmese people in free and fair
elections awarded over 80 percent of the National Assem-
bly 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 re-
linquish power, but by further cracking down on opposi-
tion 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 Ban-
gladesh, 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 transi-
tion to democracy in Burma;
HRES 471 EH
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 credible reports continue to link Burmese Govern-
ment officials to the illegal trafficking into Thailand, for
purposes of forced prostitution, of approximately 10,000
Burmese women and girls each year, many of whom are
deported back to Burma infected with the virus that
causes the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (com-
monly referred to as the ‘‘HIV virus’’);
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, not appear to be progressing toward putting polit-
ical power in the hands of a freely elected civilian govern-
ment;
Whereas the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
and United Nations General Assembly have adopted con-
sensus 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,
HRES 471 EH
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 certifi-
cation under chapter 8 of part I of the Foreign Assist-
ance Act of 1961 due to a lack of cooperation on narcot-
ics control efforts;
Whereas the problem of drug production and trafficking in
Burma cannot be adequately addressed until there is a
restoration of democracy in that country;
Whereas credible reports continue to kink Burmese Govern-
ment officials and military officers to drug trafficking;
Whereas since 1988 the United States has been in the fore-
front 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;
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Whereas the Government of Thailand has invited the Bur-
mese 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 re-
lease 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,
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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 fun-
damental freedoms that are the birthright of all peo-
ples;
(4) end the practice of forced labor, including
portering for the military;
(5) allow free and confidential access to all pris-
oners, including prisoners of conscience, by inter-
national humanitarian agencies;
(6) permit international human rights organiza-
tions regular access to villages and detention centers
to monitor the repatriation of Burmese victims of il-
legal trafficking into Thailand for purposes of forced
prostitution;
(7) implement fully the Memorandum of Under-
standing with United Nations Commission on
Human Rights and create the necessary conditions