IV
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 188
Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to increasing political
oppression in Burma.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 13, 1996
Mr. ROHRABACHER submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on International Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to
increasing political oppression in Burma.
Whereas since 1962 Burma has been ruled by a military dic-
tatorship;
Whereas as part of a crackdown against the Burmese pro-de-
mocracy movement, the State Law and Order Restoration
Council (hereafter in this resolution referred to as
‘‘SLORC’’) was established by the military dictatorship
in 1988;
Whereas on May 27, 1990, the people of Burma voted over-
whelmingly in a free election for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
and the National League for Democracy (hereafter in
this resolution referred to as ‘‘NLD’’);
•HCON 188 IH
Whereas despite numerous pledges, the SLORC has failed to
honor the results of the 1990 elections;
Whereas the United States has not sent an ambassador to
Rangoon in protest of the failure of the SLORC to honor
the 1990 elections and the continued human rights
abuses suffered by the Burmese people;
Whereas in response to the massacre of thousands of Bur-
mese participating in peaceful democratic demonstra-
tions, the Congress adopted a provision as part of the
Customs and Trade Act of 1990 requiring the President
to impose appropriate economic sanctions on Burma;
Whereas currently the United States has suspended economic
aid to Burma, placed an embargo on arms sales, denied
Burma benefits under the Generalized System of Pref-
erences (GSP), and decertified Burma as a narcotics co-
operating country;
Whereas the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal
Years 1994 and 1995 (Public Law 103–236), approved
April 30, 1994, placed Burma on the list of international
‘‘outlaw’’ states that includes Libya, North Korea, and
Iraq and which is set forth in section 307(a) of the For-
eign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2227(a)), thus
mandating that voluntary United States funding for any
United Nations agency will be automatically reduced if
the agency conducts programs in Burma;
Whereas on July 15, 1994, the Senate adopted Senate Reso-
lution 234 calling on the executive branch to encourage
members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) to work with the United States to achieve the
transfer of power to the winners of Burma’s 1990 demo-
cratic election;
•HCON 188 IH
Whereas on July 25, 1994, the House of Representatives
adopted House Resolution 471, which urged the Burmese
regime to transfer power to democratically elected leaders
of Burma and to respect human rights;
Whereas on June 28, 1995, the House of Representatives
agreed to an amendment to H.R. 1868, which prohibited
funds for international narcotics control or crop substi-
tution assistance for the Burmese regime;
Whereas in early 1995 the SLORC conducted a military cam-
paign against ethnic minorities, many of whom are Chris-
tian, along the border between Burma and Thailand, in-
cluding the headquarters of the Democratic Alliance of
Burma at Mannerplaw;
Whereas on July 10, 1995, after six years of unlawful deten-
tion, the SLORC released Nobel Peace Prize winner Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the NLD;
Whereas since the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the SLORC
has rejected her efforts to establish a timetable for dia-
logue and national reconciliation and has denied the
NLD a meaningful role in a credible political process;
Whereas the 1995 Human Rights Watch World Report states
that Muslims in the Arakan State, a province of Burma,
are subject to forced relocations, forced labor, and reli-
gious persecution;
Whereas on December 19, 1995, the House of Representa-
tives adopted House Resolution 274, which calls on the
Burmese regime to begin a political dialogue with demo-
cratically elected leaders of Burma, release political pris-
oners, guarantee respect for basic human rights, and re-
store civilian and democratic rule to the people of Burma;
•HCON 188 IH
Whereas Aung San Suu Kyi has called for a halt to private
foreign investment until progress towards democracy be-
gins in Burma;
Whereas various United States cities have passed resolutions
condemning United States private investment in Burma;
Whereas protests on university campuses against United
States policy in Burma are growing in frequency;
Whereas the SLORC regime has purchased $2,000,000,000
in weapons over the last 3 years from the People’s Re-
public of China and other countries;
Whereas on June 7, 1996, SLORC passed Law 5/96, which
outlawed the drawing up, writing, or distribution of the
state constitution of Burma without legal authorization;
Whereas penalties for writing a constitution involve a mini-
mum of 3 years and a maximum of 20 years in prison,
in addition to unspecified fines;
Whereas during the period of May 26th-29th, 1996, 258 del-
egates to a conference on democracy in Rangoon were ar-
rested and jailed;
Whereas of the 258 delegates arrested, 238 were elected in
1990 as members of the parliament;
Whereas the Report of the Special Representative of the
United Nations, published in March, 1996, indicated that
forced labor, forced porterage, torture, and arbitrary kill-
ing are still widespread in Burma;
Whereas SLORC has refused to file any charges against
Khun Sa, the world’s most notorious heroin trafficker,
and rejected requests by the United States to have him
extradited to the United States;
•HCON 188 IH
Whereas the Karenni and the Karen, ethnic groups in
Burma, are strong supporters of democracy and the
United States;
Whereas thousands of innocent Karenni civilians have been
killed by unprovoked attacks by SLORC troops in the
Karenni state;
Whereas the Karen ethnic group faces constant attacks by
SLORC troops, resulting in many deaths and destruction
of villages; and
Whereas in the near future, Aung San Suu Kyi and members
of the democratic movement in Burma may begin to
write a legitimate state constitution for the people of
Burma: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That if the SLORC regime arrests Aung San
Suu Kyi, otherwise limits her freedom, or exiles her—
(1) the Congress will adopt legislation to pro-
hibit future investment in Burma; and
(2) the United States should use all means nec-
essary to bring Khun Sa to trial in the United
States.
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