The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“RECOGNITION OF ANNIVERSARY OF FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS IN BURMA” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S7282-S7283 on July 19, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
RECOGNITION OF ANNIVERSARY OF FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS IN BURMA
Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to immediate consideration of Calendar No. 656, S. Con. Res. 113.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the concurrent resolution by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 113) expressing the sense of the Congress in recognition of the 10th anniversary of the free and fair elections in Burma and the urgent need to improve the democratic and human rights of the people of Burma.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the concurrent resolution which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign Relations, with an amendment to insert the part printed in italic.
S. Con. Res. 113
Whereas in 1988 thousands of Burmese citizens called for a democratic change in Burma and participated in peaceful demonstrations to achieve this result;
Whereas these demonstrations were brutally repressed by the Burmese military, resulting in the loss of hundreds of lives;
Whereas, despite continued repression, the Burmese people turned out in record numbers to vote in elections deemed free and fair by international observers;
Whereas on May 27, 1990, the National League for Democracy
(NLD) led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi won more than 60 percent of the popular vote and 80 percent of the parliamentary seats in the elections;
Whereas the Burmese military rejected the results of the elections, placed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and hundreds of members of the NLD under arrest, pressured members of the NLD to resign, and severely restricted freedom of assembly, speech, and the press;
Whereas 48,000,000 people in Burma continue to suffer gross violations of human rights, including the right to democracy, and economic deprivation under a military regime known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC);
Whereas on September 16, 1998, the members of the NLD and other political parties who won the 1990 elections joined together to form the Committee Representing the People's Parliament (CRPP) as an interim mechanism to address human rights, economic and other conditions, and provide representation of the political views and voice of Members of Parliament elected to but denied office in 1990;
Whereas the United Nations General Assembly and Commission on Human Rights have condemned in nine consecutive resolutions the persecution of religious and ethnic minorities and the political opposition, and SPDC's record of forced labor, exploitation, and sexual violence against women;
Whereas the United States and the European Union Council of Foreign Ministers have similarly condemned conditions in Burma and officially imposed travel restrictions and other sanctions against the SPDC;
Whereas in May 1999, the International Labor Organization
(ILO) condemned the SPDC for inflicting forced labor on the people and has banned the SPDC from participating in any ILO meetings;
Whereas the 1999 Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for Burma identifies more than 1,300 people who continue to suffer inhumane detention conditions as political prisoners in Burma;
Whereas the Department of State International Narcotics Control Report for 2000 determines that Burma is the second largest world-wide source of illicit opium and heroin and that there are continuing, reliable reports that Burmese officials are ``involved in the drug business or are paid to allow the drug business to be conducted by others'', conditions which pose a direct threat to United States national security interests; and
Whereas, despite these massive violations of human rights and civil liberties and chronic economic deprivation, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and members of the NLD have continued to call for a peaceful political dialogue with the SPDC to achieve a democratic transition: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
(1) United States policy should strongly support the restoration of democracy in Burma, including implementation of the results of the free and fair elections of 1990;
(2) United States policy should continue to call upon the military regime in Burma known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)--
(A) to guarantee freedom of assembly, freedom of movement, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press for all Burmese citizens;
(B) to immediately accept a political dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy (NLD), and ethnic leaders to advance peace and reconciliation in Burma;
(C) to immediately and unconditionally release all detained Members elected to the 1990 parliament and other political prisoners; and
(D) to promptly and fully uphold the terms and conditions of all human rights and related resolutions passed by the United Nations General Assembly, the Commission on Human Rights, the International Labor Organization, and the European Union; and
(3) United States policy should sustain current economic and political sanctions against Burma, and seek multilateral support for those sanctions, as the appropriate means--
(A) to secure the restoration of democracy, human rights, and civil liberties in Burma; and
(B) to support United States national security counternarcotics interests.
Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment to the resolution be agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The committee amendment was agreed to.
Mr. BURNS. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution, as amended, be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to this resolution be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 113), as amended, was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The concurrent resolution, as amended, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Con. Res. 113
Whereas in 1988 thousands of Burmese citizens called for a democratic change in Burma and participated in peaceful demonstrations to achieve this result;
Whereas these demonstrations were brutally repressed by the Burmese military, resulting in the loss of hundreds of lives;
Whereas, despite continued repression, the Burmese people turned out in record numbers to vote in elections deemed free and fair by international observers;
Whereas on May 27, 1990, the National League for Democracy
(NLD) led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi won more than 60 percent of the popular vote and 80 percent of the parliamentary seats in the elections;
Whereas the Burmese military rejected the results of the elections, placed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and hundreds of members of the NLD under arrest, pressured members of the NLD to resign, and severely restricted freedom of assembly, speech, and the press;
Whereas 48,000,000 people in Burma continue to suffer gross violations of human rights, including the right to democracy, and economic deprivation under a military regime known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC);
Whereas on September 16, 1998, the members of the NLD and other political parties who won the 1990 elections joined together to form the Committee Representing the People's Parliament (CRPP) as an interim mechanism to address human rights, economic and other conditions, and provide representation of the political views and voice of Members of Parliament elected to but denied office in 1990;
Whereas the United Nations General Assembly and Commission on Human Rights have condemned in nine consecutive resolutions the persecution of religious and ethnic minorities and the political opposition, and SPDC's record of forced labor, exploitation, and sexual violence against women;
Whereas the United States and the European Union Council of Foreign Ministers have similarly condemned conditions in Burma and officially imposed travel restrictions and other sanctions against the SPDC;
Whereas in May 1999, the International Labor Organization
(ILO) condemned the SPDC for inflicting forced labor on the people and has banned the SPDC from participating in any ILO meetings;
Whereas the 1999 Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for Burma identifies more than 1,300 people who continue to suffer inhumane detention conditions as political prisoners in Burma;
Whereas the Department of State International Narcotics Control Report for 2000 determines that Burma is the second largest world-wide source of illicit opium and heroin and that there are continuing, reliable reports that Burmese officials are ``involved in the drug business or are paid to allow the drug business to be conducted by others'', conditions which pose a direct threat to United States national security interests; and
Whereas, despite these massive violations of human rights and civil liberties and chronic economic deprivation, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and members of the NLD have continued to call for a peaceful political dialogue with the SPDC to achieve a democratic transition: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
(1) United States policy should strongly support the restoration of democracy in Burma, including implementation of the results of the free and fair elections of 1990;
(2) United States policy should continue to call upon the military regime in Burma known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)--
(A) to guarantee freedom of assembly, freedom of movement, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press for all Burmese citizens;
(B) to immediately accept a political dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy (NLD), and ethnic leaders to advance peace and reconciliation in Burma;
(C) to immediately and unconditionally release all detained Members elected to the 1990 parliament and other political prisoners; and
(D) to promptly and fully uphold the terms and conditions of all human rights and related resolutions passed by the United Nations General Assembly, the Commission on Human Rights, the International Labor Organization, and the European Union; and
(3) United States policy should sustain current economic and political sanctions against Burma, and seek multilateral support for those sanctions, as the appropriate means--
(A) to secure the restoration of democracy, human rights, and civil liberties in Burma; and
(B) to support United States national security counternarcotics interests.
Passed the Senate July 19, 2000.
____________________
