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“UNLAWFUL IMPRISONMENT OF DR. SALAI TUN THAN BY THE BURMESE GOVERNMENT” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H2943 on April 9, 2003.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
UNLAWFUL IMPRISONMENT OF DR. SALAI TUN THAN BY THE BURMESE GOVERNMENT
(Mr. BURNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on a matter of great importance to my constituents in Athens, Georgia, the unlawful imprisonment of Dr. Salai Tun Than. Dr. Tun Than is a graduate of the University of Georgia and is being held as a political prisoner by the Burmese Government for making a pro-democracy speech. He is 74 years old, in poor health, and may not live through the ordeal of imprisonment. The Burmese Government is a military dictatorship. It does not respect the individual freedoms that we as Americans hold dear. Matthew Daley, the State Department chief for the Bureau of East Asia and the Pacific testified on the conditions in Burma before the House Committee on International Relations last month. He said: ``The military dictatorship in Burma severely abuses the human rights of its citizens. There is no real freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, or travel. Patterns of abuse are even worse in ethnic minority areas.''
Mr. Speaker, the situation in Burma is unacceptable. We must work to stop this regime from imprisoning political dissidents and work toward a freer nation for all Burmese citizens. I call on the Burmese Government for the immediate release of Dr. Salai Tun Than.
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