10/02/2007

Senate Approves Kerry Resolution Condemning Military Crackdown in Burma

McConnell, McCain, Brownback join Kerry, Reid in supporting measure in support of democratic activists

WASHINGTON D.C. – Sen. John Kerry announced today that this afternoon the Senate unanimously approved the resolution he introduced condemning the harsh military crackdown on Buddhist monks and pro-democracy protestors in Burma. Sen. Kerry spoke out on the Senate floor last week in strong support of the Burmese people and the monks who had risked their lives demanding a return to democracy. The resolution marks the first official action Congress has taken in the wake of the violent crackdown on protestors that began last week.

“The world must send a clear message to the junta in Burma that it is unacceptable to respond to non-violent protestors with bullets, tear-gas and beatings. Ultimately the only solution for Burma can be found in a political dialogue that begins with tolerance and mutual respect,” Kerry said. “I hope that this resolution and the Senate’s unanimous strong condemnation reminds the Burmese junta that the United States speaks with one voice against this brutal military regime and that we stand united in support of long-overdue dialogue towards national reconciliation and the return of democracy.”



The Kerry-McConnell bi-partisan resolution calls for the release of Nobel prize winter Aung Sang Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners; the suspension of military assistance from China; pressures Burma’s ruling junta to engage in dialogue with opposition leaders; argues that the U.S. and the United Nations encourage China, India, and Russia to use their influence to convince Burma to engage in dialogue towards national reconciliation; and urges the international community to pressure Burma to lift all restrictions on humanitarian aid delivery and allow international humanitarian aid organizations to work unimpeded.



“Last night, the Senate strongly condemned the violent repression of those seeking democracy in Burma,” said Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE). “But our condemnation alone won’t change anything in Burma. What is needed now is for the international community to bring pressure on the Generals who run Burma to hand over power to a civilian government. Burma’s neighbors – China, India and Thailand – hold the key to a peaceful transition in Burma. We should work with them to bring about change.”



The text of Kerry’s resolution is below:



Expressing the Sense of the Senate on the situation in Burma



110th CONGRESS


1st Session


S. RES. ______



Mr. Kerry (for himself, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Biden, Mr. Lugar, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Menendez, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Reid, Mr. Levin, Mr. Hagel, Mr. McCain, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Casey, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Brownback, and Mr. Sununu) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on



Whereas, hundreds of thousands of Burmese citizens, including thousands of Buddhist monks and students, engaged in peaceful demonstrations against the policies of the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), demanding that the State Peace and Development Council release all political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and urging that the government agree to a meaningful tripartite dialogue with Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy (NLD), and the ethnic minorities towards national reconciliation;



Whereas, the State Peace and Development Council violently dispersed the peaceful demonstrators, killing at least 10 (and reportedly more than 200) unarmed protesters, including a number of monks and a Japanese journalist, and arrested hundreds of others, and continues to forcibly suppress peaceful protests;



Whereas, the National League for Democracy won a majority of seats in the parliamentary elections of 1990, but the State Peace and Development Council refused to uphold the results or to negotiate a transition to civilian rule and subsequently placed Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest;



Whereas, Aung San Suu Kyi has spent most of the past 18 years under house arrest or in jail, and is currently being held in government custody, cut off from her followers and the international community;



Whereas, 59 world leaders, including 3 former presidents of the United States, have called on the State Peace and Development Council to release Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners;



Whereas, the State Peace and Development Council has destroyed more than 3,000 villages, systematically and violently repressed ethnic minorities, displaced approximately 2,000,000 Burmese people, and arrested approximately 1,300 individuals for expressing critical opinions;



Whereas, the U.S. Department of State’s 2006 Reports on Human Rights Practices found that Burma’s junta routinely restrict its citizens’ freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association, religion, movement, and traffics in persons, discriminates against women and ethnic minorities, forcibly recruits child soldiers and child labor, and commits other serious violations of human rights, including extrajudicial killings, custodial deaths, disappearances, rape, torture, abuse of prisoners and detainees, and the imprisonment of citizens arbitrarily for political motives;



Whereas, the Government of Burma relies heavily on the unconditional military and economic assistance provided by People’s Republic of China;



Whereas, on September 30, 2006, the United Nationals Security Council officially included Burma on its agenda for the first time;



Whereas, on January 13, 2007, China and Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council Resolution calling Burma to release all political prisoners, allow a more inclusive political process and unhindered humanitarian access, and end human rights abuses, and on September 26, 2007, China blocked a Security Council Statement from condemning the State Peace and Development Council crackdown against the peaceful demonstrators;



Whereas, the prevalence of tuberculosis in Burma, with nearly 97,000 new cases detected annually, is among the highest in the world, malaria is the leading cause of morality in Burma, with 70 percent of the population living in areas at risk, at least 37,000 died of HIV/AIDS in Burma in 2005, and over 600,000 are currently infected, and the World Health Organization has ranked Burma’s health sector as 190th out of 191 nations;



Whereas, the failure of the State Peace and Development Council to respect the human rights and meet the most basic humanitarian needs of the Burmese people has not only caused enormous suffering inside Burma, but also driven hundreds of thousands of Burmese citizens to seek refuge in neighboring countries, creating a threat to regional peace and stability; and

Whereas, the State Peace and Development Council continues to restrict the access and freedom of movement of international humanitarian organizations to deliver aid throughout Burma: Now therefore, be it



Resolved, That it is the Sense of the Senate –



(1) to strongly condemn the use of violence against peaceful protestors in Burma, and to call on the Government of Burma to refrain from further violence, release the demonstrators it has arrested, immediately cease attacks against ethnic minorities, release Aung Sang Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners, and begging a meaningful tripartite political dialogue with Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy, and the ethnic minorities;



(2) to call on the People’s Republic of China to remove objections to efforts by the United Nations Security Council to condemn the actions taken by the Government of Burma against the peaceful demonstrators;



(3) to call on the People’s Republic of China and all other nations that have provided military assistance to the Government of Burma to suspend such assistance until civilian democratic rule is restored to Burma;



(4) that the Government of Burma should engage in a peaceful dialogue with opposition leaders and ethnic minorities to implement political, economic, and humanitarian reforms that will improve the living conditions of the Burmese people and lead to the restoration of civilian democratic rule;



(5) to recognize and welcome the many constructive statements issued by various nations, and particularly the statement issued by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on September 27, 2007, which demanded an immediate end to violence in Burma, the release of all political prisoners, and a political solution to the crisis;



(6) that the United States and the United Nationals should strongly encourage China, India, and Russia to modify their position on Burma and use their influence to convince the Government of Burma to engage in dialogue with opposition leaders and ethnic minorities towards national reconciliation;

(7) to support the United Nations mission to Burma lead by Ibrahim Gambari, and to call on the Government of Burma to allow the mission freedom of movement and access to top government leaders in order to prevent additional violence and to further peaceful dialogue towards national reconciliation; and

(8) that the United States should work with the international community to pressure the Government of Burma to lift all restrictions on humanitarian aid delivery and then allow international humanitarian aid organizations to work to alleviate suffering and improve living conditions for the most vulnerable populations.