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Burma & U.S. Congress on December 1
- Subject: Burma & U.S. Congress on December 1
- From: FreeBurma@xxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 15 Dec 1995 21:35:00
Subject: Burma & U.S. Congress on December 13, 1994 (Hon. Richardson)
HUMAN RIGHTS
HON. BILL RICHARDSON
in the House of Representatives
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1995
Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I want to submit for the Record
Ambassador Madeleine Albright's remarks on the human rights situation in
Burma to the U.N. General Assembly Third Committee. I join Ambassador
Albright's endorsement of the U.N. resolution to urge the Government of
Burma to cease its violations of internationally recognized human rights.
I also want to take this opportunity to commend Ambassador Albright for
her tremendous work on this issue. I encourage all Members to support the
work of our U.N. Representative as she relentlessly pursues the cause of
Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Ambassador Albright had a
great meeting in Burma this fall Aung San Suu Kyi.
Recent developments in Burma have given us cause for great concern. It is
imperative that the governing State Law and Order Restoration Council
understand that the United States and the international community will not
tolerate threats or actions that suppress the advancement of the democratic
movement in Burma .
Mr. Chairman, I appreciate this opportunity to discuss my Government's
decision to join consensus on the resolution concerning the human rights
situation in Burma , despite some reservations that prevented us from
cosponsoring.
The resolution reflects a tremendous effort by the Swedish mission to develop
a
strong consensus text, and my government endorses strongly the purposes and
recommendations contained in that text,.
We join with the other members of this Assembly in urging the Burmese
Government to cease its violations of internationally recognized human
rights.
And we urge the government to begin a substantive political dialogue with
Aung
San Suu Kyi, other democratic leaders and representatives of ethnic groups
concerning the future of the country. These recommendations are at the heart
of the Assembly resolution, and we believe the Government of Burma should
respond favorably to them.
The Unites States was not able to cosponsor the resolution because of three
issues that we believe could have been dealt with more precisely or urgently.
First, we would have tempered the language in paragraph 17, which welcomes
the cessation of hostilities between the Government of Burma and various
ethnic groups, because the Burmese Army has not fully honored those
ceasefires.
Second, we believe the resolution should have included language similar to
that
adopted by the UN Human Rights Commission last spring, encouraging the
Secretary-General to hold discussions with the Burmese Government for the
purpose of stimulating progress towards democratization and national
reconciliation.
Third, we believe specific mention should have been made of the International
Labor Organization's decision last June to condemn Burma 's continued use of
forced labor and forced porterage, especially of members of ethnic
minorities,
for military and civilian infrastructure projects. The ILO recommends, and my
government strongly agrees, that Burma should bring both its laws and its
practices into compliance with internationally recognized standards of
workers'
rights.
Finally, we believe that more specific and urgent attention should have been
given in the resolution to important events that occurred in Rangoon near the
end of last month. I refer, of course, to the withdrawal and subsequent
expulsion from the National Convention of delegates from the National League
for Democracy.
The governing State Law and Order Restoration Council, or SLORC, has asked
the world to view the Convention as a representative mechanism for drafting a
new constitution and facilitating a transition to democracy. Clearly, it is
not that
if the National League for Democracy, which received 60 percent of the votes
in the 1990 election, is not free to participate openly, freely and without
fear of
intimidation. We must remember that the SLORC handpicked all the delegates,
greatly under-representing those from the democratic movement.
Following the release from detention last July of Aung San Suu Kyi, there
were
hopes that the National Convention would, in fact, become a meaningful forum
for discussion about Burma 's future. Instead, the Government has maintained
its habit of rigid control, and the few representatives of the democratic
movement and of the various ethnic groups have been prohibited from voicing
dissenting views.
The SLORC has said that its goals for Burma include economic prosperity and
multiparty democracy. Burma 's democratic leaders share those goals. The
General Assembly should continue to express strong and unyielding support for
actions that would close the great divide that now exists between what the
SLORC professes to want and what it has thus far been prepared to do.
In this connection, my Government also wants to express its very great
concern
about recent statements from Rangoon that brand Aung San Suu Kyi and her
supporters as `traitors' and speak of `annihilating' those who criticize the
National Convention. The SLORC should have no doubt that it will be held
responsible for any actions that result in physical harm or unjust punishment
against those who have simply engaged in the peaceful exercise of
internationally recognized rights.
In closing, Mr. President, let me once again congratulate the Swedish mission
for its leadership on this resolution. Let me re-state my Government's strong
endorsement of its core recommendations in support of human rights and a
substantive political dialogue. And let me re-emphasize my Government's
concern about recent events and its hope that the Government of Burma will
reconsider its policies and begin now to move down a democratic path.
---------------------------------end. (fb.121395.usc)