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Congressman Rohrabacher's Birthday
- Subject: Congressman Rohrabacher's Birthday
- From: maung@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 21 Jun 1996 12:53:00
Subject: Congressman Rohrabacher's Birthday Message
SPEECH BY CONGRESSMAN DANA ROHRABACHER
FOR THE 51ST BIRTHDAY OF AUNG SAN SUU KYI
Dirksen Senate Office Building
June 19, 1996
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It's my pleasure to be here to wish Aung San Suu Kyi a happy
birthday, and I hope that she gets this message personally,
that we're all thinking of her, and that we have her in our
hearts, but I hope that when she celebrates her next
birthday we will see a democratic Burma and the people of
Burma will be free.
This will not happen on its own, and each and every one of
us is playing a role, and achieves that role; we are lucky,
we are grateful, we should be grateful, especially today on
her birthday, that there is a strong leader in Burma,
someone who can be a spokesman for the Burmese people and
spokesman for Burmese democracy and freedom. Many people who
are struggling for freedom don't have a such a great
spokesman as this, someone who captured the attention of the
world, communicate with every people of the world, so we are
grateful to her today_for her very being_and she constantly
supports the spirit of the Burmese people and her family has
deep roots in the freedom movement and the independence
movement of Burma itself.
Let us today look into ourselves; we cannot permit time to
continue to go by while these dictators continue to rob the
people of Burma, not only of the natural resources but of
the rightful ownership that belongs to the people of Burma
they are stealing these, consuming them, and selling them.
The people throughout the world, they can't let that go on,
we can't let that go on while the people of Burma continue
to experience tyranny and continue to go through their lives
when a militaristic regime is actually stealing not only the
minerals from their country but stealing the time from the
people; they're stealing their lives. And together, we can
make a difference.
I think that here in this country in particular, we should
understand that, because in America, one gets freedom. It
took many years for America to win its independence; people
think it just happened like that ((smack!))_it was
relatively easy_because they focus again on the
personalities; well in the future, people may look back and
see, "Well there was Aung San Suu Kyi, and it was very easy
for them to be freed." Well, it was not easy to win freedom.
And in the United States it wasn't as well. We had Thomas
Jefferson. I relate in my mind, relate Aung San Suu Kyi to
Thomas Jefferson, because he was such an inspiration to the
American people, to the cause of freedom. And if you
remember our struggle for independence, it took many years;
there were many people who were divided over what tactics or
trick to use; and it took many, many years for the American
people to mobilize behind this cause, behind the American
Revolution. But once we did, we won the case, and how did
we win? We won because there was another power in the world,
the French, who actually came with their fleet_and an army,
I might add_to come and help us so that at the battle of
Georgetown, it was the British fleet that was stopped by the
French fleet, and some French troops that were there to help
us with our independence.
Well the United States isn't going to send troops, and
they're not going to send ships to free the people of Burma.
But, we the people of the United States can stand together
with the people of Burma, and we can be a mighty army of
freedom of the spirit, and that's what we have to do: we
have to unite the people who believe in freedom throughout
the world. This is an appropriate date, I want to say that a
year from now, we will have organized that mighty army of
freedom, and we will free the people of Burma, and join them
hand-in-hand to celebrate Aung San Suu Kyi's 52nd birthday
in a free Burma.
Thank you very much.