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Statement of President Clinton on S
- Subject: Statement of President Clinton on S
- From: zawzaw@xxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 22 Apr 1997 15:53:00
Subject: Statement of President Clinton on Sanctions in Burma
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 1997 18:01:57 -0400
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release April 22, 1997
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
Investment Sanctions in Burma
Today I am announcing my decision to impose a ban on new U.S.
investment in Burma.
I have taken this step in response to a constant and continuing
pattern of severe repression by the State Law and
Order Restoration Council (SLORC) in Burma. During the past seven months,
the SLORC has arrested and detained large numbers
of students and opposition supporters, sentenced dozens to long-term
imprisonment, and prevented the expression of political
views by the democratic opposition, including Aung San Suu Kyi and the
National League for Democracy (NLD).
I have therefore imposed sanctions under the terms of the
"Cohen-Feinstein" Amendment, a bipartisan measure that I fully
support. As contained in the Burma policy provision of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1997 (Public Law
104-208), this amendment calls for investment sanctions if the Government
of Burma has physically harmed, rearrested for
political acts, or exiled Aung San Suu Kyi, or has committed large-scale
repression of or violence against the democratic
opposition. It is my judgment that recent actions by the regime in Rangoon
constitute such repression.
Beyond its pattern of repressive human rights practices, the Burmese
authorities also have committed serious abuses in their
recent military campaign against Burma's Karen minority, forcibly
conscripting civilians and compelling thousands to flee into
Thailand. The SLORC regime has overturned the Burmese people?s
democratically elected leadership. Under this brutal military regime,
Burma remains the world's leading producer of opium and heroin, and
tolerates drug trafficking and traffickers in defiance the views of the
international community. The regime has shown little political will to
stop the narcotics exports from Burma and prevent illicit drug money from
enriching those who would flaunt international rules and profit by
destroying the lives of millions.
The United States and other members of the international community
have firmly and repeatedly taken steps to encourage
democratization and human rights in Burma. Through our action today, we
seek to keep faith with the people of Burma, who made
clear their support for human rights and democracy in 1990 elections which
the regime chose to disregard. We join with many
others in the international community calling for reform in Burma, and we
emphasize that the U.S.-Burma relationship will
improve only as there is progress on democratization and respect for human
rights.
In particular, we once again urge the authorities in Burma to lift
restrictions on Aung San Suu Kyi and the political
opposition, respect the rights of free expression, assembly and
association, and undertake a dialogue on Burma's political future
that includes leaders of the NLD and the ethnic minorities.
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