Military

McConnell Looks to New Dawn for Democracy for Burmese People

(Senate's deputy majority leader's June 12 remarks) (1150)
In remarks one day after the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003
passed the Senate in a 97-1 vote, the second most powerful Republican
lawmaker in the Senate said he hoped the vote sent "the thugs" who are
ruling Burma "a strong message."
Senator Mitch McConnell (Republican of Kentucky), who is also author
of the bill, offered those sentiments June 12 to his colleagues.
He added that someday Rangoon's military junta "will have to honor the
results of the 1990 election, won overwhelmingly by Aung San Suu Kyi
and her party."
The passage of S 1215, McConnell said, was "a vote for freedom in
Burma that demonstrated unequivocal support for Suu Kyi and all
democrats" in the Southeast Asian nation.
"The people of Burma will count on our support in the future -- and we
should not, and must not, fail them," McConnell said.
The "generals in Rangoon should take note that a provision was
included in the bill that guarantees that every year Burma will come
up for discussion and debate in Congress," McConnell said.
"Every single year, we will have an opportunity to take a look at the
fate of freedom in that country," he continued.
McConnell, who is also the chairman of the Senate Appropriations
Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, said he had spoken with Secretary
of State Colin Powell, and the junta's leaders should expect a "strong
message" from Powell at the ASEAN Regional Forum in Cambodia next
week.
"Secretary Powell must work tirelessly to secure the release of Suu
Kyi and all other democrats who continue to be detained" by the
Rangoon regime, McConnell said.
He also suggested that a full mobilization of U.S. pressure on the
junta might result in America being able "to celebrate a new dawn for
democracy for the people of Burma."
Following is the text of the June 12 remarks of Senator Mitch
McConnell from the Congressional Record:
(begin text)
BURMA
Senate
June 12, 2003
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, last night at about this time we passed
a Burma sanctions bill 97 to 1, which I hope sent a strong message to
the thugs who are running the country at the moment that someday--and
hopefully someday soon--they will have to honor the results of the
1990 election, won overwhelmingly by Aung San Suu Kyi and her party.
As I suspect the military junta may be trying to decipher what took
place in Washington yesterday, I thought I would take a moment or two
to help them out.
The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly condemned and sanctioned the State
Peace and Development Council, SPDC, for its May 30 attack against Suu
Kyi and her supporters and for its continued repressive actions that
violate the human rights and dignity of the people of Burma.
I also had an opportunity to talk today to Secretary Colin Powell, who
is going out to Phnom Penh to the ASEAN Regional Forum next week, and
I think they can anticipate a strong message from him when he is out
in the region at that time.
Fifty-seven Senators cosponsored the legislation that passed last
night to impose an import ban, expand visa restrictions, and freeze
SPDC assets in the United States. Ninety-seven Senators voted to
repudiate the actions of the Burmese junta.
This was a vote for freedom in Burma that demonstrated unequivocal
support for Suu Kyi and all democrats in that country.
The generals in Rangoon should take note that a provision was included
in the bill that guarantees that every year Burma will come up for
discussion and debate in Congress. Every single year, we will have an
opportunity to take a look at the fate of freedom in that country.
It is my hope we will not need that opportunity. It is my hope that
Suu Kyi and other democrats will be governing Burma and that the only
debate on the floor will be about the level of foreign assistance
America should provide to a newly free Burma.
If this hope is not realized, within a year we will again discuss the
persistent rapes of minority girls and women, the use of child and
forced labor, and the manufacturing and trafficking of narcotics.
If the junta continues its repressive rule, we will again examine the
number of political prisoners languishing in Burmese jails, efforts
taken to counter an exploding HIV/AIDS infection rate, and
opportunities to further democracy and the rule of law throughout the
country.
If, however, American leadership translates into a full court press on
(the) junta, we might be able to celebrate a new dawn for democracy
for the people of Burma.
The comments of Secretary of State Colin Powell in the Wall Street
Journal today are both welcomed and promising.
As I indicated earlier, he is going to the ASEAN regional meeting next
week, and I think the regime in Burma is going to hear a good deal
more about the U.S. position on their behavior and activities.
He said this:
By attacking Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters, the Burmese junta
has finally and definitively rejected the efforts of the outside world
to bring Burma back into the international community. Indeed, their
refusal of the work of Ambassador Razali and of the rights of Aung San
Suu Kyi and her supporters could not be clearer. Our response must be
equally clear if the thugs who now rule Burma are to understand that
their failure to restore democracy will only bring more and more
pressure against them and their supporters.
Secretary Powell must work tirelessly to secure the release of Suu Kyi
and all other democrats who continue to be detained by the SPDC. U.N.
Special Envoy Razali's brief meeting with her does not assuage my
fears that she is under intense pressure or that her supporters
continue to be tortured or killed. She and her supporters should be
released immediately and unconditionally.
In the future, it might behoove Razali to temper his enthusiastic
comments to more accurately reflect the climate of fear in Burma. He
failed to secure Suu Kyi's release, and I am surprised that he did not
say more to condemn the outrageous actions of the thugs in Rangoon.
Let me close by thanking my colleagues--and their staffs--for their
support of this legislation. I could ask for no better allies than
Senators FEINSTEIN and MCCAIN on this issue, and I look forward to
continue to work with them to free Suu Kyi and bring democracy to
Burma. Senators FRIST, LUGAR, BIDEN, BAUCUS, GRASSLEY, HAGEL, and
BROWNBACK also deserve recognition for their support of freedom in
Burma. The people of Burma will count on our support in the
future--and we should not, and must not, fail them.
(end text)
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