19 June 2003
Women Senators Call for Release of Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi
(Lawmakers send letter of support to democracy activist) (950)
All 14 women members of the U.S. Senate sent a letter of support June
19 to Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, who is currently
being held in detention by the military junta, and called for her
immediate release.
"What we need now is an international showing of support telling the
junta that her continued captivity and its crackdown on democracy will
not be tolerated," Senator Dianne Feinstein (Democrat of California)
said in a June 19 news release from her office.
Feinstein, one of the backers of Senate legislation that would impose
trade sanctions on Burma, said the lawmakers wanted to convey to the
Nobel Peace Prize recipient and the people of Burma "our heartfelt
support for Burma's just cause and a future based on respect for human
rights, democracy, the rule of law, and freedom for all."
Feinstein reiterated her call for the House of Representatives to
follow the lead of the Senate in passing legislation to sanction the
military rulers in Burma.
Following is the text of the June 19 news release from the Office of
Senator Dianne Feinstein:
(begin text)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, June 19, 2003
Women of the Senate Send Letter of Support to Burma's Detained
Pro-democracy Leader on Her 58th Birthday and Urge Her Freedom
Washington, DC - In a unified, bipartisan showing of support, the 14
women members of the U.S. Senate today wrote pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi on her 58th birthday and stepped up the international
campaign to urge Burma's military junta to free her from captivity.
Suu Kyi has been in custody since May 30 when she and other members of
the National League for Democracy were attacked by
government-controlled thugs. Although a U.N. envoy was able to visit
her very briefly, she has been held in an undisclosed location and the
military junta has refused a request by officials from the
International Committee for the Red Cross to visit her.
"It is clear to me that the junta has recognized how well respected
Suu Kyi is by her own people and they fomented an event in which
people were killed and injured and she was taken into custody," said
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) who organized the drafting of the
letter.
"What we need now is an international showing of support telling the
junta that her continued captivity and its crackdown on democracy will
not be tolerated."
The following is the text of the letter:
"Dear Aung San Suu Kyi: Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your
National League for Democracy colleagues as we commemorate the
occasion of your 58th birthday. We would also like to remember and
honor those NLD supporters who were killed, injured and arrested in
the May 30 attack.
Please know that while you remain under house arrest, those of us who
cherish freedom and democracy around the world stand by your side.
Last week, we joined our colleagues in the Senate in an unprecedented
bipartisan show of support for passage of the "Burmese Freedom and
Democracy Act of 2003." It is our greatest hope that in the very near
future the NLD will able to assume its rightful role as the
legitimate, democratically elected representatives of the Burmese
people.
Moreover, we want to convey to you, and to all the people of Burma,
our heartfelt support for Burma's just cause and a future based on
respect for human rights, democracy, the rule of law, and freedom for
all."
The 14 women Senators who signed the letter are: Senators Feinstein,
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Patty Murray (D-WA), Elizabeth Dole
(R-NC), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Maria Cantwell
(D-WA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Blanche Lincoln
(D-AR), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME), Hillary Rodham
Clinton (D-NY) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME).
A report released yesterday by the Council on Foreign Relations
Independent Task Force on Burma urged the UN Security Council to hold
an emergency session to condemn the military junta's crackdown on the
democratic opposition and Suu Kyi's detention.
The report by the Task Force also found that her latest detention -
which follows at least seven years of earlier imprisonments after her
New Democratic Party won the 1990 national election - was only the tip
of the iceberg of the regime's truly despicable human rights record:
Over 1,300 political prisoners are still in jail many of them elected
parliamentarians;
The practice of rape as a form of repression has been sanctioned by
the Burmese military;
The use of forced labor is widespread;
Trafficking in young boys and girls as sex slaves is rampant;
The government engages in the production and distribution of opium and
methamphetamine.
The legislation, sponsored by Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and
Senator Feinstein, would impose a ban on all imports from Burma until
the President determines and certifies to Congress that Burma has made
substantial and measurable progress on a number of democracy and human
rights issues. A similar bill introduced in the House of
Representatives has been approved in committee, but has not yet been
taken up by the House.
"I urge the House to approve this legislation as soon as possible so
the United States can firmly demonstrate to the junta and the world
that we will not stand for its repressive rule and its attempts to
crush the legitimate democratic representatives of the Burmese
people," Senator Feinstein said.
Copies of the letter to Aung San Suu Kyi are available upon request.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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