[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 200 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 200

     Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the immediate and 
             unconditional release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 2, 2007

    Mr. King of New York (for himself and Mr. Lantos) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                            Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
     Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the immediate and 
             unconditional release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Whereas in 1990 the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), a military junta 
        in Burma, nullified the victory of the National League for Democracy 
        (NLD);
Whereas NLD leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was not allowed to assume the office of 
        Prime Minister and was subsequently placed under house arrest;
Whereas Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was released in July 1995, yet once again placed 
        under house arrest in September 2000;
Whereas following a second release, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and several of her 
        followers were attacked by a government-sponsored mob on May 6, 2002, 
        and she was then imprisoned at Insein Prison in Yangon;
Whereas on May 16, 2007, more than 50 world leaders released a letter demanding 
        the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a demand repeated by United Nations 
        Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, 14 United Nations human rights experts, 
        the European Union, the United States, the Association of Southeast 
        Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the foreign ministers of three ASEAN member 
        states, yet on May 27 her detention was extended;
Whereas for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights, Daw Aung 
        San Suu Kyi received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991;
Whereas the ruling military junta in Burma continues to violate the human rights 
        of Burmese citizens, including the systematic use of rape as a weapon of 
        war and extrajudicial killings;
Whereas the armed forces in Burma have been accused of large-scale trafficking 
        in heroin and methamphetamines;
Whereas the Burmese Government has destroyed more than 3,000 villages, displaced 
        approximately 2 million Burmese people, and arrested approximately 1,300 
        individuals for expressing critical opinions;
Whereas Burma's main broadcasters and publications are state controlled and the 
        media does not report opposing views except to criticize them;
Whereas on September 30, 2006, the United Nations Security Council officially 
        included Burma on its agenda for the first time;
Whereas the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) denounced the ruling 
        military regime of Burma on June 22, 2007, citing the use of detainees 
        as porters for the armed forces and the systematic abuse and murder of 
        both detainees and civilians;
Whereas the last time the ICRC publicly denounced egregious, ongoing, and 
        systemic human rights abuses was in 1994 when the ICRC addressed 
        genocide in Rwanda; and
Whereas the ICRC stated that civilians, especially those residing near the Thai-
        Burma border, have been subjected to abuse such as destruction of their 
        food supply and forced unpaid manual labor: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That--
            (1) it is the sense of Congress that United States policy 
        should continue to call upon--
                    (A) the military regime in Burma--
                            (i) to immediately and unconditionally 
                        release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained 
                        political prisoners and prisoners of 
                        conscience;
                            (ii) to immediately cease attacks against 
                        ethnic minority civilians; and
                            (iii) to immediately begin a meaningful 
                        process of tripartite dialogue with Daw Aung 
                        San Suu Kyi, the NLD, and Burma's ethnic 
                        nationalities; and
                    (B) the People's Republic of China and other 
                countries that provide political and economic support 
                to Burma's military junta to utilize their position and 
                influence to--
                            (i) urge Burma's military generals to 
                        immediately release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and 
                        all political prisoners; and
                            (ii) end their attacks on ethnic minority 
                        civilians and begin a meaningful process of 
                        genuine national reconciliation with Daw Aung 
                        San Suu Kyi, the NLD, and Burma's ethnic 
                        nationalities;
            (2) Congress urges the United Nations Security Council to 
        immediately consider and take appropriate action to respond to 
        the growing threat the SPDC poses in Burma;
            (3) Congress expresses support for the restoration of 
        democracy in Burma; and
            (4) Congress expresses the need for freedom of assembly, 
        freedom of movement, freedom of speech, and freedom of the 
        press to be guaranteed for all Burmese citizens.
                                 <all>