[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 317 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 317
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 7, 2008
Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Condemning the Burmese regime's undemocratic draft constitution and
scheduled referendum.
Whereas in 1974, then-dictator General Ne Win and his regime redrew the 1947
State Constitution and held a referendum for a military-backed
constitution, endorsing a civilian front for military rule, known as the
Burmese Socialist Program Party;
Whereas in 1988, the people of Burma came to the streets in a massive popular
democracy uprising to call
for democracy, human rights, and an end to military rule and a single
party system;
Whereas the current military regime violently crushed the mass democracy
uprising in 1988, killing more than 3,000 peaceful protesters and taking
over power from the previous regime;
Whereas the current military regime, officially known as the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), known previously as the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC), held multi-party elections in 1990;
Whereas despite the threat and pressure by the military regime to vote for the
candidates of the military-backed National Unity Party (NUP), the people
of Burma voted 82 percent of Parliament seats for the candidates of the
National League for Democracy (NLD) party, led by detained leader Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi and allied ethnic political parties;
Whereas the military regime refused to honor the election results and arrested
and imprisoned both democracy activists and elected members of
parliament;
Whereas the SPDC over a period of 14 years held a National Convention to draft a
new constitution in which the process was tightly controlled, repressive
and undemocratic;
Whereas the NLD walked out of the convention in 1995 because participants were
not allowed to table alternative proposals or voice disagreement with
the military regime;
Whereas in 2005, the leaders of the Shan Nationalities League of Democracy
(SNLD) were all arrested on false charges and sentenced to more than 90
years in prison each;
Whereas the people of Burma, led by democracy activists and Buddhist monks in
August and September 2007, took to the streets in nationwide peaceful
protests demanding the military regime participate in a meaningful tri-
partite dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the elected political
parties from the 1990 elections and representatives of the ethnic
nationalities for national reconciliation and a transition to democracy;
Whereas according to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights
Situation in Burma, Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, leading human
rights groups and foreign diplomats based in Burma estimate the death
toll from the August and September 2007 peaceful protests is much higher
than reported by the regime;
Whereas the military regime brutally crushed the peaceful protests, killing at
least 31 people, leaving nearly 100 missing, and arresting 700
additional political prisoners bringing the number of Burma's political
prisoners to approximately 1,800;
Whereas the United Nations Security Council Presidential Statement, issued by
unanimous consent of all members of the Council on October 11, 2007,
stated that ``the Security Council strongly deplores the use of violence
against peaceful demonstrators in Myanmar, emphasizes the importance of
the early release of all political prisoners and remaining detainees''.
Whereas the United Nations Security Council Presidential Statement also stressed
``the need for the Government of Myanmar to create the necessary
conditions for a genuine dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all
concerned parties and ethnic groups, in order to achieve an inclusive
national reconciliation with the direct support of the United Nations'';
Whereas the United Nations and governments around the world also repeatedly
called for the SPDC to hold a political dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi, her party, the NLD, and representatives of ethnic nationalities to
achieve national reconciliation and democratization and reverse the
decades-long misrule by the regime which has resulted in a downward
spiral of Burma's economic, educational, social, public health and
infrastructure sectors;
Whereas the SPDC has ignored the repeated requests of the United Nations and the
international community to release all political prisoners, end attacks
against civilians, and engage in a meaningful dialogue with Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi, her party, the NLD, and representatives of ethnic
nationalities;
Whereas at the same time, the SPDC assigned a commission to draft a constitution
on October 18, 2007, with 54 hand-picked participants, in an attempt to
ignore past election results, to lock in a process that excludes
representatives of ethnic nationalities and the NLD from political
participation, and to legitimize continued military rule;
Whereas the latest version of the draft constitution seeks to codify military
rule by reserving 25 percent of parliamentary seats for military
appointees, permits the head of the military to intervene in national
politics, and ensures that key government ministries are held by
military officers;
Whereas in October 2007, the SPDC appointed Labor Minister U Aung Kyi as liaison
minister to engage with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for possible talks with
Senior General Than Shwe, leader of the SPDC, but there has been no true
exchange or tangible result from the few talks that were held;
Whereas recently, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi expressed through her party leaders that
she is unhappy with the SPDC's unwillingness to establish political
dialogue and she even urged the people of Burma to be prepared for the
worst;
Whereas on February 9, 2008, the military regime announced that it will hold a
constitutional referendum in May 2008 and a general election in 2010;
Whereas on February 12, 2008, the SPDC extended for another year the house
arrest of U Tin Oo, Deputy Chairman of the NLD; and
Whereas early reports concerning the referendum voting indicate that Burmese
voters were instructed how to vote under supervision of officials,
sometimes under threat of physical violence and without an opportunity
to read the ballot they were forced to cast: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress--
(1) denounces the one-sided, undemocratic, and illegitimate
actions of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) that
seek to legitimize military rule through a flawed referendum
process to adopt a new, undemocratic constitution;
(2) strongly urges that Burma's military regime begin a
meaningful tri-partite dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the
1990 election-winning parties and representatives of ethnic
nationalities toward national reconciliation, democracy,
freedom of assembly, freedom of movement, freedom of speech,
freedom of the press, and internationally recognized human
rights for all Burmese citizens;
(3) demands the immediate and unconditional release of Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi, detained Buddhist monks, and all other
political prisoners and prisoners of conscience;
(4) denounces the SPDC for its failure to comply with the
United Nation's recommendations and engage in a meaningful
time-bound tri-partite dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the
1990 election winning parties and representatives of ethnic
nationalities;
(5) calls for the SPDC to comply fully and immediately with
the recommendations made by the United Nations Security Council
Presidential Statement issued on October 11, 2007;
(6) urges the President to call for the United Nations
Security Council to condemn the undemocratic referendum process
and the SPDC's flawed constitution which will be the outcome of
the referendum;
(7) urges the President to call for the United Nations
Security Council to pass a binding resolution, which will
instruct the regime to fully comply with the recommendations
made by United Nations Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari and the
United Nations Security Council Presidential Statement, and
strengthen the mandate of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to
engage in a meaningful and time-bound dialogue with Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi, the 1990 election winning parties and ethnic
nationality representatives towards an inclusive democratic
national reconciliation;
(8) urges the President to push for a comprehensive arms
embargo against the Burmese military regime at the United
Nations Security Council so that weapons produced by foreign
countries, including Ukraine, China, and Russia, that currently
sell weapons to Burma's military regime, can no longer be used
by Burma's military regime against civilians; and
(9) urges the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to
involve itself more deeply in reaching out to the Burmese
democracy movement and to work with the United Nations Security
Council and the Secretary-General to promote meaningful
political dialogue.
Passed the House of Representatives May 6, 2008.
Attest:
LORRAINE C. MILLER,
Clerk.