King’s Resolution Sends Message to Stop Violence in Burma
Calls for democracy and denouncement of  human rights violations

October 2, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Rep. Peter King’s (R-Seaford) resolution H.Con.Res.200, denouncing the violence in Burma and calling for the immediate release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, passed the House of Representatives. The passage of this bill marks a victory in King’s long-standing dedication to the restoration of democracy and human rights in Burma.

“My bill sends a strong message to the international community that violence of this nature will not be tolerated and that democracy must prevail,” said King. “This is not just a Burmese issue, but an international human rights issue. Congress did the right thing by passing it unopposed.”

The bill urges the military regime in Burma to immediately release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratically elected leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party who has been held under house arrest since 1990 by the Burmese military junta. It also calls for an immediate end to attacks against ethnic minority civilians and expresses support for democracy. Finally, it urges China and other countries that provide support to Burma’s military junta to use their influence to restore democracy and end the violence.

“Burma’s record on human rights is atrocious,” said King. “It is time that the international community steps in to impose sanctions until democracy is restored and the violence ends. Unfortunately, countries like China are impeding our efforts to achieve these goals by refusing to cooperate within the U.N. Security Council.”  

The bill sends a message to the Burmese government that the violence must end and democracy must be restored. The military junta has turned peaceful protest into violence – killing and injuring hundreds of protestors, many of whom are Buddhist monks. The protests began in response to the government’s August 19th cancellation of fuel subsidies. On September 24th, some 100,000 people marched in what is considered the largest anti-government demonstrations to take place in two decades.

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