On March 29, the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific heard testimony concerning the economic and humanitarian situation in Burma. The House International Relations Committee held a similar hearing on February 7 (see The Source, 2/10/06).
Questioning the effectiveness of recent U.S. actions, Chair Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) stated, “Our policy toward Burma has been to sanction and isolate, with increasing limitations on assistance and trade. Yet the SPDC [State Peace and Development Council] has effectively minimized the effect of these sanctions by playing interested investors off one another as it offers access to Burma’s considerable natural resources and nations compete to see who has greater influence in the region. The SPDC continues to have access to financial assistance and the means to continue its authoritative rule, despite Burma’s continuous ranking among the poorest of the poor.”
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Eric John said that the policies of Burma’s military regime “have contributed to a host of…ills, severely hurting the economy and exacerbating the deterioration of social conditions. They have led to a steady outflow of refugees and illicit narcotics, thwarted peace among Burma’s ethnic minority populations, and forced the Burmese people to live in a state of perpetual fear…Freedom of press, assembly, religion and movement continue to be greatly restricted. Forced labor, rape, torture, and conscription of child soldiers remain prevalent as tools of the regime, particularly in ethnic minority areas.” Describing the State Department’s bilateral and multilateral efforts to promote freedom and democracy in Burma, he stated, “Our humanitarian assistance includes support for efforts to combat HIV/AIDS and assistance to refugees, migrants and IDPs [internally displaced persons]. In fiscal year 2005, we provided over $10 million, primarily for assistance to Burmese living in Thailand, both inside and outside refugee camps. This includes $2 million provided to organizations inside Burma to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. Overall, in fiscal year 2005, the State Department provided over $14 million to address key humanitarian and democracy concerns.”
The subcommittee also heard testimony from Thin Thin Aung, a member of the Presidium Board of the Women’s League of Burma. She detailed incidents of rape and other forms of violence against women by Burma’s military regime as reported by the Shan Women’s Action Network, the Karen Women’s Organization, and the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand: “These reports expose how the military regime is allowing its troops systematically and on a widespread scale to commit rape with impunity in order to terrorize and subjugate the ethnic peoples of Shan, Mon, Kachin and Karen States. All reports conclude that restoration of genuine peace, democracy and the rule of law in Burma are necessary to end the systematic sexual violence.” Ms. Aung urged Congress to continue economic sanctions against Burma, present resolutions on Burma before the United Nations Security Council, hold the Association of South East Asian Nations accountable for the actions of the military regime, and engage India in efforts to promote democracy in Burma.
