Burma Update

Here is an update from Congressman Jim Jordan:

On August 15, 2007, the Burmese government canceled fuel subsidies to the Burmese people. Over the course of the following month, growing anxiety over this and other issues led to massive public protests in that country. This "Saffron Revolution", which included thousands of Buddhist monks, was violently put down by the ruling military junta on September 26, 2007, resulting in the deaths of at least several hundreds of innocent people including monks, nuns, a Japanese journalist, and others. The military junta then shut down the internet in an effort to conceal their crimes from the rest of the world.

The United States House of Representatives recently passed a resolution, H.Con.Res.200, "A concurrent resolution expressing the sense of Congress regarding the immediate and unconditional release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the severely deteriorating human rights situation in Burma." This resolution calls on the Burmese government to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Price winner and the democratically elected leader of Burma. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since 1990. The resolution also calls on the government of Burma to begin a democratic dialogue with the opposition, release political prisoners, and calls for the full restoration of democracy. It also calls on the nations of the world to work together on sanctions against the regime and bring those who participated in these atrocities be put to justice.

I supported this resolution, and I will continue to support efforts to end the political turmoil in Burma. I am a firm believer in the power of democracy as a tool to end the suppression of unrepresented people and bring a lasting and secure peace to conflicted regions around the world.