Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 117.djvu/883

 117 STAT. 864

PUBLIC LAW 108–61—JULY 28, 2003

Public Law 108–61 108th Congress An Act July 28, 2003 [H.R. 2330]

Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003. Foreign relations. 50 USC 1701 note. 50 USC 1701 note.

To sanction the ruling Burmese military junta, to strengthen Burma’s democratic forces and support and recognize the National League of Democracy as the legitimate representative of the Burmese people, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003’’. SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Aung San Suu Kyi.

VerDate 11-MAY-2000

13:45 Aug 26, 2004

Jkt 019194

Congress makes the following findings: (1) The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has failed to transfer power to the National League for Democracy (NLD) whose parliamentarians won an overwhelming victory in the 1990 elections in Burma. (2) The SPDC has failed to enter into meaningful, political dialogue with the NLD and ethnic minorities and has dismissed the efforts of United Nations Special Envoy Razali bin Ismail to further such dialogue. (3) According to the State Department’s ‘‘Report to the Congress Regarding Conditions in Burma and U.S. Policy Toward Burma’’ dated March 28, 2003, the SPDC has become ‘‘more confrontational’’ in its exchanges with the NLD. (4) On May 30, 2003, the SPDC, threatened by continued support for the NLD throughout Burma, brutally attacked NLD supporters, killed and injured scores of civilians, and arrested democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi and other activists. (5) The SPDC continues egregious human rights violations against Burmese citizens, uses rape as a weapon of intimidation and torture against women, and forcibly conscripts child-soldiers for the use in fighting indigenous ethnic groups. (6) The SPDC is engaged in ethnic cleansing against minorities within Burma, including the Karen, Karenni, and Shan people, which constitutes a crime against humanity and has directly led to more than 600,000 internally displaced people living within Burma and more than 130,000 people from Burma living in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border. (7) The ethnic cleansing campaign of the SPDC is in sharp contrast to the traditional peaceful coexistence in Burma of Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, and people of traditional beliefs.

PO 00000

Frm 00890

Fmt 6580

Sfmt 6581

D:\STATUTES\2003\19194PT1.001

APPS10

PsN: 19194PT1

�