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Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I want to thank my friend, Mr. Boustany, for being here this morning and joining in this resolution.
I rise in strong support of House Joint Resolution 83, a measure to renew the ban on imports from the country of Burma. The renewal of this bill is extremely important in the struggle for human rights and democracy in Burma. This measure, and other sanctions on Burma, prevent hundreds of millions of American dollars from getting into the hands of the military regime and funding its illegal activities.
We must never forget that the inspiration for this measure came from a remarkable woman, Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi. She's the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient. She and her political party, the National League for Democracy, have called on freedom-loving people throughout the world saying, and I quote, ``Please use your liberty to promote ours.''
That's what makes these sanctions categorically different from many other situations. The people of Burma support these sanctions.
I believe it's also important to remember that Burma's military regime, or its junta, is not simply a government that is rough on its own people. It is among the most brutal, maybe even the most brutal, regime in the world today.
The regime operates with complete impunity. The Burmese regime has recruited thousands of child soldiers, by some estimates more than any other country in the world today. The regime has destroyed over 3,500 ethnic minority villages, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes in terror. Millions of these refugees live in neighboring countries like Thailand and Bangladesh.
The regime uses rape as a weapon of war against innocent Burmese women. Over 2,000 innocent civilians remain locked behind bars as political prisoners. And it's important to note that many of these abuses are not just human rights abuses; these are crimes against humanity. That is why the United Nations investigator on human rights in Burma called for an international investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma. This is something I have been calling for myself for a very, very long time.
It is long overdue that the world acknowledges the regime, the junta, is guilty of many heinous crimes, and we must lead the effort to hold it accountable. As a first step, I hope the United States will go on record in acknowledging that the Burmese regime has continued crimes against humanity. At the same time, I hope the administration fully implements all the provisions of the Block Burmese JADE Act that we passed in 2008, including the tough banking sanctions enumerated into law. That also includes imposing tough financial sanctions on banks and companies propping up Burma's military regime and junta, even if those companies are not based in the United States themselves.
By passing the JADE Act, we gave the administration the authority to impose tough sanctions. Now it's time to make it happen. We don't have any time to wait. The Burmese regime is planning a sham election for this year that, without strong international action, will result in a government that is a wolf in sheep's clothing.
The regime has stacked the deck against the people of Burma so that the exact same military junta will be in power after the election. In fact, it is not really an election at all since the results are preordained. Aung San Suu Kyi is specifically barred from taking part in these elections. It would be a disservice to those struggling for freedom in Burma to recognize the results of this undemocratic and illegitimate election process.
The administration has worked hard I know to reach out to Burma's military regime and has urged them to change their ways. I believe those efforts, while worthwhile and valuable, have been completely and utterly rejected by the junta. In fact, the situation in Burma has grown worse. That's why now is the time to crank up the pressure on Burma's military junta.
I urge my colleagues to pass House Joint Resolution 83.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. CROWLEY. I thank the gentleman for his comments. And I couldn't agree with him more that we do need to see more of a multilateral impact on Burma, particularly China, India, and the surrounding countries of Bangladesh and Thailand and such. And it's my hope that we will continue to see further isolation of Burma. And I think we continue to stretch out a hand to encourage the regime, but they continue to keep slapping it back. And I think now is not the time for recognition; now is the time for further isolation.
So I appreciate the comments of my colleague and friend from Louisiana (Mr. Boustany), and I know of his support for this.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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