U.S. Senate renews Myanmar sanctions ahead of ASEAN talks
U.S. Senate renews Myanmar sanctions ahead of ASEAN talks
Agence France-Presse, Washington
The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed a resolution on Tuesday (Wednesday morning in Jakarta) renewing a one-year ban on all imports from Myanmar ahead of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting next week where the military-ruled state will come under scrutiny.
The 97-1 Senate vote followed a similarly favorable 423-2 action by the House of Representatives last month. U.S. President George W. Bush is expected to sign the renewal into law soon.
"These sanctions are absolutely necessary," said Senator Mitch McConnell, one of the bill's chief sponsors, citing Myanmar's dismal human rights record under the "paranoid misrule" of military junta chief Than Shwe.
Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for most of the last 15 years. Her National League for Democracy (NLD) party won 1990 elections but was never allowed to rule. Its offices have been shut down by the junta, which has also locked up many other party members.
"The human rights and dignity of the Burmese people continue to be grossly abused," McConnell said. "The litany of atrocities -- from the use of rape as a weapon of war to the murder, torture and intimidation of political activists -- are well-known and well-documented," he said.
The Congress resolutions would renew a complete ban on all imports from Myanmar until Bush determines and certifies to the legislature that the Southeast Asian state has made "substantial and measurable" progress on a number of democracy and human rights issues.
"We thank and commend the U.S. Congress for this firm and forward-looking policy," said Aung Din, a former political prisoner and torture survivor who serves as policy director at U.S. Campaign for Burma.
The group comprises activists from around the world seeking an end to the military dictatorship in Myanmar, whose previous name is Burma.
"Burma is not only an embarrassment to the countries of Southeast Asia, it is increasingly a threat to regional security. It is time for the United Nations Security Council to act," Aung Din said.
The United States halted new investments to Myanmar in 1997 and imposed bans on financial transactions and imports in 2003. Visa restrictions on officials from the military junta and affiliated groups have also been implemented.
But the U.S. law requires annual renewal only for the import ban.
The Senate vote comes ahead of a decision expected next week on whether or not Myanmar will take up the chairmanship of the ASEAN.
The decision is expected at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers meeting in Vientiane, Laos.
Myanmar is due to take over the ASEAN helm from Malaysia in 2006. The chairmanship is determined by alphabetical rotation among member states, which also include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
But both the United States and European Union, key trading partners of ASEAN, have vowed to boycott the Southeast Asian group's meetings if Myanmar is chairman.
Some ASEAN member states are afraid that Myanmar will damage the group's image and international links if it takes over the mantle.
"Burma was admitted to ASEAN to lift its people up, not to drag the organization down. ASEAN members should feel similarly -- how could they not?," said McConnell.