Political Quotes

“the Senate faces a moment of profound moral choice. We are dealing here with the proposal of the Senator from Kentucky, joined by others, to place the United States emphatically on the side of the freely elected democratic regime of Burma, which was elected with 82 percent of the vote and then instantly overwhelmed by a military coup. The restoration of a military regime, which had earlier, in 1962, crushed the nascent democratic society of Burma. Before that Burma had succeeded through a succession of elections beginning with one for a constituent assembly prior to independence, and then three free elections thereafter. As I say, this all ended in 1962 and was followed by 25 years of atrocious government and oppression under General Ne Win. The country never submitted to this. The resistance was always widespread, emphatic, admirable to a degree that Americans can only imagine, given our long and stable history. Now, the issue has become an international issue. Our Senate was the first to raise this issue in 1988, and we have persisted in the matter. The proposition is to isolate the military regime, to deny it the recognition of the free world and to make clear that such denial has consequences in the economic development of that potentially rich and prosperous and happy society. I speak with some knowledge of Burma, not enough, but enough to know how important this is to the whole movement toward democracy in Asia.”