Carl Levin: “I thank Chairman Meeks and Ranking Member McCaul for their support in bringing this resolution to the floor today. Last…”

“I thank Chairman Meeks and Ranking Member McCaul for their support in bringing this resolution to the floor today. Last month, the Burmese military, Tatmadaw, staged a coup and quashed Burma's fragile experiment with democracy. Burma had struggled during that time to enfranchise its minority population, and to respect their human rights. The genocide of the Rohingya is perhaps the best known example, but it is far from the only one. In fact, when Burma's November 8, 2020, elections resulted in the National League for Democracy winning an overwhelming victory and securing enough seats in Parliament to form the next government, it was notwithstanding the disenfranchisement of more than 1,500,000 voters, mostly from ethnic minority communities in Kachin, Karen, Mon, Rakhine, Shan, and Chin states. The resolution before us today condemns the February 1st coup unequivocally and calls on the Tatmadaw to free all those they have detained arbitrarily and return members of the civilian government to power. We are considering this resolution at a critical time. More than 2,100 people have been arrested, charged, or sentenced in relation to the coup. The military and police have been ordered to fire on protesters. More than 200 people have been killed in cold blood in these violent crackdowns.…”