Chris Smith: “I thank the ranking member for yielding, and I thank the chairman for his leadership. I would especially like to thank…”

“I thank the ranking member for yielding, and I thank the chairman for his leadership. I would especially like to thank Mr. Levin for his resolution condemning the military coup in Burma, and calling for release of all those who have been detained, as well as restoring those elected to serve in Parliament to a position that allows them to fulfill their important duties. I would also like to thank Mr. Connolly for his Protect Democracy in Burma Act, H.R. 1112, and the important report that it will authorize. Mr. Speaker, 24 years ago, in 1997, I chaired my first hearing on Burmese human rights abuse, and chaired additional hearings after that, including in 1998 and 2006. I also introduced several resolutions addressing the ongoing egregious crisis, including H. Res. 1710, which decried the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi, and called on the Burmese military regime to end its campaign of religious and ethnic persecution of the Rohingya people, amounting to crimes against humanity. {time} 1615 Thus, after decades of abuse, rape, torture, and murder, it is incredibly tragic as to how little has changed in that country. As H. Res. 134 points out, the Burmese Government's unlawful detention of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as the crackdown on democracy advocates and the squelching of free expression and other fundamental civil and political rights, is outrageous and begs immediate reform and correction.…”