Frank Lautenberg: “I rise today to support S. 1215 and to express my dismay about the current human rights situation in Burma. On May 30…”

“I rise today to support S. 1215 and to express my dismay about the current human rights situation in Burma. On May 30, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and at least 17 officials of her party were detained after a violent clash with members of the Union Solidarity Development Association, a government-created organization that has increasingly taken on paramilitary activities. The military junta that rules Burma has stated that "only" four died in the violence. But the National League for Democracy, Suu Kyi's party, has put the death toll at 75. Furthermore, it is likely the Burmese Government deliberately provoked the clashes to justify cracking down on opposition leaders and closing down universities. Since May 30, the junta has kept Suu Kyi, who is the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, in an undisclosed location. We have recently received word from a U.N. envoy that Suu Kyi is safe, and members of the Burmese Government have promised that they will release her expeditiously. I join with my colleagues in this body, and with the American people, in demanding that the Burmese regime fulfill this promise immediately. The Government must also find those responsible for the violence and hold them accountable. The bill we have before us today addresses the serious human rights situation in Burma.”