William Helms: “with all due respect to the able Senator from Maine, whom I do respect, I have a problem with his amendment. His…”

“with all due respect to the able Senator from Maine, whom I do respect, I have a problem with his amendment. His amendment is based on the premise that the United States should wait until a future time--nobody knows when--a future time to impose tougher sanctions against the illegal SLORC regime in Burma. The Cohen amendment for conditional sanctions provides for a ban on new investment only ``if the President [of the United States] determines and certifies to Congress that, [at some future date,] the Government of Burma has physically harmed, rearrested for political acts, or exiled Daw Aung San Suu Kyi or has committed large-scale repression of or violence against the democratic opposition.'' Mr. President, the Government of Burma, the SLORC, S-L-O-R-C, as it is known, has already done enough to Ms. Suu Kyi, has already committed large-scale repression and violence, not only against the democratic opposition, but against the people of Burma. We know there is forced labor in Burma. There is no question about that. We know that Burma is the source of more than 60 percent of the heroin finding its way into the United States, and we know that the SLORC regime is implicated in this trade. No question about it. However, we know that the people of Burma elected the National League for Democracy overwhelmingly in elections 6 years ago, and that it has been straight downhill ever since that time.”