William R. Richardson: “Today I wish to inform the House about a recent trip I undertook on behalf of the House Intelligence Committee to…”

“Today I wish to inform the House about a recent trip I undertook on behalf of the House Intelligence Committee to Rangoon, Burma. Burma in Southeast Asia pops up in the news and in the public conscience infrequently, but in the days ahead my prediction is that international attention will focus on this Nation, will focus on the United States policy toward this nation and international policy toward this nation and on one valiant woman, Aung San Suu Kyi. The public has yet to learn about this remarkable woman, a woman I had the privilege of visiting for 6 hours while in Rangoon. She has been under house arrest for the past 5 years. Her party won conclusive elections 4 years ago, 80 percent of the vote, and the military government proceeded to put her under house arrest and jailed thousands of members of her political party. Today she is still under house arrest, able to see only her family physician and a very narrow circle of personal individuals. I had the privilege of visiting her; the first nonfamily member in the last 5 years to see her. The Burmese Government, responding to a request that I had made last year, agreed to let me visit with her for a period of approximately 6 hours over 2 days. Madam Speaker, I can tell you that she is a woman of conscience, a tower of intellectual strength, a woman of principles. She asks for nothing, except democracy in her country.”