Russ Feingold: “I am pleased to support S.J. Res. 39, approving the renewal of import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and…”

“I am pleased to support S.J. Res. 39, approving the renewal of import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003. I am a cosponsor of this resolution, and I believe that these sanctions must be renewed. The resolution states that the State Peace and Development Council, SPDC, the military junta of Burma, has failed to make substantial progress toward implementing a democratic government and that import sanctions and other restrictions against the SPDC must remain in force until "Burma embarks on an irreversible path of reconciliation that includes the full and unfettered participation of the National League for Democracy and ethnic minorities in the country." The situation in Burma remains disturbing. The military junta in Burma continues to commit egregious human rights abuses against its population. Human rights organizations have documented the systematic rape of Shan women on a massive scale by Burmese military forces and the recruitment of children, as young as 11, into the Burmese national army. Torture, extra judicial executions, forced labor and widespread political repression all characterize the Burmese political landscape. Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy, NLD, and other senior NLD members remain under house arrest. Approximately 1,300 political activists, including elected members of parliament, languish in Burmese prisons, as punishment for their nonviolent pursuit of democracy.”