[House Hearing, 113 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
BURMA HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY ACT OF 2014
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MARKUP
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON
H.R. 4377
__________
SEPTEMBER 9, 2014
__________
Serial No. 113-221
__________
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COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American
DANA ROHRABACHER, California Samoa
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio BRAD SHERMAN, California
JOE WILSON, South Carolina GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
TED POE, Texas GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
MATT SALMON, Arizona THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida
TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania BRIAN HIGGINS, New York
JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina KAREN BASS, California
ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts
MO BROOKS, Alabama DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island
TOM COTTON, Arkansas ALAN GRAYSON, Florida
PAUL COOK, California JUAN VARGAS, California
GEORGE HOLDING, North Carolina BRADLEY S. SCHNEIDER, Illinois
RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas JOSEPH P. KENNEDY III,
SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania Massachusetts
STEVE STOCKMAN, Texas AMI BERA, California
RON DeSANTIS, Florida ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California
DOUG COLLINS, Georgia GRACE MENG, New York
MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina LOIS FRANKEL, Florida
TED S. YOHO, Florida TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii
SEAN DUFFY, Wisconsin JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas
CURT CLAWSON, Florida
Amy Porter, Chief of Staff Thomas Sheehy, Staff Director
Jason Steinbaum, Democratic Staff Director
------
Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio, Chairman
DANA ROHRABACHER, California ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American
MATT SALMON, Arizona Samoa
MO BROOKS, Alabama AMI BERA, California
GEORGE HOLDING, North Carolina TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii
SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania BRAD SHERMAN, California
DOUG COLLINS, Georgia GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
CURT CLAWSON, Florida WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts
C O N T E N T S
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Page
MARKUP OF
H.R. 4377, To place conditions on assistance to the Government of
Burma.......................................................... 4
APPENDIX
Markup notice.................................................... 18
Markup minutes................................................... 19
Markup summary................................................... 20
The Honorable George Holding, a Representative in Congress from
the State of North Carolina: Prepared statement................ 21
The Honorable Gerald E. Connolly, a Representative in Congress
from the Commonwealth of Virginia: Prepared statement.......... 22
BURMA HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY ACT OF 2014
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2014
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2 o'clock p.m.,
in room 2172 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Steve Chabot
(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. Chabot. The committee will come to order. Pursuant to
notice, I call up H.R. 4377, Burma Human Rights and Democracy
Act of 2014, for purposes of markup and move its recommendation
to the full committee. Without objection, the bill is
considered as read and open for amendment at any point.
I now recognize myself to speak on the bill. Since 2011, we
have witnessed U.S. policy toward Burma undergo a discernible
shift. During this time, the subcommittee has held a number of
hearings to examine this policy change, as well as express our
concerns regarding the ongoing human rights abuses inside
Burma. Last year, the administration decided to apply a more
forward leaning engagement strategy with Burma, but did so
based on unfulfilled promises from the Burmese Government. Most
notably, this included the administration's decision to
initiate direct military engagement with the Burmese military
as well as a Fiscal Year 2015 request for international
military and education training assistance.
I think we all agree that the Burma we see today is much
different than the one we knew only a few years ago. Most will
argue that Burma's sudden and unexpected democratic changes
which opened its frontier to the world was indeed incredible.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi's election to
Parliament brought much hope, as did the regime's actions to
release nearly 30,000 prisoners, 1,071 of which were political
prisoners.
However, the political and social situation in Burma has
taken a sharp turn for the worse. And I am very troubled by its
current trajectory. The civil unrest between the Buddhist
majority and Muslim minority is threatening the progression of
Burma's future political reforms. Nearly 140,000 Rohingya have
been displaced by violent attacks and now live in concentration
camp like conditions. Last year, the United States Special
Rapporteur called the situation ``a profound crisis.'' Since
that time, the Burmese Government has taken few, if any, steps
to forge a peaceful, harmonious, and prosperous future for the
Rakhine State.
Even the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Center for the
Prevention of Genocide is now tracking Burma. With al-Qaeda's
leader Zawahiri's recent call for operations to expand into
Burma, we have to fear for the future stability of the country
and its government's unwillingness to do anything about it. The
Obama administration has been very generous toward the Thein
Sein government. The list of gestures is long and includes
trade and investment negotiations to allow Burma's military to
observe the largest military exercise in the world, Cobra Gold.
However, providing assistance to Burma's military despite
the military being a perpetrator of human rights abuses against
Rohingya and other ethnic minorities, it's failure to sever
ties with North Korea, and it's lack of commitment to reforms
that will ensure civilian oversight of its armed forces. It is
hasty and careless.
The Burmese military still uses rape as a weapon of war and
has more recently shown its refusal to allow for further
democratic reforms to Burma's Constitution. In addition, there
has recently been a serious clamp down on press freedoms. The
July sentencing of five journalists to 10 years in prison and
hard labor for reporting about an alleged government chemical
weapons factory is outrageous. A country that sentences its
citizens to hard labor for reporting a very worrisome weapons
program likely run by the military is no burgeoning democratic
state. It is an authoritarian regime under the guise of reform
pretenses.
U.S. State Department officials were given no assurances
that security assistance would ultimately help the Burmese
people rather than provide legitimacy to one of the most
oppressive military organizations in the world. They failed to
provide an outline and strategy for how future engagement will
progress and have stated that civil society groups support this
assistance when, in fact, they do not. That is why I introduced
H.R. 4377, the Burma Human Rights Act of 2014, along with my
colleague, Congressman Joe Crowley, who is also with us here
this afternoon. This legislation will ensure that U.S. security
assistance is not provided to the Burmese military until
Congress receives assurances that both the Burmese Government
and military have taken the appropriate actions to end human
rights abuses, actively supporting democratic reforms,
appropriately addressing the resettlement in humanitarian
situation of displaced persons, and are taking steps to allow
for civilian control.
H.R. 4377 restricts security assistance to Burma for
international military and education training, military
financing assistance, assistance to military units or personnel
for demining programs, the sales of defense articles or defense
services, extensions of credits, and guarantees of loans under
the Arms Export Control Act, and any license for the export of
defense articles or services to the armed forces, police
intelligence, or other internal security forces in Burma.
At the same time, H.R. 4377 notes Congress' support of the
Defense Institute of International Legal Studies training on
civil military relations and human rights to Burmese
authorities as well as the support of disaster assistance to
Burma. The bill requires the Secretary of State to submit to
Congress a report on the strategy for engagement with Burma's
military, a description of Burma's reform efforts, an
assessment of the Burmese military's human rights record, steps
taken by the Burmese military to implement transparency and
accountability measures, and an outline of all ongoing
activities conducted between the U.S. and the Burmese military.
As we witness a deterioration of human rights and political
stability in Burma, I believe the administration needs to
reassess its strategy going forward. It is time to give the
Burmese Government the opportunity to show that it is genuinely
committed to reform. H.R. 4377 puts the necessary restrictions
in place to limit the injudicious and premature decision to
engage with Burma's military. It is a critical piece of
legislation that will help ensure reform efforts in Burma to
continue in such a way that all the people of Burma are
supported. By linking military engagement with continued
reforms, it promotes freedom and democracy and pins
responsibility on the Burmese military to show that it is
committed to reform efforts.
As of today, this has been severely lacking and I would
urge my colleagues to support this legislation. I yield back
the balance of my time. And I would recognize the acting
ranking member of the committee, Ms. Gabbard for 5 minutes.
[H.R. 4377 follows:]
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Ms. Gabbard. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you also to
Congressman Crowley for your work on this bill and support for
human rights in Burma. Your description for why this bill is
necessary and what you hope to accomplish makes a very strong
case for how it has been supported in a bipartisan way.
For many years, the U.S. Congress and this committee have
stood strongly behind Burma's democracy movement in fighting to
bring an end to one of the world's most brutal military
regimes. And there can be no doubt that the Burmese military
has committed some of the world's most heinous crimes. That
includes attacks on ethnic minority villages, the use of rape
as a weapon of war, and the shooting of activists in cold blood
on the streets. That is why Congress passed legislation
authorizing tough sanctions on Burma and it is why we need to
be concerned about Burma today.
The fact is that many of the issues in Burma continue.
There are many areas where expected progress has been stalled
and in key areas, progress already accomplished is rolling
back. For example, this government released many political
prisoners who are democracy activists. But since the beginning
of this year, the arrest of prisoners has begun again with
renewed vigor. Those who were released were done so only
conditionally, meaning their sentences are still hanging over
their heads. The military continues to maintain its veto power
over political life in Burma. Burma is operating under a
Constitution that empowers the military over its people. In
fact, the Congress passed a resolution strongly condemning this
constitutional referendum when it took place.
Now is not the time for the United States to embrace a
military that has not shown even an interest in change. We have
worked for the release of political prisoners and an end to
attacks on ethnic minorities, but these things are not
happening today. In fact, the continued partnership with North
Korea goes directly against what is in the best interests of
the United States. I support this legislation and urge its
adoption. I yield back.
Mr. Chabot. The gentlelady yields back. Thank you very
much. I am pleased that our colleague from New York, Mr.
Crowley, a former member of the committee, is with us today.
And without objection we will recognize him to speak next on
this side. At this time, I will recognize Mr. Rohrabacher.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Thank you very much and I have worked for
25 years, actually 26 years now on Burma issues and we were so
joyous just a short time ago that it looked like we had turned
the corner and that things would be getting better for the
people of Burma and that a relationship with the United States
would be beneficial to our people, but a huge benefit to the
people in Burma. Unfortunately, that euphoria is now giving way
to disappointment.
This legislation today that we are submitting is a warning
to the Government of Burma creating the facade of democratic
reform is not enough. Creating the facade of democratic reform
while maintaining a high level of repression, especially
brutally and violently, committing acts of suppression against
ethnic and tribal peoples like the Karens and the Karennis and
others. This is totally unacceptable and will take us back to
the bad old days when Burma was the pariah of the world.
We are aware of the continuous and the continuing murders
and attacks on these ethnic peoples along the border. We are
also aware that the minority of Muslims, the government is
standing aside and letting them be brutally murdered by various
forces in that part of Burma.
This legislation is a clear statement that the Government
of Burma ignores at its own peril. We are moving to stop
military support for the Burmese military. If human rights
keeps getting worse in Burma, the people of Burma will pay a
dear price. And the people of that region will pay a dear price
from what we thought would be a more open system that is hooked
into the economy in that part of the world and would have been
beneficial to everyone. These steps that have been taken are
certainly not enough because what we are seeing now is a slide
back even to steps that didn't go far enough, but now we are
sliding back into repression and dictatorship. And
unfortunately, with that will come a slide into a hostile
relationship with the United States and those other Western
countries.
So I would hope that the people who are in a decision-
making position in Burma pay close attention because want to
have a good relationship with them. We want to have a
relationship with the people of Burma that will be beneficial
to them and positive in nature for that whole region of the
world. Unfortunately, decisions made to continue the type of
attacks and repression that the Burmese leadership are
permitting on the ethnic groups as well as the elimination of
freedom, personal freedoms, and individual rights among the
Burmese people as well, this is going to lead into a historic
disaster in that it will be a reversal from going forward and
instead drag Burma again down into the pits. Thank you very
much, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chabot. Thank you very much. The gentleman's time has
expired. I would now like to recognize the gentleman from New
York, the principal co-sponsor of the legislation and thank him
for his leadership on the bill. Our staff worked very closely
on this and a lot of the language in here was at the
suggestion, the assistance, the help, and the leadership of the
gentleman from New York. So thank you very much and you are
recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Crowley. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, thank you for letting
me participate as well. I served 12 years on this committee and
I miss this room more than I thought I would, so it is good to
be back. And thank you for yielding me the time. I also want to
thank Ranking Member Faleomavaega, although not here today, and
very ably served this afternoon substituted by my good friend,
Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii.
This is a bipartisan piece of legislation and in that
spirit I want to say I deeply appreciate, Mr. Chairman, your
support and your bringing this before the subcommittee today.
You have been a true champion for freedom and democracy for the
Burmese people in holding hearings on this issue and helping
bring attention and raise awareness and I am deeply
appreciative of that and I thank you for that.
I am here as the lead Democrat on this issue and the reason
I have been so drawn to this issue is because I believe it is
the right thing to do. Over the past few years, we have seen
some progress on some issues in Burma, some that we have all
taken joy and pride in seeing take place. I vocally supported
the administration's policy of action for action. I was eager
as Democratic House member to support that policy, but I am
concerned about a number of issues and I am very uneasy about
those who are proposing that the U.S. military move ahead
quickly to embrace the military that has not yet reformed
enough.
I am also very uneasy about the fact that the United States
is considered a further relaxing of pressure, even though core
issues have stalled and are ongoing in an unaddressed way and
in fact in many respects are moving backwards as the chairman
and others have indicated. That includes the fact that the
opposition leader in Burma cannot serve as president of Burma.
I have to say I have never heard of an election being
considered free and fair if the opposition candidate is barred
from serving as a leader in the Constitution. That is not free.
That is not fair period. I am also concerned about the
situation with respect to the media in Burma, the recent arrest
of journalists and sentencing them to 10 years with hard labor
is not consistent with actions of a democratic country.
Similarly, ongoing attacks on minority groups like the
Kachin and the Shan are inconsistent with a democratic system.
They simply are not. The world is also concerned about the
Rohingya and other Muslims. These are men, women, children and
infants who are for all practical purposes locked up in camps
and denied healthcare and adequate nutrition. What is going on
there should hit the conscience of all those concerned with
human rights. I don't care what your religion is or what your
background is, no one should be denied food and healthcare. On
top of all of this, the number of political prisoners in Burma
has increased since the beginning of this year. These are just
some of the other reasons that this legislation makes sense. If
the Burmese authorities want to have a more advanced
relationship with the United States and a relaxed one as well
with our military, it cannot be an exchange for just open-ended
promises of change somewhere down the line. It should be linked
to the concrete reforms that we expect of civilian rule. I am
okay with limited bills training, as I have said that before,
but only if that training shows results. Anything beyond that
is staged and is premature.
So I once again appeal to the Government of Burma. It is
about 15 months before the 2015 elections. Make it clear right
here and now that these elections will be free and they will be
fair, truly free and truly fair. Most importantly, amend the
Constitution. Make sure that Aung San Suu Kyi is eligible to
serve as president, if elected. Give Burma's ethnic peoples a
voice in the future of their country. The whole world knows
this isn't as simple as it sounds. The Constitution was
initially adopted through a sham referendum which led to the
current government. The current government and party completely
dominate the constitutional amendment process because 25
percent of the Parliament is controlled by the military.
So let us not pretend that this is a democratic process. It
is a process dominated by the same powers that wrote the
undemocratic Constitution in the first place. That is why it
needs to change so the people of Burma have the chance to
determine their own destiny. I urge passage of the chairman's
bill and once again, thank him as well as the Democrats and
Republicans on this committee for moving it forward. And I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. Chabot. Thank you very much. I think it was well said.
And does the gentleman from California seek recognition?
Mr. Sherman. Yes, briefly.
Mr. Chabot. The gentleman is recognized.
Mr. Sherman. I have this brilliant speech in favor of the
bill. Unfortunately, my brilliant colleagues of both parties
have already said everything I was going to say and
accordingly, I yield back.
Mr. Chabot. Thank you. I understand there is no one else on
this side who seeks recognition at this time. Excellent.
Are there any amendments to the bill? Hearing no
amendments, the question occurs on the motion to report the
bill favorably. All in favor say aye.
Those opposed, say no.
In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. The motion
is approved and the bill is reported favorably.
Without objection, the bill be reported favorably to the
full committee and I want to thank our members and staff for
all their assistance and cooperation on today's markup. The
subcommittee stands adjourned. Thank you very much.
[Whereupon, at 2:20 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
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