Press Releases
Contact:
Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami
202-226-7616
For Immediate Release
07/23/2007
Pelosi Statement in Support of Renewing U.S. Import Restrictions on Burma
Washington, D.C.: Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following
statement today on the passage of H.J. Res. 44, sponsored by Congressman Tom
Lantos of California, Chairman of the Foreign
Affairs Committee, to renew the U.S.
import restrictions on the Burmese government until substantial progress is
made to promote democracy and end human rights abuses. The joint resolution was agreed to by a voice
vote this afternoon.
“Today’s vote to renew U.S.
import restrictions on the military regime in Burma
sends a clear message that those fighting for democracy and human rights in Burma do not
stand alone in their struggle.
“According to the U.S. State Department and non-governmental
organizations, the human rights situation in Burma continues to worsen with the
deplorably familiar pattern of government-sanctioned murder, torture, rape,
arbitrary arrest, and forced labor.
“Last month, Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s
democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, was forced to celebrate
another birthday under house arrest in Burma. She has made every conceivable sacrifice to
win freedom for her people. She has seen
her supporters beaten, tortured, and killed, yet she never responded to hatred
and violence in kind.
“The passage of this resolution shows that the American
people will continue to stand with Aung San Suu Kyi and the freedom-seeking
people of Burma
in their just cause.”