Posted on 07/29/2003 2:09:24 PM PDT by knighthawk
WASHINGTON: President George W Bush has signed a bill and issued an executive order to pressure rulers in the Asian nation of Myanmar to release democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.
Among other things, the law bans the import of products from Myanmar, also known as Burma. The executive order freezes assets of senior Burmese officials and prohibits virtually all remittances to Myanmar.
"By denying these rulers the hard currency they use to fund their repression, we are providing strong incentives for democratic change and human rights in Burma," Bush said on Monday in a statement.
There was only scant opposition to the bill in Congress. The House passed it on a vote of 418-2. The Senate's July 16 vote of 94-1 came a little more than a month after the military leaders of Myanmar re-arrested Suu Kyi, who was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. They simultaneously renewed their crackdown on the pro-democracy movement she leads.
"With the stroke of his pen, the president sent a message to the entire world that we must support democracy and freedom in Burma," said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
Since May, Burmese officials have ignored demands from around the world to release Suu Kyi and other members of her National League for Democracy and to reopen the league's offices.
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