Durbin, McCain, 46 Senators Push for Arms Embargo Against Burma

December 18, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – A bipartisan group of 48 Senators, lead by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and John McCain (R-AZ), today, asked the President to support an international arms embargo against Burma. In a letter to the White House, the Senators urged the President to press the UN Security Council to impose sanctions and to continue to support the efforts of thousands of Burmese citizens fighting for democratic change.

“In September, thousands of Burmese took to the streets to peacefully protest for change,” the Senators wrote. “Tragically, the Burmese military government violently suppressed the peaceful protests, ignoring the overwhelming demands for reform issued by its own people and by the global community. No responsible nation should provide weapons to a regime as reprehensible as the one found in Burma.”

The Senators asked the President to support binding measures that will stop the inflow of weapons to the Burmese military – weapons that the military uses to further its decades long junta. An international arms embargo has widespread support from human rights groups, members of the European Union and broad bipartisan support within the Congress.

Text of the letter appears below:

December 18, 2007

Dear Mr. President:

We write urging the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations to immediately press the UN Security Council to impose an international arms embargo against Burma.

In September of this year, thousands of Burmese took to the streets to peacefully protest for change. Monks, lined by thousands of cheering and clapping supporters, marched through Burma’s cities calling for an end to one of the world’s most repressive regimes. All the while, Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi remained under house arrest, where the military has shamefully detained her for most of the seventeen years since her party won a landslide election in 1990.

Tragically, the Burmese military government violently suppressed the peaceful protests, ignoring the overwhelming demands for reform issued by its own people and by the global community. No responsible nation should provide weapons to a regime as reprehensible as the one found in Burma. The junta uses its weapons against its own people to enforce a climate of fear and oppression. Torture, forced labor, rape, and arbitrary imprisonment are widespread, and the regime has continued its brutal tactics year after year despite ongoing global condemnation.

You and the First Lady have been strong public advocates for change in Burma. Your voices have joined many others from around the globe, including South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former Czech president Vaclav Havel, both of whom have called for greater UN action on Burma. In December 2001, all living Nobel Peace Laureates gathered in Oslo to honor fellow Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. And in May of this year, former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik released a letter he organized with 59 former heads of state from five continents calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all other Burmese political prisoners.

Thousands of extraordinarily brave Burmese monks and everyday citizens insist that the time for peaceful change is now. We must continue to support their efforts.

The UN Security Council issued a presidential statement in October calling for change inside Burma. While welcome, this non-binding statement is not enough. It is time to halt the flow of arms to the Burmese military – arms that directly contribute to its grip on power.

An international arms embargo is supported by numerous human rights groups and enjoys broad bipartisan support in Congress. The European Union and many other countries have already imposed their own arms embargoes against Burma, and we believe you could elicit their strong support for a comprehensive international arms ban.

We urge you to press the UN Security Council to impose such an embargo against Burma and thank you for the steps you have already taken on this issue.

Sincerely,

Dick Durbin
U.S. Senator

Source: Senator Dick Durbin

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