NEEDED: REGIME CHANGES IN BURMA AND CAMBODIA -- (Senate - September 13, 2002)

[Page: S8615]  GPO's PDF

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on August 1, 2002 the United States and the Association for Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, signed a ``Joint Declaration for Cooperation To Combat International Terrorism.''

Through this Declaration, both Burma and Cambodia affirmed commitments ``to counter, prevent, and suppress all forms of terrorist acts .....'' and pledged to view ``acts of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, committed wherever, whenever, and by whomsoever, as a profound threat to international peace and security.......''

Lest the irony of these commitments be lost on my colleagues, let me say a word or two about each country.

For over a decade, the people of Burma have been under the repressive misrule of military thugs who have systematically ruined the economy, while profiting from illicit activities, imprisoned political opponents, (including those legitimately elected by the people of Burma), raped ethnic girls and women, forced into labor children and villagers, and squandered scarce financial resources on military weapons and nuclear technology, at the expense of the welfare of their compatriots.

Just last week, two members of the youth wing of the National League for Democracy--the legitimately elected representatives of the people of Burma--were arrested and sentenced to three years in prison for possessing a journal published by exiled dissidents. By any definition, the State Peace and Development Council's rule in Burma has been a reign of terror.

In neighboring Cambodia, the ruling party is led by a former Khmer Rouge guerilla whose penchant for violence is well known, and documented, throughout the region. In July 1997, Prime Minister Hun Sen staged a bloody coup d'etat to oust his royalist rivals, and he is the prime suspect in a brutal assassination attempt on the country's sole opposition leader, Sam Rainsy.

That attempt, which occurred during a political rally on Easter Sunday in 1997, failed, but killed and injured scores of Cambodians. American democracy worker Ron Abney was injured in the terrorist attack, and has long suspected that Hun Sen was the devious mastermind. To this day, Ron and all victims of Hun Sen's terror are awaiting justice.

I am also troubled by news reports that Heng Sean, an opposition activist, was murdered in Kampong Cham over the weekend. It appears that Mr. Heng's only crime was to support Sam Rainsy and his agenda for reform.

For my colleagues less familiar with Cambodian affairs, I recommend reading ``The Cambodian Conundrum'' by veteran journalist Nate Thayer, Foreign Service Journal, March 2002, which provides keen insights into the previous Administration's ``blind eye'' foreign policy in Cambodia.

Given the actions of Southeast Asian hardliners in Rangoon and Phnom Penh, last month's pledges to combat terrorism ring hollow. It would serve American interests in the war on terrorism--as well as benefit the welfare of the people of Burma and Cambodia--for regime changes to occur in those countries. 

WCC Response to Senator McConnell