Joe Pitts, June 18, 2009

Congressman Pitts submitted the following remarks at the June 18 reception honoring Aun San Suu Kyi hosted by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission on Capitol Hill.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak at this important event, honoring Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her non-violent struggle for human rights and democracy in Burma.

The situation facing the people of Burma, and thus facing the international community, remains terrible.

There are approximately 1 million internally displaced people inside Burma.

Government forces have destroyed over three thousand villages as it attempts to rid the country of ethnic minorities.

The people of Burma continue to suffer as the brutal military dictatorship engages in ethnic cleansing against the minority populations, using rape as a weapon of terror, and using ethnic peoples as human landmine sweepers.

Just yesterday, I heard the tragic story of a young girl who was brutally attacked and raped, and when her parents reported the attack, they were told that they had no complaint and should go home or their own lives would be in danger.

This same military regime has the dubious distinction of holding under house arrest the world’s only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

Aung San Suu Kyi is a human rights activist who has been a tireless pro-democracy campaigner and leader of the opposition National League for Democracy party.

Aung San Suu Kyi is a fearless leader and incredible women who has sacrificed her life in the name of freedom and self-determination for the people of Burma.

This week, she will celebrate her 64th birthday, even as the Burmese junta continues its kangaroo court trial in an attempt to keep her locked up.

It is astonishing that other nations continue to enable the brutal dictators of Burma to continue their attacks against the people.

Sadly, much of the international community has turned a deaf ear to the cries of the ethnic minorities, the refugees, the IDPs, and the democracy activists -- heroes like Aun San Suu Kyi.

But this must end. We must join together in our opposition to this brutal dictatorship that continues to commit unthinkable atrocities against the people of Burma.

We must be more than just "concerned" -- or even "deeply concerned."

The international community, on behalf of the people of Burma, must make it clear that the oppressive dictators of Burma will no longer be tolerated.

Congressman Joe Pitts, a Republican, represents Pennsylvania's 16th Congressional District, which includes Lancaster County and parts of Chester County and Berks County.