[House Document 107-212]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 107-212
PERIODIC REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO BURMA
__________
MESSAGE
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
A 6-MONTH PERIODIC REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO
BURMA DECLARED BY EXECUTIVE ORDER 13047 OF MAY 20, 1997, PURSUANT
TO 50 U.S.C. 1641(c).
May 16, 2002.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the
Committee on International Relations and ordered to be printed
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
99-011 WASHINGTON : 2002
To the Congress of the United States:
As required by section 401(c) of the National Emergencies
Act, 50 U.S.C. 1641(c), and section 204(c) of the International
Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1703(c), I transmit
herewith a 6-month periodic report prepared by my
Administration on the national emergency with respect to Burma
that was declared in Executive Order 13047 of May 20, 1997.
George W. Bush.
The White House, May 16, 2002.
Periodic Report on the National Emergency With Respect to Burma
This is a report to the Congress on developments over the
course of the past 6 months concerning the national emergency
with respect to Burma that was declared in Executive Order
13047 of May 20, 1997, pursuant to, inter alia, section 570 of
the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs
Appropriations Act, 1997 (Public Law 104-208) and the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (``IEEPA''). This
report is submitted pursuant to section 204(c) of IEEPA, 50
U.S.C. 1703(c), and section 401(c) of the National Emergencies
Act, 50 U.S.C. 1641(c).
1. Since the issuance of Executive Order 13047, the
Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control
(``OFAC'') has administered the Burma sanctions. OFAC continues
to disseminate details of this program to the financial,
securities, and international trade communities by both
electronic and conventional media, as well as to the U.S.
Embassy in Rangoon for distribution to U.S. companies operating
in Burma. In the 6-month period since November 20, 2001, OFAC
has issued no specific licenses authorizing transactions
otherwise prohibited by the Burmese Sanctions Regulations, 31
C.F.R. Part 537 (the ``Regulations''), and has neither assessed
nor collected any civil monetary penalty for a violation of the
Regulations.
2. The expenses incurred by the Federal Government in the
6-month period from November 20, 2001, that are directly
attributable to the exercise of powers and authorities
conferred by the declaration of a national emergency with
respect to Burma are estimated at approximately $13,000, most
of which represent wage and salary costs for Federal personnel.
Personnel costs were largely centered in the Department of the
Treasury (particularly in the Office of Foreign Assets Control,
the Office of the Under Secretary for Enforcement, and the
Office of the General Counsel) and the Department of State.
3. After 19 months of UN-facilitated dialogue, the regime
released opposition Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from house
arrest on May 6, 2002. We welcome her release and hope this
signals that the ruling generals in Rangoon are serious about
political reform and democratization. We hope her release will
be the first step in a process that leads to national
reconciliation and a restoration of democracy. The regime still
holds more than 1,000 political prisoners, and well-documented
human rights abuses, particularly against ethnic minorities,
continue. Burma has taken limited but still insufficient steps
to counter narcotics productions and trafficking. Only a return
to democracy and reintegration with the international community
can bring the freedom and prosperity which the people of Burma
both long for and deserve.
The net effect of U.S. and international measures to
pressure the SPDC to end its repression and move toward
democratic government has been a further decline in investor
confidence in Burma and deeper stagnation of the Burmese
economy. Observers agree that the Burmese economy appears to be
further weakening and that the government has a serious
shortage of foreign exchange reserves with which to pay for
imports. While Burma's economic crisis is largely a result of
the State Peace and Development Council's (``SPDC'') own heavy-
handed mismanagement, the SPDC is unlikely to find a way out of
the crisis unless political developments permit an easing of
international pressure. The United States will closely monitor
the situation within Burma as developments unfold. We will also
consult with ASEAN, Japan, the European Union and other
partners on how the international community can most
effectively encourage further progress toward restoration of
democracy.