U.S. Support for Human Rights and D

[moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

U.S. Support for Human Rights and Democracy in Burma 

                   U.S. Policy Statements 
                                                       Legislation,
International Support 
U.S. Department of State Report on Burma Human Rights Practices for 1997


                                       Reviewed 2 March 1998


    The United States condemns in the strongest terms efforts by the
State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), recently renamed the
State Peace
    and Development Council (SPDC), to prevent the citizens of Burma
from exercising their basic political rights. The United States wants an
end to human
    rights abuses and the installation of a democratically elected
government in Rangoon, and supports the aspirations of the National
League for
    Democracy (NLD) and the people of Burma, who desire what so many
others around the world now take for granted: the chance to freely
express their
    views and to be represented by leaders of their choosing.

    Burma cannot fully rejoin the international community and gain the
assistance it needs until fundamental changes are made. The United
States
    maintains its position that a meaningful political dialogue between
the Burmese authorities and the democratic opposition leaders and
representatives of
    the ethnic groups is the only path to a solution of Burma's crisis.