Green Card Holders Can Send Letter

[reaproy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: Green Card Holders Can Send Letter Too on McConnell bill

Dear Burma Activists, 

As an additional thought to my urging you to send letter to U.S. Senators,
of course green card holders and other non-citizens can write letters to
their Senators too since obviously there is no way for the Senators to check
whether you're a voter or not and you certainly don't have to say whether
you are or not either.  They have to presume that every letter they get from
a person in their state is a potential voter and act accordingly.  The only
way they can calculate interest in an issue is by the number of letters and
phone calls they get, which is why it's important that everyone write.  Here
again below is a draft letter that people can adapt/use.  

cheers, Phil
===============
September --, 1995

Senator ________.
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator ________, 

I am writing to request your immediate support for the Free Burma Act of 1995
(S. 1092), a bill to impose economic sanctions on the Burmese military junta
which Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch/Asia and other major human
rights organization continue to classify as one of the most egregious human
rights abusers in the world today.  Specifically, I would urge you to co-
sponsor this important free-standing bill, which was introduced by Senator
McConnell, and also support Senator McConnell when he offers this bill as an
amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill in the third week of
September. 

This is a very important matter to me.  My personal interest in the fight for
democracy and human rights is ...

I have noted the calls of 1991 Nobel Peace Laureate and Burmese opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi (recently released from six years of illegal
detainment at the hands of the military) for continued international
economic pressure to force the military to negotiate in good faith with her.
So far there has been no indication that the military junta (known as the
State Law and Order Restoration Council, better known as SLORC) is willing
to do so, a fact to which U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East
Asia, Kent Weidemann, testified in the House yesterday, September 7th. 

In fact, virtually all observers of the Burmese scene, both here in the U.S.
and in Asia, believe that Aung San Suu Kyi's release in July only occurred
because the SLORC thought it would further open possibilities of foreign aid
and investment in the country.  The argument that investment will raise the
quality of life is, in Burma, a farce because foreign investment primarily goes
to either SLORC-controlled firms or companies controlled by retired military
men.  In fact, SLORC relies heavily on forced labor for infrastructure projects
(a fact which has been repeatedly condemned by the International Labor
Organization), has been dispossessing its citizens of land to make way for
hotel construction in major cities, and presides over an economy which has the
highest inflation rate (over 40%) of any country in Southeast Asia.  The
SLORC and its cronies are getting richer and consolidating their hold on power
because of foreign investment at the expense of the majority of Burmese, who
continue to get poorer.  

The simple fact remains that the Burmese people continue to overwhelming
support Aung San Suu Kyi as the legitimate leader of Burma (her party, the
National League for Democracy, won 392 of 485 seats in the 1990 elections
which the military arbitrarily disallowed) and she has called for greater
economic pressure against Burma.  There are very clear parallels between her
call and that of Nelson Mandela to maintain economic sanctions against South
Africa when he was seeking to push the National Party to allow elections is 
entirely appropriate.  In fact, fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu
has also spoken in favor of economic sanctions against Burma, in support of
his fellow Laureate's call. 

Please take a strong stand and support S. 1092 and the McConnell amendment
to the Foreign Operations bill.  Only with significant international pressure
with the military junta in Burma realize that the world is not going to look the
other way, that they need to negotiate seriously with the Burmese democracy
movement, and that their refusal to reinstate the results of the free and fair
1990 elections will not be allowed to stand. 

I look forward to hearing from you on this important issue to me. 


                                        Sincerely yours, 


                                        (name)
                                        (address)