Regarding Congressman Tony P Hall's (r)

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Subject: Re:Regarding Congressman Tony P Hall's Trip to Burma

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On Mon, 18 Jan 1999, dawn star wrote:

> What is Hall's address, tel, fax,

Rep. Tony Hall is from Dayton area in Ohio (3rd District).

Phone is 202-225-6465

Fax is 202-225-1992

He will hold a press briefing on his recent trip tomorrow, Jan. 20 at 10
am in 1116 Longworth.

> 
> Julien Moe wrote:
> > 
> > Sunday January 17 8:16 AM ET
> > 
> > Humanitarian Aid Urged for Myanmar
> > 
> > BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - A U.S. congressman on Sunday appealed for
> > large-scale humanitarian aid to Myanmar, rejecting arguments that such
> > assistance would merely sustain that country's harsh military regime.
> > 
> > ``Humanitarian concerns are taking a back seat in Burma. But I've always
> > believed that human concerns and human rights go together,'' Rep. Tony P.
> > Hall, D-Ohio, told reporters in Bangkok.
> > 
> > Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whom Hall met last week,
> > opposes foreign aid to her country, saying some 50 percent of it is
siphoned
> > off by the military.
> > 
> > The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has also criticized some foreign aid
workers
> > for allegedly ``collaborating'' with the regime and promoting poorly
> > conceived projects.
> > 
> > Hall quoted Suu Kyi as saying she would reverse her stance only if
there was
> > a 100 percent guarantee that foreign aid would not go to supporting the
> > government.
> > 
> > Hall said Myanmar, also known as Burma, was plagued by malnutrition,
> > diseases, poor education and the rapid spread of AIDS. Myanmar is
ranked as
> > one of the world's poorest nations.
> > 
> > ``If humanitarian aid is not provided a whole generation will be lost. The
> > need is tremendous,'' Hall said, adding that waiting to provide foreign
> > assistance until democracy is restored might take years and merely prolong
> > poverty and suffering.
> > 
> > Hall said he brought up the government's alleged human rights abuses in
his
> > meeting with strongman Gen. Khin Nyunt.
> > 
> > The regime is widely criticized for arresting political opponents, torture
> > and ruthlessness in dealing with ethnic minorities. It routinely denies
such
> > charges.
> > -----------------
> >  US Lawmaker rejects opposition veto
> > South China Morning Post - 18th Jan
> > BKK
> > Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi should not have a veto on aid to her
> > country, a United States congressman said yesterday.
> > 
> > Tony Hall, a prominent aid advocate, said Burma's health, education and
food
> > problems were "too dire for the international community to ignore".
> > 
> > "I would not say that she should have veto powers at all," he said in
Bangkok
> > after a visit to Burma.
> > 
> > The opposition's suspicions that the military regime would cream off or
manage
> > aid money has effectively cut Burma off from all but a trickle of
humanitarian
> > help.
> > 
> > The congressman, who has encouraged health and food programmes for
North Korea
> > and Sudan, said the world should not be blinded by politics to the Burmese
> > people's "tremendous" problems such as HIV, hunger, dirty water and
> > illiteracy.
> > 
> > Mr Hall said Ms Aung San Suu Kyi had been isolated by the regime and so
> > "doesn't really get a chance" to see many of the problems faced by her
fellow
> > citizens.
> > 
> > He urged her to let reputable non-government organisations know she was
not
> > opposed to humanitarian work as long as they could give "a 100 per cent
> > guarantee that it would not benefit the regime".
> > 
> > Ms Aung San Suu Kyi claimed some aid workers ended up as government
> > "collaborators" and that more than 50 per cent of all assistance was
siphoned
> > off, he said.
> > 
> > She also asked that anyone offering humanitarian assistance to Burma
should
> > consult the National League for Democracy - which won a 1990 election
by an
> > overwhelming majority only to be ignored by the military.
> > 
> > But Mr Hall said many aid organisations saw consultations with any
political
> > party as "going down a slippery slope" and had concentrated their
efforts in
> > other, less complicated countries.
> > 
> > Burma's military intelligence chief, Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, had
given
> > Mr Hall the usual line that the regime "was working towards democracy
while
> > safeguarding law and order".
> > 
> > Nevertheless the general had "promised to be gentle and lenient with the
> > opposition and would try to find agreement with them", said Mr Hall,
who had
> > asked the military junta to release political prisoners and stop
persecuting
> > ethnic minorities.
> > ---------------
> > 
> > World: Asia-Pacific
> > 
> > US congressman calls for aid to Burma
> > 
> > An American Congressman, who's just returned from a trip to Burma, has
said
> > the country is in desperate need of large scale humanitarian aid.
> > 
> > The congressman, Tony Hall, a Democrat, said that withholding
international
> > aid until there's real democracy in Burma would only prolong the
poverty and
> > suffering.
> > 
> > His call conflicts with the policy of the opposition National League for
> > Democracy, whose leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, argues that any aid will go
into
> > the pockets of Burma's generals and won't change the lives of ordinary
people.
> > 
> > >From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > --------------
> 
> 
>