This past Sunday – June 19 – marked the 60^th birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi. Ms. Suu Kyi has dedicated her life to bringing about democracy in Burma, and was awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 1991. Her party, the National League of Democracy won a landslide victory in the country’s 1990 elections, but the results were not recognized by Burma’s ruling military junta.

Unfortunately, Ms. Suu Kyi, who has spent almost 10 out of the last 16 years in confinement, could not celebrate her birthday last week with her friends and supporters. Instead, she remains under house arrest.

The plight of Ms. Suu Kyi is a sign of how little things have changed in Burma.

According to the U.S. State Department’s March 2005 Report to Congress on Conditions in Burma and U.S. Policy toward Burma, "prospects for meaningful political change and reform [in Burma have] continued to decline."

The Government of Burma continues to harass and arrest people for taking part in peaceful political activities, and more than 1,200 people remain jailed for their political beliefs.

The State Peace and Development Council, the controlling military junta, has continued to severely abuse its citizens’ human rights. Freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly and association remain greatly restricted.

In ethnic minority areas, the Burmese Government has engaged in persecution, torture, extrajudicial executions, demolition of places of worship, rape and forced labor.

Security forces regularly monitor the movements and communications of residents, search homes without warrants, and relocate persons forcibly without compensation or legal recourse.

In light of Burma’s continued dismal record on human rights and the suppression of democracy, I urge my colleagues to extend the ban on imports of Burmese products for another year. The utter disregard of the Government of Burma for the rights of its citizens cannot be ignored.