Welcome home, and thank you for your most recent service to our country. Securing the release of John Yettaw without committing our armed forces, or any of our resources for that matter, to taking action is truly a gift to the United States. In addition, making any sort of progress toward the release of Aung San Su Kyi is a great step for Burmese democracy and human rights worldwide.
I am concerned, however, that engagement with the military junta in Burma may serve to bolster its hold on the country and continue to perpetrate one of the most dramatic systematicly abusive regimes in the world. Reading The Stone of Heaven by Cathy Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy, I was shocked by the conditions under which the miners in Hpakan must live and work. The spread of HIV and malaria as well as opium use which is tacitly encouraged by the government controlled mining companies comes closest to any non-fiction description I have read of a hell on earth.
If freeing Aung Son Su Kyi will lead to improved government which in turn leads to lasting freedom for the people of northern Burma, that is an outcome to be prayed for. If Ms. Su Kyi’s release would only serve to prop up the US’s bone fides in the eyes of the world with no real change for the average Burman, than we have not served the role which I believe is ours as a country to serve. We are uniquely positioned in this country to fight for the dignity of ordinary people around the world.
I support engagement on a diplomatic level with those countries which concern us most. The failings of the previous administration were largely due to a lack of engagement in the world. But please, let us engage honestly and let us not allow ourselves to join in perpetuating other people’s nightmares. As you proceed with your work in the Senate and the world, help us keep those principles for which you have fought and served at the forefront at all times.