,,iii  #aadth ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #aaf  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,march    
#bf1 #bjae ,mr4 ,graham 7for himself1   
,mr4 ,menendez1 and ,mr4 ,rubio7        
submitted the following resolution2     
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,foreign ,relations  ,,resolution       
,providing for free and fair elections  
in ,burma4  ,whereas the ,union         
,election ,commission of ,burma         
announced that the country will hold    
general elections in the final quarter  
of calendar year #bjae2 ,whereas        
,burma's history with general elections 
has been characterized by controversy1  
conflict1 and interference instigated by
 the military of ,burma 7the ,tatmadaw71
 including in ,may #aiij and ,november  
#bjaj1 and in the ,april #bjab          
by-elections2 ,whereas the ,tatmadaw    
refused to transfer power to the        
,national ,league for ,democracy        
7,,nld71 an opposition political party  
led by ,daw ,aung ,san ,suu ,kyi1       

following the ,may #aiij elections in   
which the ,,nld won #cib of #dib seats1 
and used the flawed #bjjh ,constitution 
of ,burma to undermine elections in     
,november #bjaj2 ,whereas stated        
intentions of the ,government of ,burma 
to negotiate a ,federal union with      
ethnic leaders and groups is not matched
 by the ongoing ,tatmadaw offensives in 
,kachin and ,northern ,shan ,states2    
,whereas1 on ,march #e1 #bjae1 and      
,march #aj1 #bjae1 the ,government of   
,burma responded to peaceful student    
protests in ,rangoon and ,letpadan with 
brutal violence and detained over #abj  
peaceful protestors2 ,whereas the       
,united ,nations ,special               
,representative of the                  
,secretary-,general on ,sexual ,violence
 in ,conflict stated on ,january #bg1   
#bjae1 ,i ''' urge the ,government to   
put a final end to impunity for         
conflict-related sexual violence that is
 particularly targeting ethnic minority 
areas42 ,whereas the ,united ,nations   

,special ,rapporteur on the ,situation  
of ,human ,rights in ,myanmar stated on 
,january #af1 #bjae1 ,i remain          
particularly concerned at the failure of
 measures to ensure accountability of   
military officials1 including for sexual
 and gender based violence in conflict  
zones42 ,whereas the ,tatmadaw continues
 to wield unchecked political and       
economic power and influence in ,burma1 
as evidenced by the consumption of over 
#bc percent of the national budget2 the 
set-aside of one-quarter of the seats in
 parliament which gives the ,tatmadaw   
veto power over legislative and         
constitutional reforms2 and control of  
the country's largest business          
conglomerates1 including in the natural 
resource sector2 ,whereas the #bjjh     
,constitution of ,burma preserves and   
protects the power and influence of the 
,tatmadaw through ,articles #dag1 #dah1 
#dbj1 and #dbe1 which provide the       
,president of ,burma with authority to  
declare a state of emergency due to acts

 or attempts to take over the           
sovereignty of the ,union by insurgency1
 violence and wrongful or forcible      
means2 to transfer legislative1         
executive1 and judicial powers to the   
,commander-in-,chief of the ,defense    
,services to enable him to carry out the
 necessary measures to speedily restore 
its original situation in the ,union2   
for such ,commander to restrict or      
suspend as required1 one or more        
fundamental rights of the citizens in   
the required area2 and for such         
,commander to extend the state of       
emergency for two periods of six months 
each2 ,whereas other provisions in the  
#bjjh ,constitution of ,burma are       
contrary to democracy and the rule of   
law1 including ,article #ei7;f71 which  
prohibits anyone from being ,president  
who has children born outside of ,burma2
 ,article #ced1 which limits certain    
freedoms that contradict laws enacted   
for ,union security1 prevalence of law  
and order1 community peace and          

tranquility or public order and         
morality2 and ,article #dcf1 which      
subjects constitutional amendments to a 
#ge-percent vote threshold in parliament
 7thereby confirming the ,tatmadaw's    
veto power72 ,whereas the ,,nld ,central
 ,executive ,committee released a       
statement on ,january #ac1 #bjae1       
expressing concern with the stall of    
democratic transition and reforms in    
,burma1 and identifying the following   
conditions as prerequisites for free and
 fair general elections3 constitutional 
amendments in line with the desire of   
the people2 government involvement that 
is free from bias2 fair and credible    
enforcement of election laws and        
regulations by the ,union ,election     
,commission2 and cessation of           
discrimination and bias by the          
government to political parties2        
,whereas the ,commander-in-,chief in    
,burma ,general ,min ,aung ,hlaing      
stated on ,january #ba1 #bjae1 regarding
 the planned elections in ,burma1 ,when 

things become really out of control1 if 
the ,president says the military needs  
to step in1 in that region or state1 the
 military will step in when a state of  
emergency is declared42 ,whereas a state
 of emergency and military              
administration was declared on ,february
 #ag1 #bjae1 in ,kokang                 
,self-,administered ,zone due to renewed
 armed conflict2 ,whereas the ,united   
,nations ,special ,rapporteur on the    
,situation of ,human ,rights in ,myanmar
 stated on ,january #ai1 #bjae1 '''     
there are signs that since my last      
visit1 restrictions and harassment on   
civil society and the media may have    
worsened ''' ,if ,myanmar is serious    
about transitioning to democracy1 it    
must be serious about allowing persons  
affected by its actions to express their
 frustrations without being punished42  
,whereas the ,government of ,burma      
responded to the various concerns raised
 by the ,special ,rapporteur with       
accusations of interference in ,burma's 

internal affairs1 and pointedly failed  
to criticize slanderous comments made by
 a ,buddhist nationalist monk who called
 the ,special ,rapporteur a bitch and   
whore2 ,whereas the ,united ,states     
,permanent ,representative to the       
,united ,nations ,samantha ,power stated
 in ,louisville1 ,kentucky1 on ,january 
#ab1 #bjae1 ,burma is still a long way  
from being a rights-respecting          
democracy4 ,the civilian government is  
still subordinate to the military1 and  
the ,constitution continues to give the 
military the broad authority to dismiss 
,parliament and veto any constitutional 
amendment42 ,whereas ,ambassador ,power 
further stated1 ,attacks against the    
,rohingya and other ,muslim groups have 
even increased ''' ,yet virtually no one
 has been held accountable1 and the     
humanitarian situation continues to     
deteriorate42 ,whereas the ,government  
of ,burma1 under the direction and      
leadership of ,president ,thein ,sein1  
submitted draft legislation to          

parliament that seeks to stigmatize and 
discriminate against religious          
minorities in ,burma through coercive   
population control1 marriage            
restrictions1 and anti-conversion       
methods that violate established        
international human rights norms and    
instruments to which ,burma is a party2 
,whereas ,ambassador ,power reaffirmed1 
,our tools include incentivizing        
continued progress1 shining a bright    
light on the government's shortcoming1  
and imposing targeted sanctions on      
individuals who stand in the way of     
change42 ,whereas ,president ,barack    
,obama stated during his visit to ,burma
 on ,november #ad1 #bjad1 that the      
,united ,states expects elections in    
,burma to take place on time4 ,we do not
 want to see delays1 because it's time  
for the voice of the people of ,burma to
 be heard in a fair1 free1 and          
transparent manner ''' the constitution 
amendment process needs to reflect      
inclusion rather than exclusion1 that   

there are certain provisions in the     
,burmese constitution that objectively  
don't make much sense42 and ,whereas    
internationally recognized standards of 
free and fair elections include3 the    
right of adult citizens to register and 
vote in elections1 without              
discrimination2 equal opportunity for   
individuals to stand as candidates1 form
 political parties1 and conduct campaign
 and civic education activities free    
from interference and intimidation2 the 
fair and impartial conduct of elections1
 including accountable voter            
registration processes and transparent  
resolution of election disputes by      
independent election commissions and    
judiciaries2 and an electoral           
environment that is free from fear1     
intimidation1 and violence3 ,now1       
therefore1 be it  ,that the ,senate--   
7#a7 endorses the aforementioned        
internationally recognized prerequisites
 for free and fair general elections in 
,burma and finds them consistent with   

those articulated by the ,national      
,league for ,democracy in its ,january  
#ac1 #bjae1 statement2  7#b7 calls upon 
the ,president and the ,secretary of    
,state to-- 7,a7 publicly support       
meaningful efforts to reform the #bjjh  
,constitution of ,burma1 with the full  
and unfettered participation of the     
people of ,burma and in a manner that   
promotes and protects the democratic    
development of ,burma and safeguards    
against arbitrary and capricious        
interference by the ,tatmadaw2  7,b7    
support free and fair elections in      
,burma1 including by taking bilateral   
and multilateral steps1 as necessary1 to
 ensure that the ,tatmadaw and its      
affiliates do not influence the outcome 
of such elections 7including through a  
declaration of a state of emergency in  
order to influence or postpone such     
polls7 and that ,president ,thein ,sein 
and other ruling government officials do
 not engage in the use of official      
resources 7including international      

assistance7 for electioneering2 and     
7,c7 express solidarity with the ,united
 ,nations special mechanisms that are   
investigating and protesting against    
violations of human rights in ,burma1   
and to express concern regarding the    
,government of ,burma's refusal to work 
cooperatively with such mechanisms2     
7#c7 calls upon the ,united ,states     
,government1 in partnership with other  
international donors1 to ensure that the
 ,government of ,burma and the ,union   
,election ,commission function in an    
independent1 fair1 and impartial manner 
throughout the preparation and conduct  
of elections in ,burma1 and that the    
,tatmadaw publicly affirms in advance   
that it will honor the results of such  
elections2  7#d7 expects the ,president 
to delay further steps toward           
normalization of relations with ,burma1 
including immediately suspending all    
military-to-military engagement with the
 ,tatmadaw1 should the ,government of   
,burma1 including the ,tatmadaw and any 

of its affiliates1 undermine the        
prospects for free and fair elections in
 ,burma2  7#e7 expects the ,president to
 take additional actions to sanction    
specific individuals within the         
,government of ,burma whom the          
,president determines undermine free and
 fair elections in ,burma1 including    
through the denial of visas and freezing
 of assets of such individuals1 as      
appropriate2  7#f7 calls upon the       
,president and the ,secretary of ,state 
to take action to ensure that ethnic    
groups in ,burma are not coerced1 in any
 way or by any means1 into ceasefire    
agreements with the ,government of      
,burma2  7#g7 calls upon the ,secretary 
of ,state to work with like-minded      
regional and international governments  
to ensure that the general elections in 
,burma meet international standards of  
free and fair elections1 including by   
ensuring that international and domestic
 monitors have full and unimpeded access
 to all aspects of the electoral        

process2 and  7#h7 calls upon the       
,secretary of ,state to publicly and    
forcefully condemn human rights abuses  
committed by the ,tatmadaw and to demand
 credible and independent investigations
 and prosecutions of any and all        
allegations of such abuse1 including    
with respect to--  7,a7 the ,january    
#ai1 #bjae1 rape and murder by the      
,tatmadaw of two ,kachin volunteer      
schoolteachers in ,northern ,shan       
,state2  7,b7 the ,december #bb1 #bjad1 
murder of ,daw ,khin ,win1 a nonviolent 
protestor at the ,letpadaung mine site2 
7,c7 the ,november #ai1 #bjad1 killing  
of #bc cadets in ,laiza1 ,kachin ,state1
 by the ,tatmadaw's shelling2  7,d7 the 
,october #d1 #bjad1 murder of ,ko ,par  
,gyi in ,mon ,state1 a freelance        
journalist and former body guard of     
opposition political leader ,aung ,san  
,suu ,kyi2 and  7,e7 the ,september #ac1
 #bjab1 fatal shooting by the ,tatmadaw 
of #ad-year-old ,ja ,seng ,ing in       
,hpakant ,township1 ,kachin ,state4