• Burmese
Friday, June 13, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
27 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Asia

US Lawmakers Criticize Vietnam, Cambodia and Burma

Matthew Pennington by Matthew Pennington
July 10, 2014
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
US Lawmakers Criticize Vietnam

Rohingya women hold their children at the Khaung Dokkha camp for internally displaced people in Sittwe

5.1k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

WASHINGTON — US lawmakers reviewed the “troubling” state of human rights in Southeast Asia on Wednesday and stiffly criticized Vietnam and Cambodia. But they reserved some of their toughest words for Burma, demanding an end to US concessions to its quasi-civilian government.

The Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Ed Royce, likened conditions faced by minority Muslims in western Burma to concentration camps. A Democratic lawmaker questioned whether there were signs of genocide.

The hearing indicated congressional goodwill toward Burma’s government has been exhausted, and criticism of the Obama administration’s forward-leaning engagement policy has intensified.

RelatedPosts

Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast

June 13, 2025
29
March Quake to Drive 2.5% Drop in Myanmar GDP, Says World Bank

March Quake to Drive 2.5% Drop in Myanmar GDP, Says World Bank

June 13, 2025
51
Air India Flight Crashes in Ahmedabad with 242 Aboard

Air India Flight Crashes in Ahmedabad with 242 Aboard

June 12, 2025
90

Royce pronounced the outlook for human rights in Southeast Asia, a region of 620 million people, as “very troubling.” The committee’s top-ranking Democrat Eliot Engel said that as the US looks to deepen its strategic interests in the region, promoting rights “is the right thing to do and it’s also the smart thing to do.”

While no lawmakers mentioned Wednesday’s presidential election in Indonesia that the White House lauded as sign of its maturing democracy, the seven congressmen who spoke found plenty to criticize in region. They took aim at suppression of dissent and religious freedom in Vietnam, the strong-arm tactics of Cambodia’s leader Hun Sen, and the military takeover in Thailand.

Conservative and rights advocate, Republican Rep. Chris Smith, said, “Vietnam is in a race to the bottom with the likes of China and even North Korea.” He criticized the leader of the Democratic-led Senate for failing to allow a vote on a bill that has repeatedly passed the House and would impose sanctions on Vietnamese officials complicit in rights abuses.

On Cambodia, Engel said the ruling party of Hun Sen, who has led the country for almost three decades, has tightened its “chokehold” on the media, silenced human rights advocates and failed to stop illegal land grabs. Royce said the ballot count in last year’s flawed national elections was “truly preposterous.”

Former senior State Department rights official, Lorne Craner, recommended that the US avoid high-level contacts with Cambodia’s government until it resolves its dispute with the main opposition bloc that is boycotting Parliament as it presses its demand for an independent investigation into election irregularities.

Democratic Rep. David Cicilline joined several lawmakers in condemning the treatment of Burma’s Rohingya Muslims. Some 140,000 Rohingya have been displaced and corralled in camps after bearing the brunt of vicious outbreaks of sectarian violence involving majority Buddhists, while tens of thousands more have fled the country.

He questioned whether there was an “element of genocide in the attacks against the Rohingya population.” Rights advocate and former Democratic congressman Tom Andrews, who has visited the strife-hit Arakan State, testified he thought there was, and that attacks were systematic and done with the support of the government.

Burma dismisses that notion, and President Thein Sein has vowed serious actions against perpetrators of sectarian violence. But amid fears of rising nationalism ahead of 2015 elections, the former general has also recently been criticized by the State Department for proposing discriminatory legislation, including a law to restrict interfaith marriage.

Royce demanded an immediate cessation of nascent US military-to-military cooperation with Burma until the persecution of minorities ends, and his Democratic counterpart echoed the desire for a more circumspect outreach to the country, which has been rewarded with rapid sanctions relief and massive aid in the past two years.

“We need to see real progress from Burma’s leaders on these human rights issues before we provide the military-led government with any further concessions,” Engel said.

Your Thoughts …
Matthew Pennington

Matthew Pennington

The Associated Press

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Burma

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 28, 2023
98.3k

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...

Read moreDetails
Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public
Burma

Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public

by The Irrawaddy
February 7, 2024
89.2k

People’s Defense Force says junta troops told every household in the village to send one member to witness the double...

Read moreDetails
Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State
War Against the Junta

Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

by The Irrawaddy
November 29, 2023
87k

Brotherhood Alliance member says it now has complete control of Kokang’s northernmost section after the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 125...

Read moreDetails
Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks
Burma

Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks

by The Irrawaddy
December 4, 2023
59k

The junta said deserters would not be punished for minor crimes, highlighting the military’s shortage of troops as resistance offensives...

Read moreDetails
As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue
Burma

As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue

by The Irrawaddy
April 19, 2024
46.8k

The junta’s No. 2 has not been seen in public since April 3, sparking rumors that he was either gravely...

Read moreDetails
Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow
Burma

Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow

by The Irrawaddy
February 12, 2024
44.6k

Ethnic armed grouping says it will continue Operation 1027 offensive until goal of ousting the junta is achieved. 

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Dutch Crash Out of World Cup

Dutch Crash Out of World Cup, Argentina Face Germany in Final

PR System Would Be Too Confusing, NLD Says

PR System Would Be Too Confusing, NLD Says

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

The Hidden Fallout From China’s Cross-Border Crime Crackdown in Myanmar

The Hidden Fallout From China’s Cross-Border Crime Crackdown in Myanmar

4 days ago
1.4k
How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

2 days ago
903

Most Read

  • Civilians in Need as Arakan Army Advances on Kyaukphyu

    Civilians in Need as Arakan Army Advances on Kyaukphyu

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Advances into Karenni State

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Jade Hub Burns as Junta Counteroffensive Penetrates Hpakant

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China Defends Myanmar Junta on Human Rights at UN

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Reinforces Kyaukphyu as AA Nears China-Backed SEZ Hub

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.