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1 1 (May 8, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govzpn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service ~informg the legislative debate since 1914 Updated May 8, 2019 U.S. Relations with Burma: Key Issues in 2019 In 2018, the 115th Congress was generally critical of the Trump Administration's Burma policy, particularly its limited response to atrocities committed by the Burmese military, intensifying conflict with ethnic insurgencies, and rising concerns about political repression and civil rights. In December 2018, Congress passed the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-409), which prohibits funding for International Military Education and Training (IMET) and Foreign Military Financing (FMF) Program in Burma for fiscal years 2019 through 2023. Major Developments in Burma At the end of 2018, an estimated one million Rohingya, most of whom fled atrocities committed by Burma's military (Tatmadaw) in late 2017, remained in refugee camps in Bangladesh, unable and unwilling to return to Burma's Rakhine State given the current policies of the Burmese government. Also in 2018, fighting between Burma's military and various ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) escalated in Kachin and Shan States, and spread into Chin, Karen (Kayin), and Rakhine States, while efforts to negotiate a nationwide ceasefire stalled. The Rohingya Crises Continue More than 700,000 Sunni Rohingya fled to Bangladesh in late 2017, seeking to escape Tatmadaw forces that destroyed almost 400 Rohingya villages, killed at least 6,700 Rohingya (according to human rights groups and Doctors Without Borders), and sexually assaulted hundreds of Rohingya women and girls. Repatriation under an October 2018 agreement between the two nations is stalled as the Burmese government is unable or unwilling to establish conditions that would allow the voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable return of the Rohingya. Among the conditions sought by the Rohingya are their return to locations at or near their original villages, recognition as an indigenous ethnic minority, restoration of their full citizenship, and establishment of an accountability mechanism to investigate and prosecute the alleged atrocities. Meanwhile, smaller numbers of refugees continue to cross into Bangladesh. Burma's mixed military/civilian government has so far denied any systematic and/or widespread misconduct by Burma's security forces, and continues to deny the United Nations, international humanitarian assistance organizations, and local and international media unrestricted access to northern Rakhine State. Prospects for the Rohingyas' voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable return to their homes are dim as conditions in northern Rakhine State have worsened in 2019, in part due to fighting between the Arakan Army and the Tatmadaw. Figure I. Map of Burma (Myanmar) Source: CRS The Stalled Peace Process, Escalating Fighting The 3rd session of the 21 Century Panglong Conference- an effort to forge a nationwide ceasefire agreement between the government, the military, and EAOs-was held in July 2018, but made little progress. Two of the larger EAOs, the Karen National Union and the Restoration Council of Shan State, subsequently suspended their participation in the formal peace process. In December 2018, Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing announced a four-month unilateral ceasefire in eastern (but not western) Burma, and reversed his previous objection to the inclusion of the Arakan Army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army in the peace talks, raising some hopes that the peace process would regain momentum. On April 30, 2019, Min Aung Hlaing extended the ceasefire for two more months, but prospects for peace remain bleak. Fighting between the Arakan Army and the Tatmadaw in northern Rakhine State has intensified, with allegations that Tatmadaw soldiers are targeting civilians. Despite the $drscongressgov

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