James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
3:05 P.M. EDT
MRS. BUSH: Thank you, everybody, for coming out. I just want to make a
few comments about Burma.
On Saturday, Cyclone Nargis swept through Burma. The storm affected more
than 2 million people, and according to the Burmese media, killed
thousands. The aftermath has left cities paralyzed, families separated
and houses and businesses destroyed.
Americans are a compassionate people and we're already acting to provide
help. The U.S. has offered financial assistance through our embassy.
We'll work with the U.N. and other international non-governmental
organizations to provide water, sanitation, food and shelter. More
assistance will be forthcoming.
The United States stands prepared to provide an assistance team and much
needed supplies to Burma as soon as the Burmese government accepts our
offer. The government of Burma should accept this team quickly, as well
as other offers of international assistance.
As they cope with this tragedy, the men and women of Burma remain in the
thoughts and prayers of many Americans. It's troubling that many of the
Burmese people learned of this impending disaster only when foreign
outlets -- such as Radio Free Asia and Voice of America -- sounded the
alarm. Although they were aware of the threat, Burma's state-run media
failed to issue a timely warning to citizens in the storm's path.
The response to the cyclone is just the most recent example of the
junta's failure to meet its people's basic needs. The regime has
dismantled systems of agriculture, education and health care. This once
wealthy nation now has the lowest per capita GDP in Southeast Asia.
Despite the havoc created by this weekend cyclone, as far as we can tell
Burma's military leaders plan to move forward with the constitutional
referendum scheduled for this Saturday, May 10th. They've orchestrated
this vote to give false legitimacy to their continued rule. The proposed
constitution was drafted in a flawed process that excluded opposition
and some key ethnic groups. It would effectively give the military a
veto over any constitutional changes. The constitution would prohibit
democracy activists who are current or former political prisoners,
including Aung San Suu Kyi, from taking office. To ensure their
constitution becomes law, the regime has been intimidating voters and
using force against dissidents. Public gatherings have been banned and
printed materials may not be distributed without governmental approval.
As the date of the referendum draws near, there's been an increase in
arrests of opposition party members and activists. This continues to
take place, despite a call from the international community, and most
recently from the United Nations Security Council, for Burma's
government to ensure its referendum is free, fair and inclusive.
In response to the regime's continued repression, President Bush has
instructed the U.S. Treasury Department to freeze assets of Burmese
state-owned companies that are held in U.S. banks. This adds to actions
last year to expand U.S. sanctions against Burma's regime, and to
tighten sanctions against its top leaders. We thank the European Union,
Canada and Australia for joining the United States in imposing similar
restrictions. And we appeal to China, India, and Burma's fellow ASEAN
members to use their influence to encourage a democratic transition.
Burma's ruling generals have had their chance to implement the good
government they promised to their people. If it proceeds under current
conditions, the constitutional referendum they have planned should not
be seen as a step toward freedom, but rather as a confirmation of the
unacceptable status quo.
Thank you all very much for giving me a chance to speak. I'm going to
leave tomorrow for Crawford, for Jenna's wedding, and I wanted to be
able to make a statement about Burma before I left.
So I'm happy to take questions.
Q Mrs. Bush, could you offer us any specifics yet about the scope of the
U.S. disaster relief package?
MRS. BUSH: Right now, the earliest part of the relief is money that the
embassy already has, that's already there that we can distribute to
other NGOs -- the World Food Program, other groups that are on the
ground. If they will let our DART team in, then we'll be able to assess
what else we can do. And we do have other supplies and commodities in
the area -- not in Burma, but close in the area, that would be available
soon for help if our DART team can get in and see what they can do.
Q And given your concerns about the ruling government there, are you
also worried that any U.S. aid might not get to the people affected?
MRS. BUSH: Well, I'm worried that they won't even accept U.S. aid. And I
urge the government to accept aid from the United States and from the
entire international community right now, while the needs of their
people are so critical.
Q Mrs. Bush, is there any evidence that the sanctions the U.S. and other
nations have imposed on the leaders in Myanmar, or Burma, have had an
effect?
MRS. BUSH: Only anecdotal. We have heard, and not -- probably can't
really confirm -- about some of the leaders who are targeted -- actions
that they've taken that make us think they don't like those targeted
sanctions on the leaders themselves.
Q Madam, do you have any strong message for the dictatorship, military
dictatorship in Burma as far as this democracy and this cyclone is
concerned? And do you think they will have a change of heart and minds
because of this tragedy?
MRS. BUSH: I hope so. I hope that their will be one good thing that
comes out of such huge destruction, and that would be the government's
realization that the people of Burma need help and they need more help
than they can give them -- or that they've been able to give them.
And the country has just been totally decimated with both education,
agriculture -- all of the things that made Burma one of the richest
countries in Asia have now been dismantled. And it's very, very
important that the regime start to accept both technical help from out
of the country and, obviously in this sort of disaster, very -- be able
to accept the really basic help that anybody would need, any country
would need and any people would need after this kind of disaster.
Q And madam, what message you have for India, what India can do?
MRS. BUSH: Well, I think India can help. India is close, on the border
there. I think there are a lot of ways they could help and get help
there quickly, and maybe the Burmese government would accept it more
readily from the Indian government than they do from the U.S. government.
April.
Q Mrs. Bush, why such an historic interest? This is a first, for a First
Lady to come to this podium and talk about a cyclone. Why such a
historic interest?
MRS. BUSH: Well, you know I've been interested in Burma for a long time.
It started really with an interest in Aung San Suu Kyi and reading her
works and just the story of a Nobel Prize winner who's been under house
arrest for so long, whose party was overwhelmingly elected in an
election and then never able to take office. And so it started with an
interest in her, and then just the more I've seen, the more critical I
see the need is for the people in Burma to be -- for the world to pay
attention to the people of Burma, and for the world to put pressure on
the military regime.
Q And a follow-up. What about the issue of sanitation? You talked about
that, and dysentery. Could you talk a little bit more about --
MRS. BUSH: Those are the sort of things that international help would be
critical for. We don't know, for instance, in the -- people were already
talking about the high price of rice. We don't know -- they would have
been just in the planting season -- what would happen if this big
12-foot surge of ocean water, salt water comes over the -- what would
have been rice-planting ground. We just don't know, but it seems very,
very dire. They were all -- already needed the help of the World Food
Program, the WFP -- and now they'll need it even more.
And so it's really important for the regime to accept this kind of help
to open their doors to all the help, to all of the help the U.N. could
give, from U.N. AIDS* to UNICEF -- each one of the international
programs that can help, as well as help from every government that is
willing to help. And I know there are a lot of governments that are.
Q Why do you think that the government didn't allow the state-run media
to post those warnings?
MRS. BUSH: I don't know. I have no idea.
Q Quick follow on that. Do you think that they have blood on their hands
for that lack of warning?
MRS. BUSH: Well, I just think it's very, very important -- that we know
already that they are very inept; that they have not been able to govern
in a way that lets their company -- country, for one thing, build an
economy. This is a country that's rich in natural resources. Their
natural resources are being depleted as they sell them off, as far as we
can tell from the outside, for the financial benefit of the regime
itself and not for the good of the people. We know that.
We know these huge forests -- teak and mahogany forests may be being
depleted -- that they have. Their gem shows -- last year many American
gem countries [sic]
and European gem countries [sic]
refused to go to the big gem auctions because they didn't want to prop
up the government. But we do know that a lot of -- that China, for
instance, a lot of Chinese gem buyers did go.
Q Mrs. Bush, the European Union has pledged $3 million. That initial aid
offer from the United States is only $250,000.
MRS. BUSH: That's right.
Q If they accept some assistance, how large would the U.S. --
MRS. BUSH: Well, I don't know that. I mean, we'll have to see what it
would be, and I can't speak to how large that would be. But I can -- I
feel sure that it would be substantial if we can give it. The money that
-- the first fund, the first $250,000 from the U.S. government is money
that the embassy already has in a fund for something like this, and they
can give it immediately to the World Food Program or other NGOs that are
meeting the very immediate needs.
If we can get some sort of team in there to assess what the other needs
are, then I feel very assured that the United States government will
follow with bigger --
Q What have they said?
MRS. BUSH: I don't know that. They haven't said anything, as far as I
know.
Q Mrs. Bush, what can you tell us about the President signing
legislation in the near future to award Aung San Suu Kyi the
Congressional Gold Medal?
MRS. BUSH: The President will sign the legislation tomorrow, the
congressional legislation that awards Aung San Suu Kyi the Congressional
Medal of Honor.** And I was hoping to be here with him when he did that.
I don't think I'll be here because I think I'll be going on tomorrow.
But he will, and I think that's important. I think it's just another
way, like the Senate and the House caucuses on Burma, that let the
people of Burma know that the United States is standing with them. And
we do know that they listen to Radio Free Asia and they listen to Voice
of America, and so it's very important to get our message out on those
radio stations so that people in Burma know that we are aware of what's
happened, and we are very aware of the needs of the people after the
cyclone.
Q Do you think that might, though, affect the military junta's
willingness to receive aid from the international community,
particularly the U.S.?
MRS. BUSH: I hope not. I hope that the military will realize they have
to accept aid from everybody they can possibly accept it from. And maybe
that will be the something good that can come out of this terrible
destruction.
Q Will they let her come to the U.S. to accept the medal?
MRS. BUSH: They might let her come accept; they might not let her ever
go back. I don't think she would ever do that, because she couldn't be
assured that she could go home. That's why she didn't go see her husband
when he was dying in England.
Anything else?
Q Yes. The U.S. only provides a few million dollars in annual
humanitarian aid to Myanmar now. Some relief officials have raised
concerns that the existing U.S. sanctions plus the sheer lack of trust
between the two countries will impede the flow of any significant U.S.
aid following the cyclone. And the question is, how is the U.S.
government going to balance those two objectives -- the ones of
maintaining financial pressure on the junta, and at the same time making
sure the cyclone victims aren't victimized once again?
MRS. BUSH: Well, that's the very -- that's always the question when
sanctions are part of any sort of pressure that we can put on a
government. And in fact that seems to be the only kind of pressure the
United States can put on Burma. Certainly we hope that India, for
instance, and other countries in the neighborhood can step up if they
won't accept aid from the United States.
But I think in front of their own people and in front of the world, if
they don't accept aid from the United States and from all the rest of
the international community that wants to help the people of Burma, that
that is just another way that the military regime looks so cut off and
so unaware of what the real needs of their people are.
Okay, one last one.
Q Ma'am, is there any way for the Burmese leaders to salvage the
referendum process? Should they scrap it, start from scratch?
MRS. BUSH: Well, I'm not going to give them any advice, but it would be
very, very odd I think if they went ahead and held a referendum this
Saturday.
Q Madam, all the best for the wedding, Jenna's wedding.
MRS. BUSH: Thank you very much. Thank you.
Q Any chance you'll let us cover it? (Laughter.)
Q No invitation for the White House press?
Q Is it true there is an altar of limestone --
MRS. BUSH: That's right, the President told that this morning on "Good
Morning America." This was his idea, to build this beautiful limestone
altar, and it's the Texas limestone -- the same that our house is made
out of -- from a local quarry, and they're the ones that made it.
Q Is it permanent? (Laughter.)
MRS. BUSH: It's permanent.
Q Is he more nervous or are you?
MRS. BUSH: Neither one of us are nervous. I'm very, very excited. It's a
very interesting passage of life when you get to that time in your life
when your child, first child is getting married -- and we're getting,
for us, our first son. So it's a thrill and we're very happy about it.
Q When some grandchildren come will they be named George --
MRS. BUSH: George or Georgia -- Georgina. Georgette. (Laughter.)
Q President is more excited, or you are more excited?
MRS. BUSH: We're both really, really excited. We're very thrilled, and
of course Jenna is so happy and Henry is very happy. And that makes
their mother and dad really happy.
Q Why the wedding didn't take place here at the White House?
MRS. BUSH: Well, she just wanted to get married at home. She just feels
a lot more comfortable there. And it will be really beautiful. This is
the time when the wild flowers are all blooming. And I think it will be
a very, very lovely wedding, and it will be very like Jenna and Henry.
And of course, that's what we want. We want what she wants.
Q How early Sunday morning is the bike ride the President will --
(laughter.)
MRS. BUSH: Since he probably won't be staying up to dance the last
dance, it will probably be early.
Bye, you all. Thank you very much. And thank you so much for covering
Burma, and I hope you'll keep watching. Thanks a lot.
END 3:21 P.M. EDT
* Joint U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS
** Congressional Gold Medal
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