[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 163 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 163

A Concurrent Resolution expressing the sense of Congress that March 25 
   be recognized as the anniversary of the Proclamation of Belarusan 
   independence, expressing concern over the Belarusan government's 
    infringement on freedom of the press in direct violation of the 
   Helsinki Accords and the constitution of Belarus, and expressing 
      concern about the proposed union between Russia and Belarus.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 17, 1996

 Mr. PALLONE submitted the following concurrent resolution, which was 
         referred to the Committee on International Relations.

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
A Concurrent Resolution expressing the sense of Congress that March 25 
   be recognized as the anniversary of the Proclamation of Belarusan 
   independence, expressing concern over the Belarusan government's 
    infringement on freedom of the press in direct violation of the 
   Helsinki Accords and the constitution of Belarus, and expressing 
      concern about the proposed union between Russia and Belarus.

Whereas the seedlings of an independent and democratic Belarus, for which 
        generations of Belarusan patriots had fought and died, are now in danger 
        of being swept away as a result of the policies of Belarusan President 
        Alaksandr Lukashenka and the efforts of Russian nationalist leaders to 
        reunite the New Independent States of the former Soviet Union;
Whereas March 25, is the date that Belarusans throughout the world salute the 
        sacrifices and bravery of the members of the Council of the Belarusan 
        Democratic Republic, who in 1918 liberated their country from the harsh 
        and oppressive czarist and Soviet rule. Representatives of the United 
        Councils of the First Belarusan Convention, meeting in Miensk (Minsk), 
        on March 25, 1918, issued a proclamation of independence of the 
        Belarusan National Republic, adopted a national flag with three 
        horizontal stripes of white, red and white, and subsequently received 
        widespread international recognition;
Whereas the Russian Duma in March 1996 has voted to declare void the 1991 
        agreement dissolving the Soviet Union;
Whereas the Government of President Lukashenka has monopolized the mass media, 
        undermined the constitutional foundation for the separation of powers, 
        suppressed the freedom of the press, defamed the national culture, 
        narrowed the educational basis for patriotic upbringing of youth, 
        maligned the Belarusan language, and undercut the ground for all-
        Belarusan unity: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that Belarus 
declared itself as an Independent Belarusan State on March 25, 1918; 
and be it further
    Resolved, That the United States press the government of President 
Lukashenka to abide by the provisions of the Helsinki Accords and the 
Constitution of the Republic of Belarus and guarantee freedom of the 
press, allow for the flowering of Belarusan culture and enforce the 
separation of powers; and be it further
    Resolved, That the Congress of the United States join with the 
people of Belarus and Belarusans throughout the world in defending the 
statehood and democracy of Belarus, sustaining the country's 
constitution and preventing the loss by Belarus of its hard-won 
nationhood and its opportunity to survive as an equal and full-fledged 
member-state among the sovereign nations of the world.
                                 <all>