[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 90 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 90

Expressing the sense of the Congress concerning freedom of the press in 
                                Russia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 2, 1995

    Mr. Lantos (for himself and Mr. Gilman) submitted the following 
     concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                        International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Congress concerning freedom of the press in 
                                Russia.
Whereas the end of the cold war and the collapse of the Soviet Union has brought 
        new and unique opportunities for democratic political change and market-
        oriented economic reform in Russia;
Whereas the commitment to the spirit of these democratic reforms and to the full 
        implementation of these reforms has been tentative and inconclusive thus 
        far;
Whereas one of the fundamental tenets of democracy and one of the most important 
        means of assuring the continuation of democratic government is an 
        independent and free press, which can exist only in an environment that 
        is free of state control of the media and the absence of any form of 
        state censorship or official coercion of any kind and is protected by 
        the rule of law;
Whereas freedom of the press and freedom of expression in Russia today is being 
        threatened by some forces within the Russian Government, particularly 
        since the dramatic reporting of the war in Chechnya;
Whereas there have been reports in the Russian press, including the official 
        press, of efforts to establish a government committee that would impose 
        censorship on the press in Russia;
Whereas there have been persistent reports regarding the possible issuance of 
        government decrees that would undermine or compromise the independence 
        of privately owned television stations and other media enterprises which 
        have provided factual reporting on the war in Chechnya or which have 
        editorialized against Russian military action in Chechnya;
Whereas there has been recent evidence of government involvement in actions 
        against independent television outlets and those who use or finance such 
        businesses, including a widely reported assault on the office of the 
        Most Group, which owns NTV and other media outlets, and, furthermore, 
        allegations of the involvement of presidential security forces in that 
        assault have never been denied;
Whereas the latest effort to intimidate the press involves the launching of a 
        criminal investigation by the Prosecutor General against the largest 
        private television network, NTV, and threatening action against the 
        producers of a political satire program in which puppets are used to 
        caricature prominent Russian officials and personalities;
Whereas the suspicious murder on March 1 of popular television journalist 
        Vladimir Listeyev, Executive Director of Russian Public Television 
        remains unsolved;
Whereas the assassination of investigative journalist Dmitri Kholodov of 
        Moskovsky Komsomolskaya, who was killed by a package bomb while he was 
        in the final stages of an investigation into corruption in the military, 
        also remains unsolved after nearly one year;
Whereas journalists in Russia, including both foreign and domestic journalists, 
        have faced harassment, risked arrest, had equipment confiscated, been 
        beaten and even murdered as a result of their efforts to report 
        objectively regarding events in Chechnya; and
Whereas a free and independent information media is essential to the conduct of 
        free, open, fair and democratic elections which are scheduled later this 
        year in Russia: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) a free press is vital to the development and 
        consolidation of democracy in Russia;
            (2) freedom of the press and freedom of expression must be 
        safeguarded against those forces who would suppress or censor 
        these essential fundamental democratic rights;
            (3) to protect freedom of the press and freedom of 
        expression, the right and opportunity of independent 
        entrepreneurs to establish, operate, and maintain independent 
        media outlets must be protected and safeguarded;
            (4) Russian Government leaders, including the President, 
        the Prime Minister, and Members of the Russian Duma, should 
        fully support freedom of the press and the right of free 
        expression in Russia; and
            (5) the President and the Secretary of State are requested 
        to convey to appropriate Russian Government officials, 
        including the President, the Prime Minister, and the Minister 
        of Foreign Affairs, this expression of the views of the 
        Congress.
                                 <all>