[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 433 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 433

  Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to the parliamentary 
             elections held in Belarus on October 15, 2000.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 23, 2000

 Mr. Gejdenson (for himself and Mr. Smith of New Jersey) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                        International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to the parliamentary 
             elections held in Belarus on October 15, 2000.

Whereas on October 15, 2000, Aleksandr Lukashenko and his authoritarian regime 
        conducted an illegitimate and undemocratic parliamentary election in an 
        effort to further strengthen the power and control his regime exercises 
        over the people of the Republic of Belarus;
Whereas, during the period preceding the election, the regime of Aleksandr 
        Lukashenko attempted to intimidate the democratic opposition by beating, 
        harassing, arresting, and sentencing the opposition's members for 
        supporting a boycott of the October 15 election;
Whereas the democratic opposition in Belarus was denied fair and equal access to 
        state-controlled television and radio and was instead slandered by the 
        state-controlled media;
Whereas on September 13, 2000, Belarusian police seized 100,000 copies of a 
        special edition of the Belarusian Free Trade Union newspaper, Rabochy, 
        dedicated to the democratic opposition's efforts to promote a boycott of 
        the October 15 election;
Whereas Aleksandr Lukashenko and his regime denied seats on the Central Election 
        Commission to the democratic opposition in Belarus, thereby violating 
        his pledge to provide the democratic opposition a role in the 
        commission;
Whereas Aleksandr Lukashenko and his regime denied independent candidates 
        opposed to his regime the right to register as candidates in the 
        election;
Whereas Aleksandr Lukashenko and his regime dismissed recommendations presented 
        by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) for 
        making the election law in Belarus consistent with OSCE standards;
Whereas, in Grodno, police loyal to Aleksandr Lukashenko summoned voters to 
        participate in this illegitimate election for parliament;
Whereas the last genuinely free and fair parliamentary election in Belarus took 
        place in 1995 and from it emerged the 13th Supreme Soviet whose 
        democratically and constitutionally derived authorities and powers have 
        been undercut by the authoritarian regime of Aleksandr Lukashenko; and
Whereas on October 11, 2000, the Lukashenko regime froze the bank accounts and 
        seized the equipment of the independent publishing company, Magic, where 
        most of the independent newspapers in Minsk are published: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),

SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON BELARUS PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS.

    The Congress--
            (1) declares that--
                    (A) the period preceding the elections held in 
                Belarus on October 15, 2000, was plagued by human 
                rights abuses and a climate of fear for which the 
                regime of Aleksandr Lukashenko is responsible;
                    (B) such elections were conducted in the absence of 
                a democratic electoral law;
                    (C) the Lukashenko regime purposely denied the 
                democratic opposition access to state-controlled media; 
                and
                    (D) such elections were for seats in a parliament 
                that has been deprived of its real constitutional power 
                and democratic legitimacy by the Lukashenko regime;
            (2) declares its support for the Belarus democratic 
        opposition, commends the efforts of the opposition to boycott 
        the illegitimate parliamentary elections, and expresses the 
        hopes of Congress that the citizens of Belarus will soon 
        benefit from true freedom and democracy;
            (3) reaffirms its recognition of the 13th Supreme Soviet as 
        the only democratically and constitutionally legitimate 
        legislative body of Belarus; and
            (4) notes that, as the legitimate parliament of Belarus, 
        the 13th Supreme Soviet should continue to represent Belarus in 
        the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and 
        Cooperation in Europe.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE DISAPPEARANCES OF INDIVIDUALS AND 
              POLITICAL DETENTIONS IN BELARUS.

    It is the sense of the Congress that the President should call upon 
Aleksandr Lukashenko and his regime to--
            (1) provide a full accounting of the disappearances of 
        individuals in Belarus, including the disappearance of Viktor 
        Gonchar, Anatoly Krasovsky, Yuri Zakharenka, and Dmitry 
        Zavadsky; and
            (2) release Vladimir Kudinov, Andrei Klimov, and all others 
        imprisoned in Belarus for their political views.

SEC. 3. TRANSMITTAL OF RESOLUTION.

    The Clerk of the House of Representatives shall transmit a copy of 
this resolution to the President.
                                 <all>