[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 153 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. CON. RES. 153

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

            October 19 (legislative day, September 22), 2000

  Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Campbell, and Mr. Helms) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


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

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 authoritarian 
        regime exercises over the people of the Republic of Belarus;
Whereas during the time preceding this election the regime of Aleksandr 
        Lukashenko attempted to intimidate the democratic opposition by beating, 
        harassing, arresting, and sentencing its members for supporting a 
        boycott of the October 15 election even though Belarus does not contain 
        a legal ban on efforts to boycott elections;
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 the democratic opposition in 
        Belarus seats on the Central Election Commission, thereby violating his 
        own pledge to provide the democratic opposition a role in this 
        Commission;
Whereas Aleksandr Lukashenko and his regime denied the vast majority of 
        independent candidates opposed to his regime the right to register as 
        candidates in this 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, 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 Senate (the House of Representatives concurring),

SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON BELARUS PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS.

    Congress hereby--
            (1) declares that--
                    (A) the period preceding the elections held in 
                Belarus held on October 15, 2000, was plagued by 
                continued human rights abuses and a climate of fear for 
                which the regime of Aleksandr Lukashenko is 
                responsible;
                    (B) these 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) these elections were for seats in a parliament 
                that lacks real constitutional power and democratic 
                legitimacy;
            (2) declares its support for the Belarus' democratic 
        opposition, commends the efforts of the opposition to boycott 
        these 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 sole and 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 DISAPPEARANCES OF INDIVIDUALS AND 
              POLITICAL DETENTIONS IN BELARUS.

    It is the sense of Congress that the President should call upon 
Aleksandr Lukashenko and his regime to--
            (1) provide a full accounting of the disappearances of 
        individuals in that country, 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 Secretary of the Senate shall transmit a copy of this 
resolution to the President.
                                 <all>