[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 75 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 75

Expressing the strong opposition of Congress to the continued egregious 
    violations of human rights and the lack of progress toward the 
 establishment of democracy and the rule of law in Belarus and calling 
 on President Alexander Lukashenka to engage in negotiations with the 
  representatives of the opposition and to restore the constitutional 
                    rights of the Belarusian people.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 17, 1999

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the strong opposition of Congress to the continued egregious 
    violations of human rights and the lack of progress toward the 
 establishment of democracy and the rule of law in Belarus and calling 
 on President Alexander Lukashenka to engage in negotiations with the 
  representatives of the opposition and to restore the constitutional 
                    rights of the Belarusian people.

Whereas the United States has a vital interest in the promotion of democracy 
        abroad and supports democracy and economic development in Belarus;
Whereas in the Fall of 1996, President Lukashenka devised a controversial 
        referendum to impose a new constitution on Belarus and abolish the 
        Parliament, replacing it with a rubber-stamp legislature;
Whereas Lukashenka illegally extended his own term of office to 2001 by an 
        illegitimate referendum;
Whereas Belarus has effectively become an authoritarian police state, where 
        human rights are routinely violated;
Whereas Belarusian economic development is stagnant and living conditions are 
        deplorable;
Whereas in May 1999, the Belarusian opposition challenged Lukashenka's 
        unconstitutional lengthening of his term by staging alternative 
        presidential elections, unleashing the government crackdown;
Whereas the leader of the opposition, Simyon Sharetsky, was forced to flee 
        Belarus to the neighboring Baltic state of Lithuania in fear for his 
        life;
Whereas several leaders of the opposition--Viktor Gonchar, Yuri Krasovsky, Yuri 
        Zakharenka, Tamara Vinnikova, and other members of the opposition, have 
        disappeared;
Whereas the Belarusian authorities harass and persecute the independent media 
        and work to actively suppress the freedom of speech;
Whereas the former Prime Minister Mikhail Chygir, who was a candidate in the 
        opposition's alternative presidential elections in May 1999, has been 
        held in the pretrial detention on trumped up charges since April 1999;
Whereas President Lukashenka's government provoked the clashes between riot 
        police and the demonstrators at the October 17, 1999, ``Freedom March'', 
        which resulted in injuries to demonstrators and scores of illegal 
        arrests;
Whereas President Lukashenka addressed a session of the Russian State Duma on 
        October 26, 1999, advocating a merger between Russia and Belarus; and
Whereas Anatoly Lebedko, Chairman of the Committee for International Affairs of 
        the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Belarus, Nikolay Statkevich, 
        leader of the Social Democratic Party, and Valery Shchukin, Deputy of 
        the Supreme Council, were arrested and imprisoned for taking part in the 
        Freedom March: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That the Congress--
            (1) condemns the current Belarusian regime;
            (2) further condemns the arrests of Anatoly Lebedko, 
        Nikolay Statkevich, and Valery Shchukin;
            (3) is gravely concerned about the disappearances of Viktor 
        Gonchar, Yuri Krasovsky, Yuri Zakharenka, Tamara Vinnikova, and 
        other members of the opposition;
            (4) calls for immediate dialogue between President 
        Lukashenka and the Consultative Council of Belarusian 
        opposition and the restoration of a civilian, democratically 
        elected government in Belarus;
            (5) calls for a duly constituted national legislature, the 
        rule of law, and an independent judiciary;
            (6) urges President Lukashenka to respect the human rights 
        of all Belarusian citizens, including those members of the 
        opposition who are currently being illegally detained in 
        violation of their constitutional rights;
            (7) further urges President Lukashenka to make good on his 
        promise to hold free parliamentary elections in 2000;
            (8) supports the appeal by the Consultative Council of 
        Belarusian opposition parties to the Government of Russia, the 
        State Duma, and the Federation Council for a cessation of 
        support for Lukashenka's regime;
            (9) calls on the international community to support the 
        opposition by continuing to meet with the legitimately elected 
        parliament; and
            (10) calls on the President of the United States to 
        continue to--
                    (A) fund travel to the United States by the 
                Belarusian opposition figures;
                    (B) provide funding for the nongovernmental 
                organizations in Belarus; and
                    (C) support information flows into Belarus.
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