[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 128 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 128
Expressing the sense of the Congress that the continued participation
of the Russian Federation in the Group of Eight must be conditioned on
the Russian Federation's voluntary acceptance of and adherence to the
norms and standards of democracy.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 8, 2001
Mr. Lantos (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 the Congress that the continued participation
of the Russian Federation in the Group of Eight must be conditioned on
the Russian Federation's voluntary acceptance of and adherence to the
norms and standards of democracy.
Whereas in 1991 and subsequent years the leaders of the Group of Seven (``G-
7''), the forum of the heads of state or heads of government of the
major democracies of the world which meet annually in a summit meeting,
invited the Russian Federation to a post-summit dialog, and in 1998 the
leaders of the Group of Seven formally invited the Russian Federation to
participate in an annual gathering that thereafter became known as the
Group of Eight (``G-8''), although the Group of Seven have continued to
hold informal summit meetings and ministerial meetings that do not
include the Russian Federation;
Whereas the invitation to President Yeltsin of the Russian Federation to
participate in these annual summits was in recognition of his commitment
to democratization and economic liberalization, despite the fact that
the Russian Federation's economy has been weak and its commitment to
democratic principles has been uncertain;
Whereas those countries which are members of the Group of Seven are pluralistic
democratic societies with democratic political institutions and
practices and they have committed themselves to the observance of
universally recognized standards of human rights, respect for individual
liberties, and democratic political practices;
Whereas free news media are fundamental to the functioning of a democratic
society and essential for the protection of individual liberties and
such freedoms can exist only in an environment that is free of state
control of the news media, that is free of any form of state censorship
or official coercion of any kind, and that is protected and guaranteed
by the rule of law;
Whereas the Russian Federation has engaged in a series of government actions
that are hostile and destructive of privately owned independently
operated media enterprises, particularly those news outlets that have
been critical of government policies and government actions;
Whereas on Saturday, April 14, 2001, the Russian Federation gas monopoly
Gazprom, which is partially state-owned, staged a forceful pre-dawn
takeover of the Russian Federation's only independently operated
television station NTV, replacing its Board of Directors and installing
government management of television operations;
Whereas on Tuesday, April 17, 2001, the daily newspaper Sevodnya, one of
Moscow's independent newspapers, was abruptly closed and the news
magazine Itogi, which is published in partnership with Newsweek, may
also be forced to close in the near future;
Whereas the tax authorities of the Russian Federation, have begun to harass TNT,
a small cable station that has been allowing the journalists ousted from
the NTV station to air their newscasts on its channel since the takeover
by Gazprom; and
Whereas the continued participation of the Russian Federation in the Group of
Eight must be conditioned on the Russian Federation's acceptance of and
adherence to the norms and standards of democracy: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That it is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) the participation of the Russian Federation in the
Group of Eight must be suspended until the Russian Federation
demonstrates its commitment to the existence of a free,
unfettered, and independent media and the free exchange of
ideas and views, including opportunities for private ownership
of media enterprises, the right of people to receive news
without government interference and harassment, and the freedom
of journalists to publish opinions and news reports without
fear of censorship or punishment;
(2) such participation should also be conditioned on the
Russian Federation's adherence to other norms and standards of
democracy, including--
(A) the freedom of all religious groups freely to
practice their faith in the Russian Federation, without
government interference on the rights and the peaceful
activities of such religious organizations;
(B) equal treatment and respect for the human
rights and the right to own private property of all
citizens of the Russian Federation;
(C) initiation of genuine negotiations for a just
and peaceful resolution of the conflict in Chechnya,
including a full investigation of the conflict and
bringing to justice those individuals, civilian or
military, who in a court of law are found to be guilty
of criminal violations of human rights;
(D) respect for the rule of law and improvement of
civil and legal institutions to implement and defend
these rights; and
(E) reform of the judicial system to prevent the
arbitrary detention of citizens and provide for a
speedy trial and equal access to the judicial system;
and
(3) the President and the Secretary of State should take
all necessary steps to suspend the participation of the Russian
Federation in the G-8 until the Government of the Russian
Federation demonstrates that it adheres to the norms and
standards described in paragraphs (1) and (2), in particular
the existence of a free and unfettered press, and are requested
to convey to appropriate officials of the Government of the
Russian Federation, including the President, the Prime
Minister, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, this expression
of the views of the Congress.
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