[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 87 Referred in House (RFH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. CON. RES. 87


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 17, 2008

              Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Congratulating the Republic of Latvia on the 90th anniversary of its 
                      declaration of independence.

Whereas on November 18, 1918, in the City of Riga, the members of the People's 
        Council proclaimed Latvia a free, democratic, and sovereign nation;
Whereas on July 24, 1922, the United States formally recognized Latvia as an 
        independent and sovereign nation;
Whereas Latvia existed for 21 years as an independent and sovereign nation and a 
        fully recognized member of the League of Nations;
Whereas Latvia maintained friendly and stable relations with its neighbors, 
        including the Soviet Union, during its independence, without any border 
        disputes;
Whereas Latvia concluded several peace treaties and protocols with the Soviet 
        Union, including a peace treaty signed on August 11, 1920, under which 
        the Soviet Union ``unreservedly recognize[d] the independence and 
        sovereignty of the Latvian State and forever renounce[d] all sovereign 
        rights . . . over the Latvian people and territory'';
Whereas despite friendly and mutually productive relations between Latvia and 
        the Soviet Union, on August 23, 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union 
        signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which contained a secret protocol 
        assigning Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania to the Soviet sphere of 
        influence;
Whereas under the cover of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, on June 17, 1940, 
        Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania were forcibly incorporated into the 
        Soviet Union in violation of pre-existing peace treaties;
Whereas the Soviet Union imposed upon the people of Estonia, Latvia, and 
        Lithuania a communist political system that stifled civil dissent, free 
        political expression, and basic human rights;
Whereas the United States never recognized this illegal and forcible occupation, 
        and successive United States presidents maintained continuous diplomatic 
        relations with these countries throughout the Soviet occupation, never 
        accepting them to be ``Soviet Republics'';
Whereas during the 50 years of Soviet occupation of the Baltic states, Congress 
        strongly, consistently, and on a bipartisan basis supported a United 
        States policy of legal non-recognition;
Whereas in 1953, the congressionally-established Kersten Commission investigated 
        the incorporation of Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania into the Soviet 
        Union and determined that the Soviet Union had illegally and forcibly 
        occupied and annexed the Baltic countries;
Whereas in 1982, and for the next nine years until the Baltic countries regained 
        their independence, Congress annually adopted a Baltic Freedom Day 
        resolution denouncing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and appealing for the 
        freedom of the Baltic countries;
Whereas in 1991, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania regained their de facto 
        independence and were quickly recognized by the United States and by 
        almost every other country in the world, including the Soviet Union;
Whereas in 1998, the United States and the three Baltic nations signed the U.S.-
        Baltic Charter of Partnership, an expression of the importance of the 
        Baltic Sea region to United States interests;
Whereas the 109th Congress resolved (S. Con. Res. 35 and H. Res. 28) that ``it 
        is the sense of Congress that the Government of the Russian Federation 
        should issue a clear and unambiguous statement of admission and 
        condemnation of the illegal occupation and annexation by the Soviet 
        Union from 1940 to 1991 of the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and 
        Lithuania, the consequences of which will be a significant increase in 
        good will among the affected people'';
Whereas Latvia has successfully developed as a free and democratic country, 
        ensured the rule of law, and developed a free market economy;
Whereas the Government of Latvia has constantly pursued a course of integration 
        of that country into the community of free and democratic nations, 
        becoming a full and responsible member of the United Nations, the 
        Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Union, 
        and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization;
Whereas the people of Latvia cherish the principles of political freedom, human 
        rights, and independence; and
Whereas Latvia is a strong and loyal ally of the United States, and the people 
        of Latvia share common values with the people of the United States: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) congratulates the people of Latvia on the occasion of 
        the 90th anniversary of that country's November 18, 1918, 
        declaration of independence;
            (2) commends the Government of Latvia for its success in 
        implementing political and economic reforms, for establishing 
        political, religious and economic freedom, and for its strong 
        commitment to human and civil rights;
            (3) recognizes the common goals and shared values of the 
        people of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, the close and 
        friendly relations and ties of the three Baltic countries with 
        one other, and their tragic history in the last century under 
        the Nazi and Soviet occupations;
            (4) calls on the President to issue a proclamation 
        congratulating the people of Latvia on the 90th anniversary of 
        the declaration of Latvia's independence on November 18, 1918;
            (5) respectfully requests the President to congratulate the 
        Government of Latvia for its commitment to democracy, a free 
        market economy, human rights, the rule of law, participation in 
        a wide range of international structures, and security 
        cooperation with the United States Government; and
            (6) calls on the President and Secretary of State to urge 
        the Government of the Russian Federation to acknowledge that 
        the Soviet occupation of Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania under 
        the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and for the succeeding 51 years was 
        illegal.

            Passed the Senate September 16, 2008.

            Attest:

                                                NANCY ERICKSON,

                                                             Secretary.