[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 391 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 391

  Calling on the President of the United States to engage in an open 
   discussion with the leaders of the Republic of Georgia to express 
support for the planned presidential elections and the expectation that 
  such elections will be held in a manner consistent with democratic 
                              principles.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 6, 2007

    Mr. Lugar (for himself, Mr. Biden, and Mr. Dodd) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Calling on the President of the United States to engage in an open 
   discussion with the leaders of the Republic of Georgia to express 
support for the planned presidential elections and the expectation that 
  such elections will be held in a manner consistent with democratic 
                              principles.

Whereas the Republic of Georgia, which is an emerging democracy strategically 
        located between Turkey and Russia, is an important political and 
        geopolitical ally of the United States;
Whereas Georgia has made significant economic progress since 2000, with an 
        economic growth rate that now exceeds 9 percent on an annual basis, and 
        was named the top economic reformer in the world by the World Bank in 
        2006;
Whereas the Government of Georgia has been a leader in addressing the 
        proliferation of weapons of mass destruction under the Nunn-Lugar 
        Cooperative Threat Reduction Program;
Whereas the Government of Georgia is working to become a candidate for 
        membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the 
        European Union;
Whereas the United States Government strongly supports the territorial integrity 
        of Georgia and works actively toward a peaceful settlement of the 
        Abkhazia and South Ossetia conflicts that might lead those regions 
        toward greater autonomy within a unified Georgia;
Whereas the popular uprising in Georgia in 2003, the Rose Revolution, led to the 
        establishment of democracy in that country;
Whereas opposition parties in Georgia engaged in demonstrations lasting several 
        days beginning on November 2, 2007;
Whereas the President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, declared a state of 
        emergency on November 7, 2007, after which the country's main opposition 
        television station, Imedi, was closed;
Whereas Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza visited Georgia on 
        November 10-11, 2007, and urged the Government of Georgia to reopen its 
        private television stations, stating on Georgian state television: ``A 
        cornerstone of democracy is that all TV stations should remain open.'';
Whereas President Saakashvili ended emergency rule on November 17, 2007, and 
        announced presidential elections to be held on January 5, 2008;
Whereas the Government of Georgia has announced the reopening of the major 
        opposition television station, Imedi;
Whereas the Government of Georgia has invited international election monitors to 
        oversee the elections and thereby contribute to greater international 
        recognition of the Georgian political process; and
Whereas freedom of the press, freedom of political expression, and a fair and 
        impartial judiciary are among the most fundamental tenets of democracy: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) the President should publicly state strong support for 
        free and fair elections to be held in Georgia on January 5, 
        2008, in accordance with democratic principles; and
            (2) the Government of Georgia, in order to restore faith in 
        the democratic evolution of the country--
                    (A) must conduct free and fair elections, without 
                government interference; and
                    (B) must permit all independent media to remain 
                open and report on the elections.
                                 <all>