[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 50 (Thursday, April 18, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H3619-H3621]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SALUTING MR. TAUZIN'S EFFORTS ON BEHALF OF LOUISIANA MISSIONARY CHARLES 
                                 SONGE

  (Mr. SCHAEFER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks and include extraneous 
material.)
  Mr. SCHAEFER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
recognize the efforts of one of our distinguished colleagues, the 
gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. Tauzin], in securing the release from 
Russia of Rev. Charles Songe, a Christian missionary from Houma, LA.
  Mr. Songe was arrested in Russia last year on charges of violating 
currency laws. However, the nature of his case indicates the real 
reason behind his arrest was the Russian Government continuing to 
harass him. Due to the serious nature of these charges and the 
hostility shown to Mr. Songe by the Russian Government because of his 
religious activities, Mr. Tauzin swung into action, appealing to the 
United States State Department and to Vice President Gore.
  Mr. Tauzin spearheaded a joint letter to Russian officials which I 
signed as well as others. These efforts were richly rewarded when a 
Russian judge imposed a suspended 3-year sentence.
  I want to congratulate Mr. Tauzin today for his fierce devotion to 
the principle of freedom of religion in this country, one of the 
cornerstones of it.
  I would also like to say that this is just one way that we, as 
Members of Congress, can satisfactorily help many, many people who are 
constituents throughout the country.
  Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the following articles:

              [From the Houma, LA Courier, Apr. 12, 1996]

        The Beginning of The End Is Finally Here for Missionary

                            (By Dawn Crouch)

       The Rev. Charles Songe is expected to return to Houma 
     Sunday, ending a three-year odyssey that placed the Christian 
     missionary at the center of cultural, religious and economic 
     whirlwinds sweeping across Russia.
       ``He's on his way home,'' said Ken Johnson, a spokesman for 
     U.S. Rep Billy Tauzin, R-Chackbay.
       Johnson said he talked to Songe this morning before the 
     Houma missionary boarded a train to Moscow.
       ``He was ebullient,'' Johnson said. ``Clearly, he seemed as 
     if he'd seen an angel. He just said how excited he was for 
     this long ordeal to be finally over and how important it was 
     for him to be united with his family and friends. He said he 
     loved his family so much and was thankful that all this 
     worked out.''
       In May, the Houma missionary was arrested in the town of 
     Saransk on charges that he paid for goods and services using 
     American dollars rather than Russian rubles.
       Last week, Russian Judge Tatyana Yelina imposed a suspended 
     three-year prison sentence and permitted him to leave the 
     country voluntarily. Songe, 38, had faced the prospect of 
     spending the rest of his life in jail until U.S. officials, 
     led by Tauzin, waged a complex diplomatic effort to secure 
     his release and return.
       A Russian bureaucrat had refused to grant Songe an exit 
     visa earlier this week, posing a potential last-minute hitch 
     that could prevent the missionary from returning home. But 
     Songe received a letter this morning from Yelina, who assured 
     bureaucrats the missionary's case had been resolved.
       ``She assured the bureaucrats that they would not be held 
     liable for cutting him loose,'' Johnson said.
       After receiving his visa, Songe went to Russian police, who 
     returned the property they had seized from him, including a 
     journal of financial transactions that was used as evidence 
     against him.
       Songe's train ride from Saransk will take about 12 hours. 
     He plans to board a plane in Moscow at 7 a.m. Saturday, 
     arriving in New York that night. After a brief stop in 
     Atlanta, Songe is expected to arrive at New Orleans 
     International Airport at 5:30 p.m. Sunday aboard Delta 
     Airlines Flight 2063. An entourage of relatives, church 
     members and friends is expected to greet him, including 
     Tauzin, who plans to fly in from Washington.
       ``It's been an extraordinary odyssey filled with happiness, 
     sadness, disappointing setbacks and some major successes,'' 
     Johnson said this morning. ``I guess there's something to be 
     said for the power of prayer.''


                            in the beginning

       It all began when Songe, his wife Tina and their three 
     children, members of Living Word Church in Houma, bought plan 
     tickets to Russia in June 1993. Less than two years before, 
     the Soviet hammer and sickle had been taken down from the 
     Kremlin, marking the end of communist domination.
       Charles and Tina Songe said this historic time offered a 
     unique opportunity to spread the word of God as they 
     understood it, in a country where religious freedom had been 
     repressed for decades. Songe recalled those intentions in a 
     final plea before Judge Tatyana Yelina and the two-member 
     jury that heard his case.
       ``We came here to bless the people with the word of God, 
     not to cause trouble,'' Songe said he told the judge.
       But trouble was what he found, much of it having less to do 
     with his own circumstances than with the larger political and 
     social upheaval swirling around him.
       After the fall of the Soviet Union's Iron Curtain of 
     secrecy and censorship, chaotic winds of new-found freedom 
     raced like wildfire across Russia. The country held its first 
     truly free elections. A free press actively reported news of 
     the nation and the world as its members saw fit.
       Free-market reforms transformed a state-controlled economy 
     into privatized industries. Many failed shortly after 
     springing to life. Russia's currency, the ruble, was no 
     longer subsidized and lost much of its value.
       For seven decades, the government had tried to root out 
     religious spirit and replace it with an atheism that set 
     humanity, not God, as the master of its own destiny. One 
     result of this new religious liberty was the opening of 
     borders to foreign faiths for the first time since 1917.
       The Songes arrived among many missionaries who flooded the 
     Russian provinces, only too happy to do their part.
       After reaching Moscow, the Songes traveled 200 miles 
     southeast by train to Saransk, capital of the former 
     Mordvinian Republic, now a region of Russia. The industrial 
     town of 400,000, rooted in coal mining, sits on the banks of 
     the Insar River in the Volga uplands. At first, the major and 
     deputy mayor invited the Songes to locate in the town, and 
     they quickly began their ministry.
       But they were not as welcome as they thought. One of the 
     most unwelcoming groups for Western missionaries is the 
     Russian Orthodox Church, scholars say. The church had been 
     the state religion under the czars prior to the rise of the 
     Soviet Union, and its leaders longed to restore its pre-
     eminence in Russian society. Many Russian Orthodox church 
     leaders in Saransk and throughout the country feel threatened 
     by the increasing presence of Western missionaries, seeing 
     them as religious and cultural competition.
       The missionaries contend they are not trying to compete 
     with Orthodox Church. Their following consisted mainly of 
     young people, some of whom felt disconnected from the archaic 
     language and rituals of Orthodox services.


                          laying a foundation

       The Songes, working through an international missionary 
     group called Global Strategies, built the Saransk Christian 
     Center from the ground up. On weekends, the couple joined 
     other missionaries, playing acoustic guitar and singing hymns 
     on street corners.
       As passersby stopped to listen, the Songes invited them to 
     visit their small church for prayer and Bible discussions. 
     Some accepted; others shunned the missionaries for their 
     different religious beliefs. At its peak, the church had 150 
     members, but the number dropped by at least two-thirds as 
     Songe's legal troubles dragged on.
       On the night of last May 16, as the couple celebrated their 
     14th wedding anniversary, 11 Russian federal agents and two 
     witnesses crowded at their apartment's front door, flashing a 
     search warrant, the Songes said.
       Through a translator, the agents demanded financial records 
     and answers to questions. Items were confiscated, including 
     the journal in which Tina had recorded all the family's 
     purchases since arriving in Russia.
       The next day, Charles Songe was arrested and charged with 
     74 counts of violating Russian currency laws. Each charge 
     carries a maximum of 10 years in prison: 740 years total. The 
     journal became a key piece of evidence in the legal 
     proceedings that followed.
       Russian media focused attention on the couple's plight, and 
     Tina began to fear she would be charged as well. In July, the 
     Songes' daughter, 13-year-old Heidi, required medical 
     attention for a minor ailment and returned to Houma, where 
     she remained with relatives. Tina and the Songes' two other 
     children, Jonathan, 7, and Rene, 11, returned to Houma in 
     August.


                            Church and State

       Almost from the start, U.S. officials and members of 
     Songe's church in Houma expressed grave concerns. Johnson 
     suggested that Russian authorities might have singled Songe 
     out because of his religious convictions.
       ``Our suspicions of religious persecution are fact, not 
     fantasy,'' Johnson said in November. ``Russian officials are 
     flexing their muscles, showing other missionaries that

[[Page H3620]]

     they aren't welcome. A number of Russian leaders have 
     admitted to the United States embassy that foreign 
     missionaries have worn out their welcome.''
       Experts on the new Russian legal system agree that this was 
     more than idle speculation. Foreign missionaries, seen by 
     some Russian officials as spiritual predators in a land whose 
     values and norms were undergoing rapid and dizzying change, 
     were prohibited by an August 1993 version of the Russian Law 
     on Freedom of Religion.
       A provision of the Russian Constitution adopted by popular 
     vote in December of that same year, however, made the ban 
     moot, since broader religious freedom to all sects was 
     granted--and protected. Attitudes die harder than laws, 
     however, in any society. And the attitudes that sparked the 
     missionary prohibitions--especially strong in provinces and 
     towns removed from the urban centers of Moscow and St. 
     Petersburg--remain.
       Remote areas of any country--including the United States--
     are more prone to discretionary enforcement of laws, and 
     Saransk is no different. The laws in Russia governing use of 
     currency forbid the use of foreign currency--dollars 
     included--for the purchase of goods or services.
       Laws against using foreign currency were strengthened in 
     about 1992 as a means of boosting the value of a plummeting 
     ruble, experts on the post-Soviet legal system said. Greater 
     devaluation of the ruble would mean inflation--which can have 
     a disastrous effect on any economy.
       Vratislav Techota, an adjunct professor of Russian law at 
     Columbia University School of Law in New York, is among 
     several experts who said that the currency law, with which 
     Songe was charged with violating, is widely ignored.
       ``This is not a criminal offense in most cases,'' Techota 
     said. ``This is an administrative offense. Russia strictly 
     regulates the circulation of foreign currency. It is not 
     forbidden to bring the foreign currency into the country, but 
     to bring the rubles out. You can exchange foreign currency 
     for rubles at authorized banks.''
       Johnson is now convinced the currency charges were a ploy 
     designed to harass Songe out of the country--and send a 
     message.
       ``The case confirmed to me there is always another side to 
     the story, and as a journalist, we always strive to get both 
     sides. In this case we were getting it just from the embassy 
     and the Russians--that he was guilty,'' said Johnson, a 
     former news reporter. ``Guilty of what? Guilty of breaking a 
     law that everyone breaks or guilty of being a Christian in a 
     country that didn't want him there?''


                             watchful eyes

       Parts of Songe's ordeal reads like a spy novel. In May, he 
     was placed under house arrest and prohibited from leaving 
     Saransk. He and his wife, their landlord, a translator and 
     fellow church members were interrogated by the FSB, Russia's 
     equivalent of the United States' CIA. U.S. officials said the 
     missionary feared his phones were being tapped, e-mail 
     transmissions monitored and movements closely watched by 
     Russian police.
       One Friday night in February, Songe was attacked by two men 
     as he walked along a Saransk street on his way to a prayer 
     meeting. U.S. officials sought police protection.
       ``We have urged Charles to move into a new apartment and to 
     have one or more church members staying with him at all 
     times,'' Johnson said after the incident. ``Charles' case is 
     in the newspapers and on the TV. People know that his church 
     at home sends him money. We suspect that someone was trying 
     to cash in on this.''
       Songe's release rested heavily on diplomatic efforts. Early 
     on, American officials reported trouble penetrating the 
     Russian bureaucracy in an effort to open negotiations. After 
     weeks passed with little progress, Tauzin appealed to Tom 
     Pickering, American ambassador to Russia; and Rep. Ben 
     Gilman, R-New York, head of the House International Relations 
     Committee.
       In September, Pickering sent a senior-level diplomat to 
     Saransk. Tauzin also brought the case to the attention of 
     U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher and Vice President 
     Al Gore.


                         a letter from on high

       By mid-October, a plea bargain was being arranged, and 
     Tauzin's office said it was optimistic Songe could return 
     home for Thanksgiving. Pickering appointed Richard Miles, the 
     first ambassador to the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, 
     to travel to Saransk and, as Johnson described it, ``close 
     the deal.''
       Back home, the family cautiously retained hopes that Songe 
     would be home to celebrate his birthday Nov. 27.
       ``If this doesn't work, there will only be God,'' Tina, 37, 
     said.
       U.S. officials remained optimistic, but negotiations, 
     dragged on. Russian authorities said the case would continue 
     past Christmas.
       At Tauzin and Pickering's request, two of the most powerful 
     government officials in America sent a letter to Songe on 
     Dec. 22. Senate Majority Leader and Republican presidential 
     hopeful Bob Dole, along with House Speaker Newt Gingrich, 
     said they were following the case and expressed hope for 
     Songe's speedy return home.
       ``As American families all across the country celebrate 
     this joyous season, we know how difficult it must be for you 
     to be away from your loved ones,'' the Republican leaders 
     wrote. ``But please take heart that you are not alone. 
     Members of Congress, as well as Americans around the nation, 
     have you in their prayers.''


                           heading for trial

       Efforts to negotiate a plea bargain failed, so officials 
     focused on preparing Songe for trial. On March 22, the week-
     long proceedings against Songe and five other defendants 
     began.
       The prosecution's key witness was Oleg Kruchenkin, a 
     Russian student who befriended the Songes early on. They said 
     that later he turned against them. Kruchenkin reportedly 
     described Charles Songe as the ``ringleader of an illegal 
     currency operation.''
       Songe pleaded ``guilty in part,'' declaring that although 
     he exchanged the money, he's been unaware that the 
     transactions were illegal.
       On April 3, Songe was convicted but given probation and 
     allowed to return home voluntarily. The others on trial with 
     him also were spared prison sentences.
       Back home, a chorus of ``hallelujahs'' greeted Tina Songe 
     as she stood before almost 100 members of Houma's Living Word 
     Church, who gathered for a prayer service hours after 
     learning that her husband's freedom was won.
       Tina Songe noted that some had worried about the case 
     greatly, but her faith in God kept her strong.
       ``I never lost a night of sleep during this, but I know 
     some people would come to me and say, ``I woke up in the 
     night a couple of times and had to pray for Charles,'' she 
     said.
       Both Charles and Tina plan to continue their missionary 
     work, perhaps traveling abroad once again.
       ``My one regret is that I didn't know the law,'' Charles 
     Songe said in a telephone interview last week from Russia. 
     ``If I ever do it again, I will make sure to inform myself 
     and be careful to observe that country's customs.''

              [From the Houma, LA Courier, Apr. 15, 1996]

      Charles Songe Returns Home--Ordeal Ends For Houma Missionary

                            (By Dawn Crouch)

       New Orleans.--More than 200 well-wishers bearing banners 
     and singing joyous songs greeted Houma missionary Charles 
     Songe at the airport Sunday as he ended this three-year 
     Russian odyssey.
       ``I was told there would be a lot of people, but when you 
     come out into a place like this, you try to be prepared but 
     you can never be prepared,'' Songe, clearly overwhelmed, told 
     the crowd outside Gate 15-D at New Orleans International 
     Airport.
       Songe, 38, caught a train to Moscow on Friday for the first 
     step in his journey back home. When his flight touched down 
     here Sunday, his wife, Tina, and the couple's three children 
     boarded the plane to welcome Songe before he emerged.
       ``We're just so thrilled that the separation is over,'' 
     Tina Songe said beforehand. ``It's like the closing of a 
     chapter in our lives and the beginning of another. I knew 
     that God was going to bring him home, It was just a matter of 
     being patient enough for that to happen.''
       It was the first time Songe saw his wife and three children 
     since he was charged with breaking Russian money-exchange 
     laws 11 months ago in Saransk, where he had worked since 1993 
     organizing a Christian church.
       Accused of buying goods and services with U.S. dollars, 
     Songe was charged in May with 74 counts of currency 
     violations, each carrying up to 10 years in prison.
       Songe's wife; son Jonathan, 7; and daughters Renae, 11; and 
     Heidi, 13; were allowed to leave Russia soon after his 
     arrest.
       Embracing his teary eyed wife. Songe emerged from the plane 
     with his beige buttoned-down shirt half untucked and loosened 
     gray tie. He then hugged his mother, whom he hasn't seen 
     since he left for Russia. The crowd sand ``Celebrate Jesus'' 
     as Songe embraced and greeted family, friends and members of 
     Houma's Living Word Church.
       Before reaching the end of the walkway, Songe met U.S. Rep. 
     Billy Tauzin, R-Chackbay, who had flown in from Washington to 
     greet the missionary. Tauzin introduced himself and, without 
     words, Songe clinched the congressman's fist. The two men 
     held their hands above the crowd as Songe said ``I wouldn't 
     be here today if it weren't for Billy Tauzin.''
       Tauzin helped lead diplomatic efforts to secure Songe's 
     return and release. The congressman enlisted the help of 
     several top U.S. and Russian officials after Songe was 
     arrested in May. Both Tauzin and his spokesman, Ken Johnson, 
     kept in contact with the missionary several times a week as 
     the case dragged on.
       Tauzin repeated his contention that Russian authorities 
     prosecuted Songe more for his religious beliefs than money-
     exchange laws, which experts have confirmed are selectively 
     enforced.
       ``He was out there preaching the gospel of the Lord and 
     doing his work and he was doing nothing wrong that any other 
     citizen wouldn't do in Russia,'' Tauzin said. ``If this 
     wasn't a case of religious persecution, I've never seen 
     one.''
       Tauzin said the Russian authorities were using Songe to 
     send a message to missionaries that they are not wanted in 
     the country.
       ``This was not just about you,'' Tauzin told Songe. ``This 
     was about every citizen who wants to do missionary work in 
     other countries.''
       Tina Songe, carrying a batch of white roses given to her 
     husband by a friend, held

[[Page H3621]]

     Charles' arm as the couple thanked the people who prayed for 
     them during the long ordeal. Songe also exclaimed at such a 
     joyous homecoming.
       Eleven-year-old Renae planned to be the first to hug her 
     father. But, she said, ``Mom got to do that. I didn't mind. 
     The first thing I did was sing a song I wrote for him.''
       Renae said she was too startled to cry the first time she 
     saw her father, but her song, ``Praise God,'' allowed her to 
     express her overwhelming emotions.
       ``I didn't cry and neither did Heidi or Jonathan. But my 
     mom just grabbed him and cried,'' the girl said. ``I feel 
     like I've gone to the toy store and gotten my daddy as a 
     gift.''
       Songe first touched American soil Saturday night after his 
     17-hour flight from Moscow landed in New York. Songe said he 
     was too tired that night to do anything but call his family 
     and sleep. He woke the next morning and ate an early 
     breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns, orange juice and 
     coffee.
       ``It was great,'' he said. I haven't had a meal like that 
     in years.''
       Songe ate his second meal in America since his return in a 
     restaurant with Tina and the children Sunday night in New 
     Orleans.
       ``It's fantastic to see cars, nice cars. You can't see that 
     in Russia,'' he said. ``There is just a special air that 
     tells you you're in America.''

                          ____________________