[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 65 (Friday, May 10, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H4882-H4884]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 ADMINISTRATION'S FAILURE TO DEAL EFFECTIVELY WITH INTERNATIONAL HUMAN 
                                 RIGHTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Metcalf). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Wolf] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on the matter of human rights. 
Perhaps the most basic of these rights is just to be able to exist or 
to live. And I am compelled to speak on America's role in protecting 
and promoting these basic rights.
  Like it or not, we are the nation to which the world turns for 
leadership and direction, especially in the area of human rights. Quite 
frankly, our Government is just not doing a good job here. It isn't 
measuring up.
  The administration has failed to exercise leadership all around the 
globe in the area of human rights. There has been a total collapse of 
will, of spine, of backbone in dealing with terrible things happening 
to people in every corner of the world. Events that we could alter--
that we, in the past, have altered--by standing up to tough guy 
dictators who treat their own with brutality and terrorism.
  I wish it wasn't necessary to talk about this right now because this 
is the campaign season and honest criticism and frustration are 
sometimes discounted as just more candidate bashing. But I'm not 
bashing the administration. I want President Clinton to succeed in 
promoting human rights. In his State of the Union Speech on January 25, 
1994, he stood right there and said ``as we build a more constructive 
relationship with China, we must continue to insist on clear signs of 
improvement in that nation's human rights record.'' I alone arose from 
my seat over there to applaud his courageous intentions.
  But he didn't follow through. And the men and women in China are 
worse off today for our failure to lead. Just as the men and women in 
southern Sudan are worse off, and the Nagorno-Karabach, Turkey, Tibet, 
Burundi, even Vietnam and elsewhere. But this afternoon, I want to 
focus on Chechnya, a fractious part of the Russian Federation of 
States, which I visited last year, and where unbelievably brutal events 
are unfolding. Chechnya could be the catalyst that results in a Russian 
Federation dominated by communism again.
  It should have been enough to count the dead men, women, and children 
to see something must be done about Chechnya. But if it were not, it 
should then be enough to also see the villages and hamlets across the 
land that have been ravaged. But if that were still not enough add the 
once thriving capital city of Grozny which has been leveled, where few 
buildings remain standing; only hollow skeletons amid huge piles of 
rubble. That scene surely calls for remedy.
  To give the administration some credit, perhaps they wanted to do 
something helpful there. But faulty and sporadic rhetoric have only 
made things worse. At one point the administration said Chechyna is an 
internal or civil problem. Russia then took this to mean that we would 
look the other way while they embarked on an effort to crush Chechyna. 
When the tragedy of war became too apparent to bear in silence, our 
Government began to urge President Yeltsin to bring this conflict to an 
end. Each time a high level delegation from the United States, either 
the President, Secretary of State or other high official, was scheduled 
to meet with the Yeltsin government, they would intensify their war 
effort to crush the Chechens hoping to claim the problem had been 
solved and peace is being restored even before our Government 
delegation arrived and could raise the issue.
  This cat and mouse brand of diplomacy had the effect of ratcheting up 
the killing and bombing and shelling. And more Chechens died. But more 
Russian soldiers continued to die as well. The Chechens are fierce 
fighters and good soldiers comfortable in their homeland which they 
know like the back of their hand. They, too, can be ruthless and are 
not pushovers. They have taken a grueling toll on the Russian troops. 
This, coupled with the hemorrhage of rubles to wage this war, the 
humiliating realization by the Russian people that their army may be 
only a paper tiger that cannot over-run even tiny Chechnya, and the 
stingingly negative world opinion showering down on the Yeltsin 
government, has made this a key issue in the upcoming June elections.

  What is at stake in these elections is the soul of Russia. And the 
major candidates to control its soul are President Boris Yeltsin on one 
hand and the Communist leaders on the other. President Yeltsin himself 
has said he may not win re-election if the Chechnya war continues. Let 
me say that again. The Russian people, tired of and embarrassed by the 
war in Chechnya, could turn away from President Yeltsin and re-embrace 
communism as, perhaps, the lesser among evils.
  Russia could return to communism as we stand idly, too timid or too 
confused to force the Chechen issue. Now I absolutely do not suggest 
this is something which should involve U.S. forces. That would clearly 
be irresponsible. What we have is two belligerents engaged in a 
struggle which neither side knows how to end. Like two feuding family 
members unable and unwilling to stop fighting even when both recognize 
continuing conflict is worse than any resolution available. Sometimes 
it takes an outsider to demand a truce. I don't want to trivialize this 
conflict but it is not unlike two small boys whaling away at one 
another and both are secretly delighted when someone steps between 
them.
  I have, again and again, written the President and others in his 
administration--and Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert in 
the Record copies of these letters--urging that our Government offer 
and encourage both sides, Russian and Chechen, to accept the offer of 
an American statesman of high stature and achievement to help search 
for peace. A broker or negotiator or arbitrator--choose a title--but 
someone with wisdom, experience and diplomacy to help find an accord 
where neither side is a loser, killing and destruction end and people 
can begin rebuilding lives. The administration barely even acknowledges 
my letters, which would be OK if they were pursuing another workable 
outcome. They are not. They again arrange a high level meeting with the 
Yeltsin government which spurs the Russians toward a renewed offensive 
to stamp out the Chechens. More killing and destruction result; time 
passes; frustration and bitterness grow and the cycle begins anew.
  This is not diplomacy. This is not international leadership. This is 
folly. It seems that our Government is abdicating its role as a world 
leader. A role no other power can assume. And the

[[Page H4883]]

void is being filled around the world with brush fires and 
geographically contained arenas of terror and terrorism.
  But the stakes in Chechnya may be higher. Communism might be the 
winner in this round. And if it is, it will not only be the Russians 
who are the losers. It will be every free nation and those who thirst 
for freedom. And surely, America will be among the losers if this 
happens. And that will be the biggest shame of all because we had, in 
our grasp, the ability to try to lead the world into a tomorrow of 
relative peace and tranquility.
  Even if a resurgence of communism did not hinge on the resolution of 
the conflict in Chechnya, and Mr. Speaker, the political picture in 
Russia is such a tangled web no one could predict with any certainty 
the outcome at the Russian ballot box on June 16, the administration 
should still prod the Russian Government into finding peace. Isn't 
peace and the end of killing and the destruction of a society a worthy 
goal in itself? Of course it is and it is one our Government ought to 
resolutely pursue with dispatch. I implore the administration to not 
let this slip through their fingers.
  Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the letters I referered to 
above.
  The information referred to follows:

                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                 Washington, DC, January 26, 1996.
     Hon. William J. Clinton,
     The White House, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: The brutal conflict in Chechnya is now 
     in its second month. Gruesome images of the fighting emerge 
     day after day. Thousands of Chechnyans have died in the 
     fighting, including many innocent women and children.
       While the U.S. position has been that this is an ``internal 
     Russian affair,'' the American people certainly have an 
     interest in bringing an end to the fighting. Besides the 
     obvious human tragedy occurring as men, women and children 
     continue to die, Russia is a major recipient of U.S. foreign 
     aid. This war is causing many in the Congress to consider 
     whether Russia is deserving of such aid and whether the 
     entire U.S.-Russian relationship should be re-examined, 
     particularly our close ties to President Yeltsin. 
     Continuation of this conflict will have major implications 
     for the future of the Yeltsin government, the Russian economy 
     and Russia's already fragile relationship with its neighbors. 
     I believe our government should use its diplomatic leverage 
     now to help bring peace to the region.
       I am writing to propose that you appoint former President 
     George Bush, or possibly former Secretary of State James 
     Baker, as special emissary for this purpose; to go to Moscow, 
     meet with President Yeltsin and other Russian leaders, and 
     present your viewpoint on the importance of quickly ending 
     the Chechnyan conflict. I believe President Bush could be 
     very helpful in ending the fighting and stopping the killing.
       Mr. President, I hope you will give careful consideration 
     to this proposal and move quickly in sending an emissary to 
     Russia. Thank you.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Frank R. Wolf,
     Member of Congress.
                                                                    ____

                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                Washington, DC, February 21, 1996.
     Hon. William J. Clinton,
     The White House, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: As you know, I traveled to Chechnya in 
     May of last year to view the ravages of war in that part of 
     the world. I have enclosed a copy of my trip report.
       It has been frustrating to see this conflict drag on for 
     over a year and the fighting and hostage-taking flare up 
     again in recent weeks. The Russians seem to be getting more 
     militaristic, but I understand that President Yeltsin 
     recently acknowledged the importance of dealing with the 
     conflict before the elections. The U.S. should strongly 
     support President Yeltsin in any of his efforts to bring 
     peaceful resolution to the conflict and, if necessary, serve 
     as the catalyst for peace in the region. Perhaps the U.S. 
     could help bring the sides together or serve as a mediator.
       The U.S. should use every opportunity to strongly encourage 
     the Russian government to end this conflict peacefully. It's 
     in the best interest of Russia, and ultimately, the best 
     interest of the United States.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Frank R. Wolf,
     Member of Congress.
                                                                    ____

                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                    Washington, DC, April 4, 1996.
     Hon. Warren Christopher,
     Secretary of State, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Secretary: I am writing to again raise the tragic 
     situation in Chechnya. Some 40,000 civilians are dead, 
     hundreds of thousands are homeless and, yet, this was not 
     even a topic of discussion during your recent visit to 
     Moscow. Why should the United States step in? Each time a 
     high-level U.S. delegation has visited Moscow, President 
     Yeltsin, seemingly in an attempt to put this issue aside, 
     steps up the intensity of the military action and more 
     Chechen civilians get pummeled.
       President Yeltsin now seems to be making efforts to 
     establish peace. He has called a cease-fire and the fighting 
     has died down somewhat. We all hope his efforts are sincere, 
     lasting and fruitful. But like a family trying to work out 
     solutions to irreconcilable problems, sometimes the issues 
     are too difficult to resolve alone. Feelings run too high and 
     past wrongs have seared too vivid a memory to bring about 
     resolution. Families often need to bring in outside help to 
     provide counsel and objectivity, defuse tensions, arbitrate 
     unresolvable differences and provide a fresh outlook. This is 
     a mediation role only the United States can play in resolving 
     this brutal conflict. I ask that you consider offering to 
     both sides the use of a high-level negotiator of 
     unquestionable stature: someone, perhaps, who has held at 
     least a cabinet position in our government.
       When I visited Grozny last May, there seemed little of the 
     town left to destroy. Yet reports of death and destruction 
     continue. What can we lose by offering to negotiate between 
     the parties? Things could grow even worse after the June 
     elections if the winner of the presidential race senses a 
     mandate to end the conflict in Chechnya by any means.
       I hope the U.S. will lend its weight to seek a speedy 
     resolution. Please consider appointing a high-level 
     negotiator to shuttle between the sides and push for peace. 
     Our neutrality should cease to be indifference and we should 
     use our voice, our experience and our economic power to 
     stridently work for peace in Russia.
       It's not too late. But too many have died. I urge you to 
     take decisive action.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Frank R. Wolf,
     Member of Congress.
                                                                    ____

                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                   Washington, DC, April 25, 1996.
     Hon. William J. Clinton,
     The White House, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: Thank you for your response to my last 
     letter expressing concern over Chechnya. I have been in 
     Chechnya, seen the results of the war, met with the people 
     there and have a sense of their resolve, their bitterness and 
     their anger. They are a hearty, robust and proud people. 
     Chechens are good fighters and will not yield in this 
     situation, not as long as even a few have the means to 
     resist.
       I believe more must be done and time is running out. Time 
     has already run out for too many Chechen men, women and 
     children as well as for too many Russian soldiers and their 
     families. Though not intended, each time you meet with 
     President Yeltsin or visit Russia . . . with the purpose of 
     propping him up or lending stature to his presidency . . . 
     the opposite and undesired outcome results. Before your 
     meetings, he tries, once again, to clean up events in 
     Chechnya with a renewed and vigorous military onslaught 
     causing more Chechens and more Russian soldiers to die, and 
     the two sides become even more deeply mired in the conflict. 
     President Yeltsin's attempt to make Chechnya disappear from 
     the radar screen before you meet has the opposite and 
     unwanted result of more killing, more conflict and a 
     diminished way out of this mess. He has apparently even found 
     it necessary to lie to you. According to the enclosed Reuters 
     report, the Russian military attacks which resulted in 
     Dzhokhar Dudayev's death were occurring even as President 
     Yeltsin assured you that he was pursuing a peaceful 
     resolution in Chechnya.
       President Yeltsin's history here is one of reacting badly 
     in Chechnya each time you and he are to meet. The outcome 
     inevitably is an even more difficult problem for him and may 
     result in his downfall in the June elections. He may not win 
     reelection without resolving this Chechnya situation.
       I agree that our interests and Russia's as well are better 
     served with Mr. Yeltsin as president when compared to other 
     likely candidates. If he loses, Russia and their federation 
     of states will take a giant stride backward. So I believe 
     America must do all it can to bring resolution to the Chechen 
     conflict, for them, certainly, but for us as well.
       No one, least of all me, wants US involvement on the ground 
     in that region. But America, as no other, is a respected and 
     trusted force standing for freedom and justice. Our 
     leadership alone can drive a peace solution. As I have asked 
     before, and copies of all my earlier letters on this issue 
     are enclosed to refresh your memory, please offer to 
     President Yeltsin . . . and urge him to accept . . . the 
     appointment of an American of considerable stature to 
     negotiate and to search for a peaceful end to this tragedy in 
     Chechnya. I know there are many good candidates, perhaps a 
     retired flag or general officer or a statesman on the order 
     of former Secretary Holbrooke.
       Mr. President, when I first wrote on this issue, our 
     interest was one of bringing a humanitarian end to a needless 
     war in Chechnya. With the passing of time and evolving 
     political fortunes in Russia, our own national interests 
     could be also affected

[[Page H4884]]

     by fall-out from this matter, especially if it results in the 
     return of communism to Russia. This would be bad for America 
     and for the world.
       I believe we must quickly do something here. I respectfully 
     submit these recommendations and will do anything I can to 
     help. If I can persuade you on this matter, I will come over 
     on a moments notice.
       Please act, Mr. President. Thank you and best regards.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Frank R. Wolf
     Member of Congress.
                                                                    ____


              Report: Russian 'Copters Attack Chechen Town

       Moscow.--Russian helicopter gunships attacked rebel 
     positions in the Chechen town of Shali on Thursday, a day 
     after slain separatist leader Dzhokhar Dudayev was buried.
       General Vyacheslav Tikhomirov, commander of Russian forces 
     in Chechnya, told Interfax news agency that the gunships had 
     made two ``pinpoint strikes'' on guerrilla positions in 
     Shali, about 25 miles southeast of the regional capital 
     Grozny.
       The attacks were in response to rebel fighters firing on 
     Wednesday at Russian helicopters which flew over Shali on a 
     reconnaissance mission, he said.
       Interfax said civilians had been killed and wounded in the 
     attacks, though it gave no casualty figure.
       It said seven people were killed when Russian ground forces 
     opened fire on a civilian convoy trying to flee the town 
     which had been sealed off by Russian troops in six days.
       A Shali police official, quoted by Interfax, said the 
     Russian attacks had caused considerable destruction. ``People 
     have been killed and wounded,'' he said.
       The renewed Russian air raids followed the death of Dudayev 
     last Sunday in a rocket attack from the air at Gekhi-Chu, 
     about 20 miles south-west of Grozny, as he stood in an open 
     field speaking by satellite telephone.
       Dudayev, '52, unchallenged leader of the rebellion against 
     Russian rule, was buried on Wednesday at a secret location in 
     the south of the territory.
       Russian military involvement in killing Dudayev, to whom 
     President Boris Yeltsin had offered indirect talks to end the 
     16-month conflict, was mired in controversy.
       Tikhomirov was quoted by Interfax as saying his troops had 
     not conducted any special operation to assassinate Dudayev.
       But an Interior Ministry source said on Wednesday he had 
     been killed in retribution for an ambush last week in which 
     Chechen fighters killed up to 90 Russian soldiers.
       In a more detailed report, Interfax quoted another source 
     as saying Dudayev had been deliberately targeted by a rocket 
     fired from the air which homed in on him by following the 
     signal of his satellite telephone.
       This source said it was the fifth attempt in the past two 
     or three months to destroy Dudayev by this means.
       The first four had failed, the source said, because the 
     Chechen leader ended his telephone conversation before the 
     rockets could target him.
       Tikhomirov called the report of retribution ``madness and 
     an attempt to pass on to the federal troops the blame for a 
     possible disruption of a peace settlement in Chechnya.''
       He said his forces had stuck to Yeltsin's order to halt 
     military operations and only responded to rebel attacks.
       Yeltsin ordered troops into Chechnya in December 1994 to 
     crush its independence drive.
       Over 30,000 people, mostly civilians, are believed to have 
     died and Yeltsin is trying to end the conflict to boost his 
     chances of winning a second term as president in a June poll.
       He unveiled a peace plan on March 31 which included a halt 
     to Russia's military offensive, partial withdrawal of troops 
     and indirect talks with Dudayev. But the plan allowed 
     ``special operations against terrorists.''
       It was not clear how the killing of Dudayev and his 
     replacement by Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, a hardline pro-
     independence ideologist, could affect peace efforts.
                                                                    ____

                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                      Washington, DC, May 7, 1996.
     Hon. William J. Clinton,
     The White House, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: I am, once again, writing to point out 
     that conditions for the men, women and children in Chechnya 
     continue to deteriorate as hopelessness and hatred battle one 
     another. Did you see the enclosed Washington Times piece 
     reporting the views of Duma Member, Mr. Aoushev, who is also 
     the deputy chairman of their parliament's national security 
     committee? He makes several thoughtful points which should 
     give us pause about a ``see nothing--do nothing'' policy.
       He notes: military action could spread from Chechyna to 
     next door neighbor Ingushetia. Not only would this bring 
     senseless killing, destruction, and misery to a new region 
     that is, today, relatively tranquil, it would deny an 
     existing haven to many Chechens who have fled from the daily 
     terrors of their homeland. When I recently visited that 
     region, I went to an Ingushetian refugee camp for Chechens, 
     mostly women, children and the aged. They do not need another 
     turn in a war zone.
       The conflict in Chechnya will not continue at its present 
     level. It cannot get better so it will only become worse. Not 
     only will pain and suffering intensify with continued 
     fighting but the opportunity for reconciliation or consensual 
     peace will recede further into the realm of the improbable.
       The Clinton Administration (Mr. Aoushev's term) is ignoring 
     human rights violations by Russian military and has not done 
     enough to use its influence to end the conflict.
       I hope you will consider what Mr. Aoushev has to say and I 
     reiterate my earlier and often made suggestion that you 
     should offer to both sides an American negotiator of 
     principle and stature whose task is to urge and prod the 
     parties to this senseless conflict to stop it. How could it 
     hurt? It might help. Continuing to do nothing is to accept or 
     even to encourage more inhumane acts on helpless people.
       Please work to stop this senselessness. Thank you for your 
     time.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Frank R. Wolf,
     Member of Congress.

                          ____________________