[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 98 (Friday, June 28, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7299-S7300]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ALEXANDR LEBED'S ATTACKS ON FAITH
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, when Alexandr Lebed called the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ``mold and scum'' he attacked my
faith. Russia's new security chief--the man who stands behind Boris
Yeltsin--attacked the faith of America's 6th largest church. I believe
this requires an immediate and forceful response, and my colleagues and
I have drafted a letter to Boris Yeltsin, Ambassador Vorontsov and
Secretary of State Christopher.
In his campaign comments yesterday, Lebed struck the nationalist
chord. He spoke of the ``officially recognized'' faiths of ``Orthodox
Christianity, Islam and Buddhism.'' There is no mention of Russia's
Jews, and that concerns me greatly.
The Mormon faith is a ``security threat'' to Russia, according to
Lebed. It is comparable to the Japanese cult that unleashed poison gas
on Tokyo last year. Comparing the Christian faith of the Mormons to a
murderous cult led by a deranged individual is a calumny. Referring to
the Mormons as a security threat appears to be anti-democratic
demoguogery reminiscent of communist propoganda.
Remember that, in the old days of communist propaganda, the Russian
people were kept in ignorance and fear with official myths of
fabricated foreign threats.
Remember that, in the old days of the communist regime, the
totalitarian state disguised itself as a paternalistic state that
denied all individual rights, including the freedom of religious
practice.
We shouldn't be surprised, after all. Lebed has taken his outrageous
rhetoric right out of the resurgent communist party's playbook. This
bodes ill for democratic evolution in Russia.
I think Mormons should be insulted, and I am declaring my outrage
here. I
[[Page S7300]]
think Jews should be concerned, and I am declaring my complete support
for Russian Jews here.
And I think the Russian people should be insulted. I have too much
respect for the character, strength, and, yes, the spirit of the
Russian people to think that they need to be patronized by threats of
religious persecution.
I will continue to support democratic evolution in Russia. And I
think that this evolution demands respect for all human rights--
including the right to freedom of religion. I have expressed this in a
letter I have drafted to President Yeltsin and Ambassador Vorontsov,
and I am grateful that my colleagues here have co-signed it. I am also
happy to sign the letter Senator Bennett has drafted to Secretary of
State Christopher.
I ask unanimous consent that these letters be printed in the Record.
I now call on Alexandr Lebed to apologize, and to demonstrate that he
has no intention of repeating his threats to freedom of religion in
Russia. The future of democratic Russia depends on the preservation of
this freedom.
There being no objection, the letters were ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC, June 28, 1996.
His Excellency Boris Yeltsin,
President of the Russian Federation, The Kremlin, Moscow,
Russia.
Dear President Yeltsin: We are writing to express our
outrage at the comments on religion reported by Western and
Russian news agencies of your new National Security Council
Chief, Alexandr Lebed. Mr. Lebed's malicious, unfounded and
untrue remarks are an attack on all of the Christian faithful
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the
Mormon Church. His comparison of the Mormons to a murderous
cult in Japan is offensive, false, and a heinous calumny that
could not be explained by mere ignorance.
In addition, his notable exclusion of the Jewish faith from
the religions he believes should be ``officially recognized''
raises concerns worldwide. We are greatly worried over what
such an omission means for Russia's Jews.
We are strong supporters of democratic evolution in Russia
and have watched with great admiration many of the recent
developments in your country. But we simply cannot understand
how such hateful declarations of intolerance from leaders of
the Russian government can be reconciled with individual
human rights, the whole of which cannot exclude freedom of
religion.
Furthermore, while we admire and support the very real
movement toward democracy in Russia, we cannot ignore the
manifestation, explicit in these remarks, of a mentality from
Russia's authoritarian past that fabricates foreign threats
and influences.
Finally, we have all studied Russian history. As citizens
of a free country, we've probably had access to greater
resources on Russian history than citizens of your country
had up until a few years ago. Any understanding of Russian
history must recognize the character and intelligence of the
Russian people as well as their individual courage. It is
simply incomprehensible to us that any of Russia's leaders
would insult their own citizens with a paternalistic attempt
to prevent them from making their own determinations about
matters as deeply personal as religious beliefs.
Sincerely,
Orrin G. Hatch.
Jesse Helms.
Robert F. Bennett.
Arlen Specter.
Harry Reid.
Joseph I. Lieberman.
____
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC, June 28, 1996.
His Excellency Yuliy M. Vorontsov,
Ambassador of the Russian Federation, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Ambassador: We are writing to express our outrage
at the comments on religion reported by Western and Russian
news agencies of your new National Security Council Chief,
Alexandr Lebed. Mr. Lebed's malicious, unfounded and untrue
remarks are an attack on all of the Christian faithful of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, the Mormon
Church. His comparison of the Mormons to a murderous cult in
Japan is offensive, false, and a heinous calumny that could
not be explained by mere ignorance.
In addition, his notable exclusion of the Jewish faith from
the religions he believes should be ``officially recognized''
raises concerns worldwide. We are greatly worried over what
such an omission means for Russia's Jews.
We are strong supporters of democratic evolution in Russia
and have watched with great admiration many of the recent
developments in your country. But we simply cannot understand
how such hateful declarations of intolerance from leaders of
the Russian government can be reconciled with individual
human rights, the whole of which cannot exclude freedom of
religion.
Furthermore, while we admire and support the very real
movement toward democracy in Russia, we cannot ignore the
manifestation, explicit in these remarks, of a mentality from
Russia's authoritarian past that fabricates foreign threats
and influences.
Finally, we have all studied Russian history. As citizens
of a free country, we've probably had access to greater
resources on Russian history than citizens of your country
had up until a few year ago. Any understanding of Russian
history must recognize the character and intelligence of the
Russian people as well as their individual courage. It is
simply incomprehensible to us that any of Russia's leaders
would insult their own citizens with a paternalistic attempt
to prevent them from making their own determinations about
matters as deeply personal as religious beliefs.
Sincerely,
Orrin G. Hatch.
Jesse helms.
Robert F. Bennett.
Arlen Specter.
Harry Reid.
Joseph I. Lieberman.
____
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC, June 28, 1996.
The Honorable Warren Christopher,
Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Secretary: According to Western news agencies,
yesterday General Alexander Lebed, the new head of Russia's
National Security Council, made a number of comments on
religious life in Russia today. First, he equated the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to the Japanese
terrorist cult Aum Supreme Truth. His characterization of the
Church is defamatory and indefensible in any circumstances,
let alone for the second most powerful official in the
Russian Federation. Further, given Russia's history of anti-
Semitism, his omission of the Jewish faith as an acceptable
part of religious life in Russia further reflects a dangerous
return to the practices of the past.
Equally disturbing, General Lebed's assessment of the
principal religious traditions in Russia, beyond being false,
is taken directly from the preelection speeches of Communist
Party Gennadei Zyuganov. This willingness to adopt Communist
misstatement on the part of a Russian government official
leaves us genuinely concerned about whether the Russian
political elite is serious in its efforts to break decisively
with the Communist past.
As Senators, however, we are most offended that such
statements by Mr. Lebed, or any other Russian official,
indicate no tolerance in Russia for religious freedom or
dissent of any kind. Such behavior demonstrates that, despite
the presence of electoral institutions, Russia has made
precious little progress toward the development of a civil
society. Indeed, Mr. Lebed's statements may have demonstrated
that the emperor of Russia ``democracy'' has no clothes.
Finally, Mr. Secretary, inasmuch as freedom of religion is
a core element of American society and one of the bases of
our current assistance program, we ask that you review United
States assistance to Russia. In a separate letter, we will be
raising the same issue with Brian Atwood, Administrator of
AID. We look forward to your comments.
Sincerely,
Robert F. Bennett.
Harry Reid.
Arlen Specter.
Orrin G. Hatch.
Joseph I. Lieberman.
____________________