[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 98 (Friday, July 11, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7314-S7315]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            COSPONSORSHIP OF SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 19

 Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise today to offer my support 
as a cosponsor to Senate Concurrent Resolution 19. This resolution 
recommends the return of, or compensation for, foreign properties that 
were wrongly confiscated in formerly Communist countries and by certain 
foreign financial institutions.
  I join my colleagues on the Helsinki Commission in calling for 
restitution to the many victims who have suffered property losses at 
the hands of Communist and Fascist dictatorships. These victims had 
their property confiscated solely because of their religion, national 
or social origin, or expression of opposition to the regimes in power. 
In fact, many churches, synagogues, and mosques were destroyed

[[Page S7315]]

and/or confiscated by these repressive regimes.
  Private property ownership is one of the key hallmarks of a free 
society, as are the freedom to practice one's own religion, express 
one's own social or national traditions, and speak against one's 
government. Violation of these freedoms, and disrespect for these 
concepts, is a glaring signal that a country is ignoring democratic 
norms and violating international law.
  Even more egregious is the fact that some financial institutions 
cooperated with these repressive regimes in converting to their own 
personal use those financial assets belonging to Holocaust victims, and 
their heirs and assigns. This is a clear violation of these 
institutions' fiduciary duty to their customers. We must not sit idly 
by while they enjoy their ill-gotten gains.
  In this new and welcome period of transition for many of the formerly 
Communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe, it is my sincere 
hope that victims of confiscation will be sought out and compensated. 
Further, to expedite the compensation process, I fully support the 
elimination of any citizenship or residency requirement in order for 
those victims to make property claims.

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