[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 145 (Friday, October 24, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2082-E2083]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      SENSE-OF-CONGRESS RESOLUTION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ASA HUTCHINSON

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 24, 1997

  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, for more than 200 years, our Nation has 
prospered as a democracy because we have enjoyed certain freedoms, 
including freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of 
association, and freedom of religion. And, as other nations have moved 
away from more restrictive forms of government toward democracy, those 
that have made successful transitions have guaranteed their citizens 
the same.
  Mr. Speaker, although the emerging democracy of Russia has made 
significant strides since the fall of the Soviet Union, it appears that 
she has taken a step backward in recent days. On September 25, 1997, 
President Yeltsin signed into law the On Freedom of Conscience and 
Religious Association Act. This measure, which he vetoed once before, 
denies legal status to all religious groups except those which were 
officially registered with the Soviet Government at least 15 years ago. 
Such denial of legal status would automatically strip a number of 
religious minorities of fundamental rights, such as the right to rent 
or own property, employ religious workers, produce or possess religious 
literature, maintain bank accounts, or conduct organized charitable or 
educational activities.
  This new law violates not only the Russian Constitution but also the 
U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1989 Concluding 
Document of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. On a 
more basic level, the intent of the law runs contrary to the very 
principles that form the foundations of a democratic society. For, if 
the Russian Federation Government sees fit to discriminate against 
individuals and organizations according to their religious beliefs, 
what will prevent those in power from discriminating against those with 
different political or philosophic affiliations? What is to prevent 
government officials in outlying provinces, who have historically been 
oppressors of those of differing political or religious affiliation, 
from cracking down on religious and political minorities? What recourse 
is open to an individual who has been denied basic civil rights or who 
has been substantively injured by a local government official if the 
government of the nation essentially condones oppressive action?
  These questions have already proven to be valid. The new law clearly 
states that religious organizations have until the end of 1999 to 
register with the Russian Federation under the new law. And officials 
from Russia's Ministry of Justice have assured religious organizations 
and officials in the United States that implementation of this new law 
will not result in discrimination or oppression of religious 
organizations in that nation. However, cases have already been reported 
of churches that have been prohibited from meeting in rented or public 
facilities as a direct result of this law. This leads me to question 
how effective the Federation will be in ensuring that the rights and 
freedoms of religious minorities are protected.
  As such, I feel it necessary that we express our concern over the 
enactment of this law to the Russian Federation, and that we encourage 
the Federation to embrace all of the

[[Page E2083]]

foundational principles of a free and open society. To that end, I am 
introducing today a resolution that affirms the role of freedom of 
religion in a democracy and expresses the Sense of Congress that 
enactment of the On Freedom of Conscience and On Religious Association 
law violates internationally accepted standards of human rights. In 
addition, this resolution affirms the action of the House and Senate 
conferees on the Foreign operations appropriations bill in including 
language to prohibit the Federation from receiving funding assistance 
unless the Federation certifies that the new law is not implemented.
  Mr. Speaker, Russia has come a long way from its authoritarian 
Czarist and Soviet roots. Let us encourage her officials and her people 
to continue on the path toward a free and open society by passing this 
resolution and condemning a return to regulation of thought and belief 
that hindered the country's progress for so may centuries.

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