[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 103 (Tuesday, July 20, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1599]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1599]]
                        BELARUS DESERVES BETTER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SAM GEJDENSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 20, 1999

  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the situation 
in Belarus--a country in which I have a great deal of personal interest 
and which I believe has a great deal of unrealized potential. My father 
was born and raised in Parafanyvo, Belarus when it was ruled by Poland 
before the Nazis invaded. He and his brother narrowly escaped the Nazi 
troops who massacred the rest of their family. They were hidden by two 
very brave families, and my father was later able to escape and 
eventually come to the United States.
  Given this personal history, I have a great deal of admiration for 
the people of Belarus. Sadly, they have experienced a great deal of 
suffering over the years--as the victims of the Nazis, of Stalin, and 
of the Chernobyl disaster. I visited Belarus several weeks ago and it 
is clear to see that the people of Belarus are still getting a bad 
deal--again at the hands of their leadership.
  Under the legitimate constitution of Belarus, President Aleksandr 
Lukashenka's term is scheduled to expire today. But regrettably, 
Lukashenka is not going anywhere. When dawn breaks in Minsk tomorrow, 
Lukashenka will be waking up at the Presidential residence.
  For the last several years, Lukashenka has been wreaking havoc on his 
country, but tomorrow, he officially becomes Belarus' illegitimate 
president. In the fall of 1996, Lukashenka used bogus tactics to impose 
a new constitution on Belarus, to abolish the existing parliament and 
replace it with a rubber-stamp legislature, and to give himself an 
extra couple of years in office.
  Lukashenka is dangerous. Among other things, he has expressed 
admiration for both Hitler and Stalin. He has refused to acknowledge 
Stalin's crimes, even rejecting forensic evidence that thousands of 
doctors, professors, and other professionals were murdered by Stalin's 
forces at Kuropaty just outside of Minsk.
  Lukashenka has created a climate of fear in Belarus. He has targeted 
the opposition, non-governmental organizations, young people, and the 
press. Opposition figures have disappeared; independent newspapers are 
fighting for survival; and young people have reportedly been coerced to 
move to areas contaminated by the Chernobyl disaster.
  Lukashenka has larger political ambitions. His rhetoric plays well 
with the most retrograde regions of Russia--the so called `Red Belt.'' 
He has been enthusiastically pushing for a union between Russia and 
Belarus. Such a union has been under discussion since 1996, but in 
recent weeks, the Russians too--for their own political purposes--seem 
to be pushing harder. Lukashenka was quoted earlier this month as 
suggesting that President Yeltsin could serve as president of the new 
union, and likely planning on an early Yeltsin departure from the 
scene--Lukashenka offered to serve as its Vice President.
  Lukashenka is pushing his country deeper and deeper into an economic 
abyss. Prices remain under state control, and there has been no 
privatization to speak of. The average monthly wage is somewhere around 
$30 a month, and many people rely on subsistence farming in a backyard 
plot to feed their families.
  The people of Belarus deserve better. Belarus suffered greatly during 
the Second World War. The war's legacy in Belarus was that it left a 
passive people--afraid to speak out for fear that they'd get a bullet 
in the back of the head. Years of Communist rule only exacerbated these 
feelings. During my visit, several villagers told me: ``we are only 
`malenki'--small people''--unable to affect the political process.
  But Belarus is also home to many courageous people. For me 
personally, the most courageous are the women I met on my visit who at 
great risk to their own lives, hid my father and his brother from the 
Nazis in their home and in their barn.
  Regrettably, Lukashenka is not going to go away tomorrrow--as he 
should. But perhaps he is beginning to realize that he cannot continue 
on the present course.
  There is a report out of Minsk that the OSCE special mission headed 
by Adrian Severin has announced that Lukashenka has agreed to hold free 
parliamentary elections in 2000 and enter a dialogue with the 
opposition. Let us hope that Lukashenka makes good on that promise.
  In any case, the West should do what it can to support the people in 
Belarus who are willing to speak out and to help them plan for--and 
perhaps even hasten--the post-Lukashenka days. The West should:
  Bolster the opposition by continuing to meet with the legitimately 
elected parliament. The U.S. is right to refuse to meet with the 
Lukashenka appointed rubber stamp parliament.
  Provide more funding for those who are trying to battle passivity and 
fear. A small but vibrant NGO community in Belarus, with support from a 
handful of Western assistance organizations, is working to make 
citizens feel they can take control over issues that affect their own 
lives--like housing or the health of their children. Personal 
empowerment can lead to political empowerment.
  Make clear that the future of both Belarus and Russia can be with the 
West. For Belarus, it is not a choice of Russia or the West. Offering a 
false choice pushes Belarus and Russia towards each other to our 
exclusion.
  Continue to support private enterprise and democratic change in 
Russia itself. The more firmly these elements are rooted in Russia, the 
less likely it is that constituencies in Russia will be attracted to 
Lukashenka's brand of retrograde politics.
  Continue to insist--as the Clinton Administration has been doing--
that any integration between former Soviet states must reflect the 
voluntary will of the people expressed through the democratic process, 
must be mutually beneficial, and must not erect barriers to integration 
with the wider community of nations. As the Administration has rightly 
pointed out, since a democratic process does not now exist in Belarus, 
that calls into question the legitimacy of efforts to create a genuine 
Russian-Belarusian Union.
  Weave a web of contacts with the West. Fund and encourage travel by 
Belarusians not only to the United States but to neighboring countries. 
The more they see of Lithuania and Poland, the more they see what 
Belarus can be.
  Support increased information flow into Belarus--including efforts by 
the Lithuanians and others to conduct radio broadcasts into Belarus.
  In the end, Belarusians' fate is in their own hands. But even as 
Lukashenka clings to power, their is far more that the West can and 
should do to help tip the balance towards Belarus joining the 
democratic community of nations.

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