[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 26 (Thursday, March 9, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S1425]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


SENATE RESOLUTION 269--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE WITH RESPECT 
   TO UNITED STATES RELATIONS WITH THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, GIVEN THE 
    RUSSIAN FEDERATION'S CONDUCT IN CHECHNYA, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

  Mr. HELMS submitted the following resolution, which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 269

       Whereas the Senate of the United States unanimously passed 
     Senate Resolution 262 on February 24th, 2000, to condemn the 
     indiscriminate use of force by the Government of the Russian 
     Federation against the people of Chechnya, to prompt peace 
     negotiations between the Government of the Russian Federation 
     and the Government of Chechnya led by elected President Aslan 
     Maskhadov, and to prompt the Government of the Russian 
     Federation to immediately grant international organizations 
     full and unimpeded access in Chechnya and the surrounding 
     regions so that they can provide much needed humanitarian 
     assistance and investigate alleged atrocities and war crimes;
       Whereas the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 
     received credible evidence and testimony reporting that 
     Russian forces in Chechnya caused the deaths of countless 
     thousands of innocent civilians; caused the displacement of 
     well over 250,000 innocents; forcibly relocated refugee 
     populations; and have committed widespread atrocities, 
     including summary executions, torture, and rape;
       Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has 
     repeatedly violated the principles of the freedom of the 
     press by subjecting journalists, such as Radio Free Liberty/
     Radio Europe correspondent Andrei Babitsky, who oppose or 
     question its policies to censorship, intimidation, 
     harassment, incarceration, and violence;
       Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation continues 
     its military campaign in Chechnya, including the use of 
     indiscriminate force, causing further dislocation of people 
     from their homes, the deaths of noncombatants and widespread 
     suffering;
       Whereas this war contributes to ethnic hatred and religious 
     intolerance within the Russian Federation, jeopardizes 
     prospects for the establishment of democracy in the Russian 
     Federation, undercuts the ability of the international 
     community to trust the Russian Federation as a signatory to 
     international agreements, generates political instability 
     within the Russian Federation, and is a threat to the peace 
     in the region; and
       Whereas the Senate expresses its concern over the war and 
     humanitarian tragedy in Chechnya, and its desire for a 
     peaceful and durable settlement to the conflict: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the indifference of most Western governments, including 
     that of the United States, toward this conflict has 
     encouraged the Government of the Russian Federation to 
     intensify and expand its military campaign in Chechnya, 
     further contributing to the suffering of the Chechen people;
       (2) the Acting President of the Russian Federation, 
     Vladimir Putin, is directly responsible for the conduct of 
     Russian troops in and around Chechnya and accountable for war 
     crimes and atrocities committed by them against the Chechen 
     people;
       (3) the Acting President of the Russian Federation should--
       (A) immediately cease the military operations in Chechnya 
     and initiate negotiations toward a just peace with the 
     leadership of the Chechen government, including President 
     Aslan Maskhadov;
       (B) grant international missions immediate full and 
     unimpeded access into Chechnya and surrounding regions so 
     that they can monitor and report on the situation there and 
     investigate alleged atrocities and war crimes;
       (C) allow international humanitarian agencies immediate 
     full and unimpeded access to Chechen civilians, including 
     those in refugee, detention and so-called ``filtration 
     camps'' or any other facility where citizens of Chechnya are 
     detained; and
       (D) investigate fully the atrocities committed in Chechnya, 
     including those alleged in Alkhan-Yurt and Grozny, and 
     initiate prosecutions against officers and soldiers accused 
     of those atrocities;
       (4) the President of the United States should--
       (A) affirm respect for human rights, democratic rule of 
     law, and international accountability as a foundation of 
     United States foreign policy;
       (B) affirm respect for human rights, democratic rule of 
     law, and international accountability as a precondition to 
     United States-Russian cooperation;
       (C) reevaluate United States foreign policy toward the 
     Russian Federation given its conduct in Chechnya, 
     remilitarization, and questionable commitment to democracy;
       (D) support societal forces in the Russian Federation 
     fighting to preserve democracy there, including empowering 
     human rights activists and promoting programs designed to 
     strengthen the independent media, trade unions, political 
     parties, civil society, and the democratic rule of law;
       (E) promote peace negotiations between the Government of 
     the Russian Federation and the leadership of the Chechen 
     government, including President Aslan Maskhadov, through 
     third-party mediation by the Organization for Security and 
     Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the United Nations, or other 
     appropriate parties;
       (F) endorse the call of the United Nations High 
     Commissioner for Human Rights for an investigation of alleged 
     war crimes committed by the Russian military in Chechnya; and
       (G) take tangible steps to demonstrate to the Government of 
     the Russian Federation that the United States strongly 
     condemns its conduct in Chechnya and its unwillingness to 
     find a just political solution to the conflict in Chechnya, 
     including--
       (i) a refusal to participate in bilateral summit meetings 
     with the Government of the Russian Federation;
       (ii) a call for the suspension of the Russian Federation 
     from the forum of G-7 plus 1 state; and
       (iii) a suspension of financial assistance to the Russian 
     Federation provided through the International Monetary Fund, 
     the World Bank, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, 
     and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation; and
       (5) the President of the United States should not reverse 
     the actions taken under paragraph (4)(G) until the Government 
     of the Russian Federation has--
       (A) ceased its military operations in Chechnya and 
     initiated negotiations toward a just peace with the 
     leadership of the Chechen government led by President Aslan 
     Maskhadov;
       (B) provided full and unimpeded access into and around 
     Chechnya to international missions to monitor and report on 
     the situation there and to investigate alleged atrocities and 
     war crimes;
       (C) granted international humanitarian agencies immediate 
     full and unimpeded access to Chechen civilians, including 
     those in refugee, detention, and so-called ``filtration 
     camps'' or any other facility where citizens of Chechnya are 
     detained; and
       (D) investigated fully the atrocities committed in Chechnya 
     including those alleged in Alkhan-Yurt and Grozny, and 
     initiated prosecutions against officers and soldiers accused 
     of those atrocities.

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