[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 2 (Thursday, January 24, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S94-S95]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   BELARUS--OPPORTUNITIES SQUANDERED

  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, periodically, I have addressed my 
colleagues in the United States Senate on developments in the last 
dictatorship in Europe Belarus. More the 5 months have passed since the 
September 9, 2001 Belarusian Presidential elections, which the 
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), as well at 
the Helsinki Commission, which I chair, concluded did not meet 
international democratic standards. Since that time, the Belarusian 
leadership has had ample opportunity to begin to live up to its freely-
undertaken OSCE human rights and democracy commitments. Thus far, these 
opportunities have been squandered. As Secretary of State Powell 
remarked in his speech at the December 2001 meeting of OSCE Ministers 
in Bucharest:
  The Government of Belarus ignored the recommendations of the OSCE on 
what conditions would need to be established in order for free and fair 
elections to take place. It is unfortunate, indeed, that the government 
of Belarus continues to act in a manner that excludes Belarus from the 
mainstream of European political life.
  Since September, human rights violations have continued. There has 
been no progress with respect to resolving the cases of opposition 
leaders and journalists who ``disappeared'' in 1999--2000. Belarusian 
leader Aleksandr Lukashenka has retaliated against opposition members, 
independent journalists, human rights activists and others, especially 
young people. Beatings, detentions, fines and other forms of pressure 
have continued unabated. To cite just one example, two defendants in a 
criminal case against Alexander Chygir, son of leading Lukashenka 
opponent and former Prime Minister, Mikhail Chygir, were reportedly 
beaten and otherwise maltreated during pre-trial detention. Criminal 
cases have been launched against journalists and NGOs as well. A number 
of leading industrialists have been arrested on what some observers 
believe are politically motivated charges.
  Freedom of religion is also an area of concern. The registration 
scheme, required for a group to obtain full legal rights, is the 
ultimate ``Catch-22.'' Registration cannot be granted without a legal 
address; a legal address cannot be obtained without registration. Even 
the state controlled media is a concern for religious freedom, due to 
the highly critical reports in newspapers and television about the 
Catholic Church and Protestant churches. Very recently, the regular 
broadcast on national radio of a Miensk Catholic mass was unexpectedly 
halted.
  Efforts to promote human rights and expand support and develop civil 
society in Belarus are being thwarted. The Belarusian Government has 
threatened the OSCE Mission in Miensk with what amounts to expulsion 
unless the mandate of the Mission is changed more to its liking and has 
shown reluctance to accept a new Head of Mission. It is vital that the 
OSCE be allowed to continue its important work in developing genuine 
democratic institutions and a strong civil society in Belarus.
  I am also deeply troubled by allegations that Belarus has been acting 
as a supplier of lethal military equipment to Islamic terrorists, a 
charge that the Belrausian Government has denied. The troubling 
allegations contained in this article are a reminder of the importance 
of remaining steadfast in supporting democracy, human rights and the 
rule of law in Belarus. The lack of functioning democratic 
institutions, including an independent parliament, together with 
suppression of free media contribute to an environment void of 
accountability. Writing off Belarus as a backwater in the heart of 
Europe would play into the hands of the Lukashenka regime with 
disastrous consequences not only for the Belarusian people. It is more 
important than ever for the OSCE to maintain a strong presence on the 
ground in Belarus and for the United States to continue to support 
democratic development in that country.
  I ask unaminous consent that the Washington Post article ``Europe's 
Armory for Terrorism be printed in the Record.
       There being no objection, the material was ordered to be 
     printed in the Record, as follows:

                [From the Washington Post, Jan. 3, 2002]

                     Europe's Armory for Terrorism

                            (By Mark Lenzi)

       The country in Europe that deserves the most attention for 
     its support of terrorist groups and rogue states continues to 
     receive the least. That is the lawless and undemocratic 
     country of Belarus, under the rule of Alexander Lukashenko.
       Without a doubt no world leader benefitted more from the 
     September terror attacks than Lukashenko, Europe's last 
     dictator, whose ultimate wish is to reunite the Soviet Union. 
     Just as world scrutiny and condemnation were beginning to 
     mount after his rigged and falsified presidential election of 
     Sept. 9 the tragic events two days later took Washington's 
     quick glance away from this little-known and backward 
     country.
       Washington needs to wake up to what is happening in NATO's 
     backyard: Belarus is quietly acting as a leading supplier of 
     lethal military equipment to Islamic radicals--with 
     terrorists and militant organizations in the Middle East, 
     Balkans and Central Asia often the recipients.
       In 1994, Lukashenko's first year as president, Belarus sold 
     machine guns and armored vehicles to Tajikistan. This 
     equipment quickly made its way into the hands of warring 
     factions in neighboring Afghanistan, as well as Islamic 
     freedom fighters aiming to overthrow the government in 
     Tajikistan itself--ironically the same country where Belaru's 
     big brother, Russia, has thousands of soldiers stationed to 
     protect Central Asia and Russia from Islamic destabilization.
       Many of Lukashenko's arms deals have followed a similar 
     pattern: Weapons sent from Belarus are ``diverted'' from a 
     listed destination country to an Islamic extremist group or a 
     country under U.N. arms embargo while Belarusian government 
     officials cast a blind eye on the transactions.
       While it is deplorable that Belarus's weapons have been 
     responsible for prolonging civil wars and internal strife in 
     countries such as Tajikistan, Angola and Algeria, it is 
     particularly disturbing that Sudan, a country where Osama bin 
     Laden used to live and one that is known as a haven for 
     terrorists, has obtained from Belarus such proven and capable 
     weapon systems as T-55 tanks and Mi-24 Hind Helicopter 
     gunships. Weapons sent from Belarus to Sudan either fall into 
     the hands of terrorists or are used in a civil war that has 
     already killed more than 2 million people.
       Lukashenko's efforts to sell weapons to generate much-
     needed income for his beleaguered economy appear to have no 
     bounds. For a country of only 10 million people, it is 
     unsettling that Belarus is ranked year after year among the 
     top 10 weapons-exporting countries. To put in perspective how 
     much military equipment left over from the Soviet Union 
     Lukashenko has at his disposal, consider the following fact: 
     The Belarusian army has 1,700 T-72 battle tanks. Poland, a 
     new NATO member with the most powerful army in Central Europe 
     and with four times the population of Belarus, has only 900 
     T-72s.
       Despite strong denials from Lukashenko, Belarus has been a 
     key partner of Saddam Hussein in his effort to rebuild and 
     modernize Iraq's air defense capability. Belarus has violated 
     international law by secretly supplying Baghdad with SA-3 
     antiaircraft missile components as well as technicians. Given 
     that Iraq has repeatedly tried to shoot down U.S. and British 
     aircraft patrolling the U.N. no-fly zone--with more than 420 
     attempts this year alone--covert Belarusian-Iraqi military 
     cooperation is disturbing and should set off alarm bells in 
     Western capitals.
       Former Belarusian defense minister Pavel Kozlovski, 
     obviously someone with firsthand knowledge of Minsk's covert 
     arms deals, recently summed up Belarus's cooperation with 
     Iraq and other rogue states by saying, ``I know that the 
     Belarusian government does not have moral principles and can 
     sell weapons to those countries [such as Iraq] where 
     embargoes exist. This is the criminal policy of Belarusian 
     leadership.''
       In many ways, the mercurial and authoritarian Lukashenko 
     feels he has a free hand to sell arms to nations and groups 
     that are unfriendly to the West, because the European Union 
     and the United States do not recognize him as the legitimate 
     Belarusian head of state anyway. Threats of U.S.-led economic 
     sanctions or other diplomatic ``sticks'' against Belarus hold 
     little weight,

[[Page S95]]

     since the country is already isolated to a degree rivaled 
     only by a handful of other countries.
       It is only thanks to cheap energy subsidies from Russia 
     that the Belarusian economy remains afloat. Since Russia is 
     the only country that has the necessary economic and 
     political influence on Belarus, it is imperative that 
     Washington use its new relationship with Moscow to encourage 
     the Russians to exert their leverage on Belarus to cease 
     covert arms sales to rogue states and terrorist groups.
       In the Bush administration's worldwide effort to combat 
     terrorism, it should not overlook a little-known country 
     right on NATO's border.

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