[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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