[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 147 (Thursday, November 14, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1995]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             SITUATION IN BELARUS CONTINUES TO DETERIORATE

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 13, 2002

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I want to bring to the 
attention of my colleagues the latest outrage perpetrated by the regime 
of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenka.
  Last week, immediately after leaving the U.S. Embassy in Minsk, the 
Chairman of the opposition United Civic Party, Anatoly Lebedka, was 
picked up by plainclothes police officers and driven to KGB 
headquarters for interrogation. Anatoly had been at the Embassy to pick 
up the invitation for a conference on Belarus to be held this week here 
in Washington. In a clear effort at intimidation, Lukashenka's KGB 
thugs accused him of maintaining ties with supposed ``intelligence 
agents'' and other foreigners, purportedly for the purpose of 
undermining Belarus.
  Mr. Speaker, this accusation is patently absurd. I know Anatoly 
Lebedka, having met with him in Washington and at several meetings of 
the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, most recently this past July in 
Berlin. It is clear to me that Mr. Lebedka is an honorable man 
committed to his country's development as an independent, democratic 
nation in which respect for human rights and the rule of law is the 
norm. There is no doubt in my mind that the real reason for the 
harassment of Anatoly--and this is not the first time--is his 
opposition to Lukashenka, to whom democracy and human rights are 
anathema.
  Sadly, this is only the latest in a long list of human rights 
assaults by Lukashenka. Just within the last few months, we have seen 
the passage of a repressive law on religion, the bulldozing of a newly 
built church, the jailings of three leading independent journalists, 
the continued and persistent harassment of the political opposition, 
independent media and non-governmental organizations, and the effective 
expulsion of the OSCE presence there. These tactics are in keeping with 
the climate of fear which Lukashenka has sought to create.
  Moreover, we have seen no progress on the investigation of the 
missing and presumed dead political opponents--perhaps not 
surprisingly, as credible evidence links the Lukashenka regime with 
these murders, and growing evidence also indicates Belarus has been 
supplying weapons and military training to Iraq. Both in Berlin and in 
Washington, I have had the honor of meeting with the wives of the 
disappeared.
  Mr. Speaker, the state of human rights and democracy in Belarus is 
abysmal, and the manifest culprit is Lukashenka and his minions. The 
longsuffering Belarusian people deserve to live in a country in which 
human rights are not flouted. Those in Belarus, like Anatoly Lebedka, 
who struggle for human rights and democracy deserve better. The 
Belarusian people deserve better.

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