[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 128 (Wednesday, September 17, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S11634]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


     THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF THE MURDER OF UKRAINIAN GEORGIY GONGADZE

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, the nation of Ukraine recently celebrated 
the 12th anniversary of its independence from the former Soviet Union. 
This milestone, gained after decades under Soviet repression, is a 
notable achievement that bears witness to humanity's inextinguishable 
and universal desire for liberty and freedom. Twelve years after its 
independence, much has been achieved, yet much work remains to be done 
before Ukraine is able to fulfill its considerable promise and fully 
join the Euro-Atlantic community of nations that find unity through 
their commitment to democracy and a steadfast adherence to the rule of 
law.
  Yesterday also marked the third anniversary of the disappearance and 
murder of Ukrainian journalist Georgiy Gongadze. This anniversary casts 
a pall over Ukrainian society and underscores the problems it faces as 
it seeks to reform its domestic political situation. The editor of an 
internet newspaper, Ukrainska Pravda Ukrainian Truth--Gongadze reported 
widely on corruption within highest circles of Ukrainian society. He 
was an outspoken critic of corruption, and his decision to create an 
internet news journal was done in part to avoid some of the censorship 
and intimidation imposed upon journalists in Ukraine who routinely have 
their papers seized, presses damaged, and lives threatened by 
government officials.
  However, Gongadze's actions did not escape official notice. Nothing 
done by members of the fourth estate is going unnoticed in a nation 
that Reporters Without Frontiers ranked 112th in its rating of 
worldwide media freedom. After Gongadze's disappearance, tapes secretly 
recorded by Mykola Melnychenko, a former bodyguard for President Leonid 
Kuchma, documented plans by President Kuchma and other government 
officials to dispose of Gongadze by a variety of means including 
``selling him to the Chechens.''
  Since his disappearance 3 years ago, little headway has been made 
into the investigation of his murder. Ukrainian officials have hindered 
efforts by the FBI to examine evidence, court documents have been 
forged and a witness in the case recently died while in police custody. 
Delays into this investigation and the lack of transparency with which 
it has been conducted undermine the reputation of Ukraine and hinders 
its relationship with the United States, the European Union, and NATO.
  Much has been made of Ukraine's contribution to Operation Iraq 
Freedom. Currently, a brigade of Ukrainian soldiers are on the ground 
in Iraq, and this contribution is greatly appreciated. Yet such 
assistance, coupled with military reform, should not be seen as a quid 
pro quo for a lack of reform on Ukraine's domestic front. Unification 
with the Euro-Atlantic community is not merely a geopolitical or 
bureaucratic decision. Ukraine must continue efforts to develop and 
implement a responsive and transparent rule-based system of law before 
it is fully able to from the West.
  The conduct of the October 2004 Presidential elections in Ukraine 
will be watched closely by the international community. Free and fair 
elections, regardless of their final outcome, will be an important step 
toward Ukraine's rapproachment with the community of nations. This 
election will be vital not for its outcome, but for the process by 
which it is conducted. It is my hope that the October 2004 elections 
will aid Ukraine's transformation from a nation where fear undermines 
public discourse into a nation where all facets of society can freely 
engage in the market-place of ideas without fear of recrimination. Only 
in such a society will we be able to learn the truth surrounding the 
disappearance and murder of Georgiy Gongadze. His family and the 
Ukrainian people deserve no less.

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