[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 170 (Friday, November 21, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15400-S15401]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             GROUP OF EIGHT

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss a matter of 
great importance related to Russia's continued participation in the 
Group of Eight, or G-8. Senator McCain and I submitted today a 
resolution calling on the President of the United States and the 
Secretary of State to work with our partners in the G-8 to condition 
Russia's continued involvement on its meetings the basic norms and 
standards of a democratic government.
  The G-8 is a gathering of the world's wealthiest industrial 
democracies. It is

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important that we do not lose sight of this world. It is well and good 
that all of the G-8 members are wealthy industrialized nations, but the 
real thing that binds us, the real thing that makes it a club worth 
joining is the fact that all of the participants are democracies. It is 
for this reason that China is not a member.
  When President Clinton discussed Russia's joining the G-8 back in 
1997 when Russia participated in the summit in Denver, he attributed 
Russia's participation to ``President Yeltsin's leadership and to the 
commitment of the Russian people to democracy and reform.''
  But the actions of President Yeltsin's successor, President Putin, 
over the past 3 years raise serious concerns about Russia's continued 
commitment to democracy. This drift away from democratic practices 
cannot and should not be ignored. The list of offending actions is long 
and disturbing. Since 2000, President Putin has seized control of 
national television networks and otherwise limited the freedom of 
expression to the point that the group ``Reporters without Borders'' 
ranks Russia 121st out of 139 countries in its worldwide press freedom 
index. The recent arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky set off alarm bells 
because of its blatant political motives, despite claims otherwise. 
President Putim's government has attempted to control the activities of 
nongovernmental organizations, religious organizations, and other 
pluralistic elements of Russian society in an attempt to mute criticism 
of the government. Russian troops in Chechnya have been allowed to 
suppress the rights of Russian citizens with impunity, including in the 
conduct of recent elections that fell far short of minimal 
international standards of freedom and fairness. And the list could go 
on.
  Continued membership in the G-8 is very important to Russia and to 
President Putin personally. We should use this leverage to get Russia 
back on the democratic track. Allowing Russia to continue its 
involvement in the G-8 and to host the 2006 G-8 Summit while continuing 
to undermine democracy makes mockery of the very principles that bind 
the G-8 countries together. We need to take steps not to ensure that 
Russia lives up to the commitments it made when it joined this club of 
industrialized democracies. To do otherwise would be to shirk our 
responsibilities as a leader of the democratic world. I urge my fellow 
Senators to support this resolution.

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