[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 33 (Wednesday, March 15, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E380]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         EXTENDING NORMAL TRADE RELATIONS TREATMENT TO UKRAINE

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 8, 2006

  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, today we have the opportunity to recognize 
Ukraine's great strides since its emergence from the Iron Curtain. 
Indeed, the ``Orange Revolution'' ignited by the fraudulent elections 
of 2004 demonstrated the commitment of the Ukrainian people to a 
democratic future. By graduating Ukraine from Jackson-Vanik and 
extending Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR), we can help 
consolidate the Ukrainian government's adherence to this path.
  The Jackson-Vanik amendment, enacted in 1974, originally focused on 
free emigration, but it became a symbol for all basic human rights 
including political freedom, freedom from religious discrimination, and 
freedom for the press. While its candidacy for Jackson-Vanik graduation 
demonstrates Ukraine's significant progress on these issues, there are 
still major areas where further improvement is necessary.
  Specifically, the Ukrainian government and President Yushchenko must 
do more to live up to their pledge to fight anti-Semitism and condemn 
all ethnic and religious discrimination.
  Over the past several years, Ukraine's largest private university, 
known in Ukraine as MAUP, has become a hotbed of anti-Semitic activity. 
In 2005, the school hosted an anti-Zionist conference featuring white 
supremacist David Duke and other Holocaust deniers from around the 
world and its President fervently supported the President of Iran's 
call for the destruction of Israel. The school has published and 
distributed ``Mein Kampf' and ``The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,'' 
and leading figures at the school have petitioned to bar Jewish 
organization in Ukraine and ban Jewish texts.
  It is important that the Ukrainian government and President 
Yushchenko's ``Our Ukraine'' party have strongly condemned the 
university leaders. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs have called the school's activities unlawful. The time 
has come for the government to reexamine the school's certification and 
prosecute those responsible for violating Ukraine's anti-incitement 
laws.
  In addition, the government must take action to return communal 
religious property confiscated during the Soviet era through a 
standardized, timely, and transparent process.
  Jackson-Vanik graduation is an important step forward in the 
strategic relationship between the United States and Ukraine. But it is 
by no means an end to the need for scrutiny of Ukraine's adherence to 
fundamental human rights values. As a member of the Congressional 
Ukraine Caucus and a co-chair of the Congressional Task Force Against 
Anti-Semitism, I support this legislation, but I believe it is vital 
that we continue pushing Ukraine in the right direction.

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