[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 14 (Tuesday, January 29, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E95]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     THE BIPARTISAN FORMER SOVIET UNION MINORITY RELIEF ACT OF 2008

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                         HON. MARK STEVEN KIRK

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 29, 2008

  Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, today, along with my colleague Ron Klein (D-
FL), I am introducing bipartisan legislation to curb the rise of hate 
crime violence in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
  Acts of violence against Jews and other minorities are on the rise in 
the former Soviet Union. In Russia, xenophobic candidates are sweeping 
to power as state-sponsored hate speech incites anti-Semitism and 
violence. Widespread discrimination persists against religious and 
ethnic minorities, including Central Asians, Armenians, Roman Catholics 
and Evangelical Christians.
  In Ukraine, neo-Nazi crimes against Jews are on the rise. Just last 
night, a rabbi was severely beaten on a main street in the eastern 
Ukrainian city of Dnepropetrovsk. The assailants have not been 
identified and no arrests have been reported. The key test of a 
democracy is tolerance for minorities--and this fledgling democracy is 
struggling.
  In Belarus, human rights conditions continue to deteriorate. The 
dictator himself spouts anti-Semitic slurs through government media. 
The need for emergency resettlement of vulnerable communities may soon 
emerge.
  The Former Soviet Union Minority Relief Act of 2008 would strengthen 
rule of law and democracy initiatives in Ukraine, undermine hate speech 
in Russia and Belarus through international broadcasting, and allow for 
emergency evacuations from Belarus or Russia if the need emerges.
  When the Soviet Union fell, we thought the fight for persecuted 
minorities ended. Unfortunately, widespread discrimination persists 
against religious and ethnic minorities. The international community 
needs a wake up call that Jews and other minorities are under attack in 
the Former Soviet Union.

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