[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 196 (Monday, December 19, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H9938-H9940]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             BELARUS DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACT OF 2011

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur 
in the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 515) to reauthorize the 
Belarus Democracy Act of 2004.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the Senate amendments is as follows:

       Senate amendments:
       On page 6, line 19, strike ``and'' and insert ``expanded 
     its visa ban list, imposed additional financial sanctions on 
     certain state-owned enterprises, and initiated preparations 
     to freeze the assets of several individuals in Belarus. 
     The''.
       On page 10, line 9, strike ``continue to''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Connolly) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may

[[Page H9939]]

have 5 legislative days to submit for the Record statements and 
extraneous materials on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 515, the Belarus Democracy and Human Rights 
Act. Before I begin my prepared remarks, however, I would like to take 
a moment to honor the life of former President Vaclav Havel, an 
inspirational leader and lifelong advocate for the cause of freedom.
  Throughout his lifetime, Havel was part of an incredible 
transformation of Czechoslovakia, from an oppressive, communist Soviet 
satellite to the free, democratic, independent nation that is the Czech 
Republic. Many people at that time had given up hope that such a 
transformation was possible. It was beyond their imagination. But 
Vaclav Havel never lost faith and believed that people yearning for 
liberty could come together and affect incredible change.
  Even following the liberation of his own country, Mr. Havel continued 
to champion the cause of the oppressed around the world, adding his 
voice to those calling for freedom in countries throughout Europe, the 
Balkans, and even my native homeland of Cuba.

                              {time}  1650

  As he eloquently said after the Velvet Revolution that brought 
liberty to his people: ``None of us know all of the potentialities that 
slumber in the spirit of the population, or all the ways in which that 
population can surprise us when there is the right interplay of 
events.''
  It is therefore fitting that we come here today to consider this 
measure to support the democratic movement in a country relatively near 
Mr. Havel's homeland, a country called the ``last dictatorship in 
Europe.''
  The brutal Lukashenko regime in Belarus has time and again proven 
itself to be unrepentant in the oppression of its own people. Despite 
claims of reform by those in leadership positions, there have been no 
real changes in Belarus. It seems that's the same script that all 
communist or communist-style dictators are using these days. It's the 
same facade the Cuban dictatorship seeks to perpetuate.
  Hundreds of political prisoners remain in jail in Belarus, including 
two former Presidential candidates and a well-respected human rights 
defender, and credible reports indicate these prisoners are frequently 
subjected to degrading and inhumane treatment. Even those who have been 
previously released in attempted overtures to the West frequently are 
rearrested or face some other type of intimidation and retribution.
  Mr. Speaker, last year, the world watched as over 700 pro-democracy 
protesters were arrested en masse. Their crime? Simply clapping their 
hands--their hands. This was their peaceful expression of dissent with 
the regime and fraudulent elections which kept it in power. For 
clapping their hands.
  Today marks the 1-year anniversary of those protests, and how does 
Belarus' dictator choose to mark this occasion? He has had police 
summon a key democratic opposition leader and has detained several 
independent journalists. This clearly shows that the regime is not 
interested in reform, only in retaining power--power through the 
muzzling of the opposition, power through the silencing of independent 
journalists, and power through the repression of its own people.
  But as Mr. Havel stated, there is great potential in people who are 
calling for their own liberty. The people of Belarus are actively 
calling for their liberty, and this measure before us today provides 
them with the assistance and the resources they need to continue their 
valiant struggles.
  I urge my colleagues to join us in showing their support for the 
people of Belarus by passing this important bill today.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  I rise in support of this legislation. One year ago today, Belarus 
President Alexander Lukashenko staged a fraudulent election.
  After tens of thousands of ordinary Belarusians gathered to protest 
the conduct and results of that election, he arrested hundreds of them, 
including opposition candidates who dared to run against him. Last May, 
most were convicted and handed heavy sentences of up to 6 years in 
prison.
  Since then, the Lukashenko regime has continued to harass members of 
opposition political parties, human rights activists and civil society, 
and to suppress Belarusians' access to free press and information.
  This summer, when citizens of Belarus gathered over several weeks to 
protest peacefully against Lukashenko and his regime and the 
deteriorating economic situation there, he had them arrested for simply 
clapping their hands.
  Just last month, the government tightened restrictions on the ability 
of civil society groups to receive foreign grants and placed even 
greater restrictions on peaceful protests.
  The Obama administration, to its credit, has led the strong 
international reaction to the fraudulent elections, postelection 
crackdown and further deterioration of the human rights situation in 
Belarus. On February 2, the United States significantly expanded the 
list of Belarusian officials subject to travel restrictions and to 
having their assets blocked, and restored full U.S. sanctions against 
Belarus' largest state-owned oil and gas concern and all of its 
subsidiaries.
  On July 2, Secretary of State Clinton met with activists from Belarus 
during her visit to Lithuania for a meeting of the Community of 
Democracies. She repeated her demand that Belarus release political 
prisoners and embark on the path of democratic reform. Just last night, 
Secretary Clinton and EU High Representative Catherine Ashton released 
a joint statement highlighting American and European concerns about 
continued human rights abuses in Belarus on the 1-year anniversary of 
the December 19, 2010, political crackdown.
  In coordination with the European Union, the Obama administration has 
significantly expanded democracy assistance to the private sector in 
Belarus this year. These new resources will support the kind of 
assistance called for in the Belarus Democracy and Human Rights Act of 
2011 which we consider here today. By passing this legislation, Mr. 
Speaker, we are doing our part to encourage the free exchange of ideas 
in Belarus and helping to ensure a brighter future for the people of 
that tortured nation, people who, like people everywhere, have the 
right to free expression and self-government.
  I support this bill and encourage my colleagues to do the same, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he 
may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the chairman 
of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights, a 
strong advocate for freedom everywhere and the author of the bill 
before us.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank the distinguished chairwoman for 
yielding and join her first in mourning the passing of Vaclav Havel, 
the great President and human rights crusader, one of the founders of 
Charter 77, a magnificent human rights manifesto, that took the 
Helsinki final act and turned it into a very durable and tangible 
program of action for the people of Czechoslovakia. Charter 77 has been 
replicated all over the world, including in Belarus--it's called 
Charter 97 there--as well as in places like Vietnam, where it's Bloc 
8406.
  I would note parenthetically that, back in the 1980s, I and some 
members of the Helsinki Commission, including Steny Hoyer, sought to 
meet with members of Charter 77. All but one, Father Valclav Maly--now 
Bishop Maly--got through to our meeting. The rest were detained by the 
secret police, including Vaclav Havel.
  It's interesting and very important to point out that Vaclav Havel, 
before he passed away, tragically, sent a strong letter to the people 
of Belarus encouraging them to hold firm and expressing his 
overwhelming solidarity with the people of Belarus as they seek their 
universally recognized human rights. Again, this man never ceased in 
his promotion of human rights anywhere--from Burma to Belarus--
including to his dying day, sending this

[[Page H9940]]

very important letter to the Belarusian people.
  Mr. Speaker, I do rise in strong support and urge my colleagues to 
pass H.R. 515 again. We passed it last July, but it came back from the 
Senate with a couple of additions which are very much appreciated.
  I especially want to thank Chairman John Kerry and Senator Lugar for 
their cooperation in helping to bring this legislation back to the 
House; and I want to thank the distinguished gentlelady for her 
leadership, and Howard Berman, as well as the Speaker and Eric Cantor, 
for bringing this legislation to the floor.
  This is a very timely piece of legislation. As was noted, it is 
exactly 1 year ago today since the bloody December 19, 2010, election-
night crackdown in Belarus which swept up more than 700 opposition 
supporters, many of whom I know personally, who dared to challenge the 
rule of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko.
  On this day of remembrance, we are here in the House to pass 
legislation that we know President Obama will sign--he supports it--
that demonstrates our country's support for the human rights of the 
Belarusian people for democracy and the rule of law in Belarus through 
sanctions targeted against the dictator Lukashenko and his senior 
officials.

                              {time}  1700

  This legislation tracks legislation that I authored in 2004 and '06, 
which is current policy, called the Belarus Democracy Act, and it 
builds on that framework of trying to target those who are actually 
inflicting the abuse. It's timely and necessary. As I said, those 
jailed--and remember, there are many who have been jailed and more that 
are being jailed as we meet--have been subjected to degrading and 
humiliating treatment, and some have been tortured. More than 40 were 
convicted, and about a dozen, including several presidential 
candidates, remain imprisoned to this day. At a Helsinki Commission 
hearing that I chaired only last month, we heard shocking, 
heartbreaking testimony from one of the presidential candidates who had 
endured torture during his 2-month stay at a KGB prison--and, yes, Mr. 
Speaker, in Belarus, it is still called the KGB, reminding one how 
little Belarus has strayed from its dark, Soviet roots. In addition to 
the arrested, the families, the lawyers, the independent journalists 
and the democratic activists who are not yet in prison continue to be 
harassed and intimidated and their homes watched by the KGB. This has 
been the worst political crackdown in Europe in well over a decade.
  The postelection crackdown has followed the pattern, however, of 
repression that has characterized Lukashenko's nearly 17-year rule. 
Through a series of rigged elections, large-scale intimidation, and the 
suppression of independent media and civil society, the dictator has 
long consolidated his control over virtually all national institutions. 
His dictatorship has the worst record for human rights by far of any 
government in Europe.
  Specifically, and significantly, the sanctions outlined in the bill 
are aimed at the senior leadership of the dictatorship that displays 
utter contempt for the dignity and the rights of the Belarusan people. 
With these sanctions we stand with the Belarusan people and against 
their oppressors.
  H.R. 515 requires the State Department to issue a new report to 
Congress on the sale, delivery, or provision of weapons or weapons-
related technologies or training; Lukashenko's personal wealth and 
assets; and cooperation by the Belarusan Government with any foreign 
government or organizations related to censorship or surveillance of 
the Internet.
  H.R. 515 states a U.S. Government policy of strong support for the 
Belarusan people in their struggle against Lukashenko to live in a 
free, independent country where their human rights are respected. The 
bill encourages those struggling despite overwhelming pressures from an 
anti-democratic regime. It calls for a full accounting of the 1999 to 
2000 disappearances. This morning I was with a woman whose husband 
disappeared, presumed to be dead by this regime, and she continues to 
this day struggling for human rights on behalf of her people now in 
exile.
  It calls for and supports radio, television, and Internet 
broadcasting to Belarus, specifically Radio Free Europe and Radio 
Liberty, Voice of America, European Radio for Belarus, and the 
satellite television station BelSat.
  It calls for a release of all of the political prisoners. We can't 
say that enough. We can't say it one day and forget it the next. We 
need to redouble our efforts, beginning today, to promote a free 
Belarus where all can live in peace, freedom and prosperity without 
that knock in the middle of the night by the KGB.
  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  I want to congratulate my friend from New Jersey. He has been a 
passionate advocate for human rights across the board. He and I may not 
always agree on all issues, but his passion and his commitment to human 
rights universally cannot be questioned and has made a great 
contribution to this institution, and I thank him.
  I believe that the yearning for human rights is a basic human 
yearning. It is not limited to the American culture or the Western 
culture, as we have seen in the outpouring of support during the Arab 
Spring for the basic human freedoms: the right to organize, the right 
to express politically, the right to practice one's religion freely, 
the right to organize political parties and to involve themselves in 
political dissent. These are universal yearnings, as our Founders 
understood, in their genius, in the writing of the Declaration of 
Independence. And it is absolutely a fundamental American value that we 
proclaim those freedoms, and we assist those who seek actively in that 
yearning to implement those freedoms.
  Again, I congratulate the distinguished chairman of the House Foreign 
Affairs Committee and our colleague from New Jersey for their 
leadership.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I have no further requests for time. I just wanted 
to thank my friend from Virginia for his statements, and I want to 
thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) for his leadership on 
all things related to human rights, freedom, and liberty.
  What an interesting weekend that we saw, not just the death of Mr. 
Havel but, at the same time, the death of Kim Jong Il. What an 
incredible juxtaposition to see a wonderful human rights leader like 
Mr. Havel and then at the same time a terrible despot like Kim Jong Il 
who was responsible for actually starving his people as well as having 
them hunger for freedom and justice.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the House suspend the 
rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill, H.R. 515.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground 
that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum 
is not present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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