[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 23707-23708]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 CONTINUED PARTICIPATION OF RUSSIA IN THE GROUP OF EIGHT (G 8) MUST BE 
    CONDITIONED ON RUSSIA'S ADHERENCE TO THE NORMS AND STANDARDS OF 
                      DEMOCRACY--H. CON. RES. 425

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 18, 2000

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, last Thursday with some of our distinguished 
Republican and Democratic colleagues, I introduced House Concurrent 
Resolution 425 which expresses the sense of the Congress that continued 
participation by the Russian Federation in the Group of Eight (G 8) 
must be conditioned on Russia's own voluntary acceptance of and 
adherence to the norms and standards of democracy. Let me give some 
background on this resolution, indicate the need for it, and discuss 
our hope about what it will achieve.
  In 1991, Mr. Speaker, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the 
Group of Seven (G 7)--the key democratic industrialized nations of this 
world, which are the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, 
France, Italy, Canada and Japan--invited the president of the new 
Russia, Boris Yeltsin, to attend meetings with the leaders of the G 7, 
the President of the United States and his counterparts. This 
invitation for President Yeltsin to meet with the G 7 following the 
formal conclusion of the meeting, was a down payment on our expectation 
that Russia would develop in a democratic way.
  After several years of informal Russian participation at meetings 
following the formal meetings of the G 7, in 1998 Russia was officially 
invited to become a member of the expanded G 7, which was renamed the G 
8. So for the last few years, the seven leading industrial democracies 
of the world opened up their very exclusive club to Russia in 
anticipation that democratic tendencies and developments will grow in 
Russia, and that Russia will take what we hope will be its rightful 
place as one of the great industrial democracies of the world.
  We realized, of course Mr. Speaker, that economically it will take a 
long time for Russia to become a significant power. At present Russian 
gross domestic product (GDP) is about the same as that of Belgium. It 
certainly cannot be argued that the economic state of Russia qualifies 
it for membership in the G 8, but our hope for democratic developments 
in Russia gave us the justification for continued membership by Russia 
in the G 8.
  Mr. Speaker, recent very disturbing trends in Russia with respect to 
press freedom and a number of other issues, such as the war in 
Chechnya, have raised very severe doubts concerning democratic 
development in that country. The handling of the submarine tragedy, 
where the Russian Government reverted to the worst practices of the 
former Soviet Union, and the handling of the fire at the television 
tower, where, incredibly, it took President Putin's approval to cut 
power to the television tower as the fire was raging, raised some very 
serious questions with respect to the democratic direction that the new 
Russian Government is taking.
  Our resolution--which is cosponsored by the Chairman of the Helsinki 
Commission, our Republican colleague Mr. Chris Smith of New Jersey; the 
Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, Mr. Gilman of 
New York; a senior Democratic member of the International Relations 
Committee, Mr. Berman of California--is designed to hoist the flag of 
caution to Mr. Putin's government. Our resolution indicates that while 
we are anxious and eager to build good and cooperative relations with 
Russia along the full spectrum of issues, we simply cannot countenance 
continued Russian participation as a member of the G 8 as long as there 
are blatant attacks on press freedom and other actions that undermine 
democracy.
  Mr. Speaker, it will take a long time to build democracy in Russia, 
but one of the very few encouraging signs of the last decade in Russia 
was the presence of a free press. Political leaders clearly do not like 
to be criticized and Mr. Putin does not like to be criticized, but if 
the Russian President wishes to be the head of a democratic country, 
not a newly totalitarian Russia, he will have to get accustomed to the 
fact that criticism is part and parcel of political leadership in 
democratic societies.
  Mr. Speaker, we are hoping that Mr. Putin's regime will put an end to 
the persecution and harassment of whatever is left of the free media in 
Russia. If that happens, we will be pleased to see continued Russian 
participation in the G 8. But if the Russian government's onslaught on 
the free media continues, I am certain that the vast majority of my 
colleagues, will join us in saying that Russia should no longer belong 
to the G 8.
  It is my understanding that some of the leaders on the Senate Foreign 
Relations Committee are contemplating the introduction of parallel 
legislation. We are very pleased to see this because the Congress of 
the United States will speak with a unified voice on this issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that the full text of House Concurrent Resolution 
425 be placed in The Record, and I urge my colleagues to join as 
cosponsors of this legislation.

                            H. Con. Res. 425

  Expressing the sense of the Congress that the continued participation 
of the Russian Federation in the Group of Eight must be conditioned on 
Russia's own voluntary acceptance of and adherence to the norms and 
standards of democracy.
  Whereas in 1991 and subsequent years the leaders of the Group of 
Seven (``G 7''), the forum of the heads of state or heads of government 
of the major free-market economies of the world which meet annually in 
a summit meeting, invited Russia to a post-summit dialogue, and in 1998 
the leaders of the Group of Seven formally invited Russia to 
participate in an annual gathering that thereafter became known as the 
Group of Eight (`G 8'), although the Group of Seven have continued to 
hold informal summit meetings and ministerial meetings that do not 
include Russia;
  Whereas the invitation to President Yeltsin of Russia to participate 
in these annual summits was in recognition of his commitment to 
democratization and economic liberalization, despite the fact that the 
Russian economy has been weak and its commitment to democratic 
principles has been uncertain;
  Whereas those countries which are members of the Group of Seven are 
pluralistic democratic societies with democratic political institutions 
and practices, and they have committed themselves to the observance of 
universally recognized standards of human rights, respect for 
individual liberties and democratic political practices;
  Whereas a free news media and freedom of speech are fundamental to 
the functioning of a democratic society and essential for the 
protection of individual liberties, and such freedoms can exist only in 
an environment that is free of state control of the news media, that is 
free of any form of state censorship or official coercion of any kind, 
and that is protected and guaranteed by the rule of law;
  Whereas the Russian Federation has engaged in a series of government 
actions that are hostile and threatening to privately-owned, 
independently operated media enterprises, particularly those new 
outlets that have been critical of government policies and government 
actions; and
  Whereas the continued participation of the Russian Federation in the 
Group of Eight must be conditioned on Russia's own voluntary acceptance 
of and adherence to the norms and standards of democracy;
  Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the 
Senate concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that the 
participation of the Russian Federation in the Group of Eight must be 
linked to the Russian Federation's adherence to the norms and standards 
of democracy, including:
  (1) the existence of a free, unfettered press that fosters the 
development of an independent media and the free exchange of ideas and 
views, including opportunities for private ownership of media 
enterprises, the right of people to receive news without government 
interference and harassment, and the freedom of journalists to publish 
opinions and news reports without fear of censorship or punishment;
  (2) the freedom of all religious groups freely to practice their 
faith in Russia, without undue government interference on the rights 
and the peaceful activities of such religious organizations;
  (3) equal treatment and respect for the human rights and the right to 
own private

[[Page 23708]]

property of all citizens of the Russian Federation;
  (4) initiation of genuine negotiations for a just and peaceful 
resolution of the conflict in Chechnya, including a full investigation 
of the conflict and bringing to justice those individuals, civilian or 
military, who in a court of law are found to be guilty of violating 
human rights;
  (5) respect for the rule of law and improvement of civil and legal 
institutions to implement and defend these rights; and
  (6) reform of the judicial system to prevent the arbitrary detention 
of citizens and provide for a speedy trial and equal access to the 
judicial system.
  The President and the Secretary of State are requested to convey to 
appropriate officials of the Government of the Russian Federation, 
including the President, the Prime Minister, and the Minister of 
Foreign Affairs, this expression of the views of the Congress.

                          ____________________