[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 21]
[House]
[Page 29361]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         OPPRESSION IN BELARUS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Conaway). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the ongoing 
oppression in the country of Belarus. On October 16, the Belarusian 
people celebrated a day of solidarity with political prisoners, 
activists, their families, independent journalists, and all who fight 
for freedom and democracy.
  Many people switched their lights off at 8 p.m. and lit candles to 
show hope for a free and democratic future for Belarus. Unfortunately, 
only 2 days after this historic event, a prominent correspondent of the 
oppositional newspaper Narodnaya Volya, Vasil Hrodnikau, was found dead 
in his home.
  According to family members, Mr. Hrodnikau was murdered for his 
fearless striving to bring a fair press to the Belarusian people. It is 
time for the U.S. Congress and our European allies to make a definitive 
statement on Dictator Alexander Lukashenko's policies and actively 
support the opposition movement in the region.
  I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to take a closer 
look at the atrocities occurring daily in Belarus and work together to 
do what we can to bring about democratic elections for the Belarusian 
people.
  In the European edition of Time magazine, in an article titled, 
``Where Tyranny Rules,'' which highlighted the fate of Nikolai 
Statkevich, a political dissident who ran for president against 
Lukashenko in 2001, since 2003 he has been in jail for resisting the 
authorities and obstructing traffic.
  Two years for resisting authorities and obstructing traffic. And he 
still resides in jail today. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated 
case. Every year thousands of Belarusians are jailed for minor 
infractions, for example, attempting to publish newspapers, and 
regularly face police harassment.
  Another good example occurred last August when Belarusian KGB, yes, 
they kept the infamous Soviet institution's name to intimidate 
civilians, the KGB raided the apartments of several college youths who 
had e-mailed each other cartoons involving Lukashenko. These students 
now are facing many years in prison.
  Imagine that: prison terms for e-mailing political cartoons. As 
cochairman of the House Baltic Caucus, it is my sincere hope that the 
United States will continue to remember those fighting daily for 
democracy in Belarus and do all that we can to support this movement, 
the movement for change in this region.
  I am encouraged by the change in the international community in 
support of democracy for Belarus. I encourage all of us to work 
together to keep up the great work and keep a watchful eye on the 
nation of Belarus and its dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, in the 
upcoming elections in 2006. The opposition is united, the people are 
motivated for change, and we just ask for free and fair elections.

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