[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 21346-21348]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               IRAQ WAR AND BELARUSIAN ELECTION CRACKDOWN

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise to comment on the U.S. war in Iraq, 
which thankfully is coming to an end this month. Secretary of Defense 
Leon Panetta made this historic declaration on Thursday at a formal 
ceremony in Baghdad.
  This means many things to many people, but I am certain that it can't 
mean more than to the families of the brave men and women who will be 
coming home for the holidays--home from Iraq for good. To those men and 
women I would like to say: We are proud of what you have accomplished--
you deposed a dictator and gave the people of Iraq a singular 
opportunity to chart their own future.
  And to the families of these brave servicemembers, thank you for the 
loneliness and longing that you endured while your loved ones were 
away. And to those whose loved ones did not

[[Page 21347]]

return, one can hardly imagine your loss.
  The United States has been at war in Iraq for almost 9 years. 
President Obama made a promise to bring this war to a close--and I am 
proud to say he delivered on that promise.
  Tens of thousands of troops have handed over security 
responsibilities to their Iraqi counterparts. The U.S. Embassy in 
Baghdad will take the leading role, continuing our engagement through 
diplomatic channels. Our remaining 4,000 troops will be home by the end 
of the year.
  Whether you voted for or against the initial authorization for war--
and I was one of the 23 to vote against it--we can all agree that its 
toll has been higher than many could have imagined.
  The disproportionate strain this war placed on our servicemembers and 
their families has been enormous--at times almost unbearable--in back-
to-back deployments, in post-traumatic stress, lost loved ones, and 
debilitating injuries.
  Many are living with life-changing injuries.
  Nearly 4,500 American service men and women have paid the ultimate 
price for their country, including 116 brave men and women from 
Illinois. Another 1,100 Illinoisans have been wounded physically--just 
some of the tens of thousands nationwide. Untold numbers still suffer 
from post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries.
  And many brave civilians in our Foreign Service and NGO and 
contractor communities also suffered death and injury.
  Incredibly, more than 1.5 million Americans served in Iraq. It has 
cost the country almost $1 trillion--considerably more when we factor 
in the long-term costs related to the war.
  But even as we bring our military deployment in Iraq to a close, it 
is important to remember that two critical commitments remain.
  The first is the commitment to our men and women in uniform. They 
have sacrificed so much for the Nation they love--sometimes 
everything--and we will not retreat from the sacred pledge we make to 
each and every servicemember to provide for their needs and for the 
needs of their loved ones.
  As President Obama said this week:

       In America, our commitment to those who fight for our 
     freedom and our ideals doesn't end when our troops take off 
     the uniform.

  The second is the enduring political commitment that the United 
States continues to make to Iraq as a partner and ally and to the Iraqi 
people. Iraq has also paid a high price--over 10,000 Iraqi soldiers and 
police lost their lives in the war, and over 100,000 civilians. And 
Iraq still faces significant leadership and governance challenges on 
the path to a stable and peaceful future.
  Yet, ultimately much of this future will depend on Iraqis and their 
political leadership. We have given them a unique--a historic--
opportunity to govern themselves with tolerance, openness, and freedom.
  We have done that with the precious blood and treasure of our Nation.
  We hope that in the end Iraq will follow this path--that it will be 
an ally to the United States and a responsible democratic voice in the 
region.
  Through Foreign Service Officers at our Embassy, USAID projects 
around the country, or U.S. foreign assistance--America will continue 
to stand with our Iraqi allies in the years ahead.
  Mr. President, amid this hopeful news that the Iraq war is over, I 
want to also mention the 1-year anniversary of a brutal election 
crackdown last December 19 in Belarus.
  I, Senator Lieberman, and others have come to the floor a number of 
times this year to talk about the tragic events of that day--the 
barbaric crackdown that ensued and that continues today.
  Last December, after decades of misrule by Belarusian strongman 
Alexander Lukashenko, there was a glimmer of hope that perhaps this 
last dictator of Europe would ease his authoritarian regime and finally 
allow the Belarusian people to freely choose their own President in an 
honest and open election.
  Tragically, those hopes were quickly dashed when Lukashenko claimed 
another term as President amid elections described by international 
monitors as seriously flawed.
  Lukashenko ordered his police force--incredibly still called the 
KGB--to brutally suppress opposition candidates, activists, and 
supporters who gathered in protest on election night in Independence 
Square in downtown Minsk.
  Most of the political opponents who ran against him, along with 
hundreds of their followers, were arrested. Those with suspected ties 
to democratic parties and groups, human rights organizations, and what 
remains of the independent media in Belarus were targeted by the KGB 
for months afterward.
  I visited Belarus just weeks following the so-called elections. I met 
with many of the family members of the jailed activists. Their stories 
were heartbreaking. Missing fathers, mothers, sons, and brothers--
locked away in a Belarusian jail for the crime of running for public 
office or peaceably protesting a rigged election.
  Too often those detained were tortured and denied basic legal rights.
  But that wasn't enough for Lukashenko.
  Families of the detained were also harassed and Lukashenko even had 
the temerity to try to seize the 3-year-old son of two activists he had 
imprisoned on bogus charges.
  Listening to these heart-wrenching stories, I couldn't believe that 
such Soviet-era tactics were still being used in Europe today.
  Lukashenko's actions this past year have pulled the country into 
isolation and made it the subject of international scorn.
  Our Nation has joined efforts with the European Union to toughen 
sanctions on Belarus, including freezing the travel and assets of 
Lukashenko and his enablers and henchmen.
  I worked with Senators Lieberman, Cardin, McCain, Kirk, and others 
earlier this year to introduce S. Res. 105, which passed unanimously, 
condemning the sham elections and calling on the Belarusian regime to 
release all political prisoners.
  The resolution also called for new elections in Belarus that meet 
international standards, supported the tightening of sanctions against 
the Belarusian state-owned oil and petrochemical company, and urged the 
International Ice Hockey Federation to suspend the 2014 Ice Hockey 
Championship in Minsk until all Belarusian political prisoners are 
released.
  Let me add that former National Hockey League Hall of Famer and EU 
Parliamentarian Peter Stastny; chair of the House Hockey Caucus, 
Representative Mike Quigley; and I wrote to International Ice Hockey 
Federation President Rene Fasel urging him not to give the dictatorial 
Lukashenko regime the prestige afforded by the World Ice Hockey 
Championship while political prisoners continue to languish in his KGB 
prisons.
  So far the federation has ignored this commonsense appeal.
  Today, a year after the election crackdown, at least 60 candidates 
and/or activists remain imprisoned or face harsh restrictions on their 
freedoms, including limits on their travel, the ability to work in 
certain professions, and to freely participate in the political 
process.
  For example, Presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov remains in a KGB 
jail. His family--which is granted only sporadic contact with him--
suspects that he has been tortured and pressured to sign a letter 
asking for pardon.
  Mikalai Statkevich, Zmitser Dashkevich, Eduard Lobau, Paval 
Seviarynets, and Zmitser Bandarenka--just to name a few--are also still 
in jail for their participation in demonstrations during and after the 
December elections.
  I hope the Ice Hockey Federation's corporate sponsors for the Minsk 
championship also recognize the potential stain to their image by 
sponsoring this event while Lukashenko continues to imprison and 
torture these innocent people.
  On the 1-year anniversary of the brutal crackdown we must not forget 
the Belarusian people and those detained who only wished to exercise 
their basic

[[Page 21348]]

rights of free speech and expression. That is why I am pleased to see 
that just this week the Senate passed the Belarus Democracy and Human 
Rights Act of 2011, which I hope the House will do as well before we 
break for recess.
  Through legislation such as this and unwavering pressure on the 
Lukashenko regime to open its political system, the people of the 
United States will continue to stand by the Belarusian people and 
support them in their efforts to bring justice to their country.

                          ____________________