IV

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 95

Expressing the sense of the Congress concerning freedom of the press in

Russia.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 4, 1995

Mr. LANTOS (for himself and Mr. GILMAN) submitted the following concurrent

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress concerning freedom

of the press in Russia.

Whereas the end of the cold war and the collapse of the Soviet Union has brought new and unique opportunities for

democratic political change and market-oriented economic

reform in Russia;

Whereas the commitment to the spirit of these democratic reforms and to the full implementation of these reforms

has been tentative and inconclusive thus far;

Whereas one of the fundamental tenets of democracy and one

of the most important means of assuring the continuation

of democratic government is an independent and free

press, which can exist only in an environment that is free

of state control of the media and the absence of any form
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HCON 95 IH

of state censorship or official coercion of any kind and is

protected by the rule of law;

Whereas freedom of the press and freedom of expression in

Russia today is being threatened by elements within the

Russian Government, particularly since the dramatic reporting of the war in Chechnya;

Whereas there have been reports in the Russian press, including the official press, of efforts to establish a government

committee that could impose censorship on the press in

Russia;

Whereas there have been persistent reports regarding the

possible issuance of government decrees that would undermine or compromise the independence of privately

owned television stations and other media enterprises

which have provided factual reporting on the war in

Chechnya or which have editorialized against Russian

military action in Chechnya;

Whereas there has been recent evidence of government involvement in actions against independent television outlets and those who use or finance such businesses, including a widely reported search by unidentified government

security forces of the office of the Most Group, which

owns NTV and other media outlets, and, furthermore, allegations of the involvement of presidential security forces

in that search have never been denied;

Whereas the latest effort to intimidate the press involves the

launching of a criminal investigation by the Prosecutor

General against the largest private television network,

NTV, threatening action against the producers of a political satire program in which puppets are used to caricature prominent Russian official and personalities;
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HCON 95 IH

Whereas the suspicious murder on March 1 of popular television journalist Vladimir Listeyev, executive director of

Russian Public Television, remains unsolved;

Whereas the assassination of investigative journalist Dmitri

Kholodov of Moskovsky Komsomolets, who was killed by

a package bomb while he was in the final stages of an

investigation into corruption in the military, also remains

unsolved after nearly one year;

Whereas journalists in Russia, including both foreign and domestic journalists, have faced harassment, risked arrest,

had equipment confiscated, been beaten and even murdered as a result of their efforts to report objectively regarding events in Chechnya; and

Whereas a free and independent information media is essential to the conduct of free, open, fair, and democratic

elections which are scheduled later this year in Russia:

Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—

3 (1) a free press is vital to the development and

4 consolidation of democracy in Russia;

5 (2) freedom of the press and freedom of expres6 sion must be safeguarded against those forces which

7 would suppress or censor these fundamental demo8 cratic rights;

9 (3) to protect freedom of the press and freedom

10 of expression, the right and opportunity of independ11 ent entrepreneurs to establish, operate, and main-
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HCON 95 IH

1 tain independent media outlets must be protected

2 and safeguarded;

3 (4) Russian Government leaders, including the

4 President, the Prime Minister, and Members of the

5 Russian Duma, should fully support freedom of the

6 press and the right of free expression in Russia; and

7 (5) the President and the Secretary of State are

8 requested to convey to appropriate Russian Govern9 ment officials, including the President, the Prime

10 Minister, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, this

11 expression of the views of the Congress.

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