IV

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 84

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

Russia.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 20, 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 84 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 some forces 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 would 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 assault on 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 assault 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, and threatening action against the producers of a

political satire program in which puppets are used to

caricature prominent Russian officials and personalities;
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HCON 84 IH

Whereas the suspicious murder of popular television journalist Vladimir Listeyev of Ostankino TV remains unsolved

after nearly one year;

Whereas the assassination of journalist Dmitri Kholodov of

Komsomolskaya Pravda, 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;

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 who

7 would suppress or censor these essential fundamen8 tal democratic 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 84 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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