IV
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 433
Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to the parliamentary elections
held in Belarus on October 15, 2000.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 23, 2000
Mr. GEJDENSON (for himself and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) submitted the
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on
International Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to the
parliamentary elections held in Belarus on October 15, 2000.
Whereas on October 15, 2000, Aleksandr Lukashenko and
his authoritarian regime conducted an illegitimate and
undemocratic parliamentary election in an effort to fur-
ther strengthen the power and control his regime exer-
cises over the people of the Republic of Belarus;
Whereas, during the period preceding the election, the regime
of Aleksandr Lukashenko attempted to intimidate the
democratic opposition by beating, harassing, arresting,
and sentencing the opposition’s members for supporting
a boycott of the October 15 election;
•HCON 433 IH
Whereas the democratic opposition in Belarus was denied fair
and equal access to state-controlled television and radio
and was instead slandered by the state-controlled media;
Whereas on September 13, 2000, Belarusian police seized
100,000 copies of a special edition of the Belarusian Free
Trade Union newspaper, Rabochy, dedicated to the demo-
cratic opposition’s efforts to promote a boycott of the Oc-
tober 15 election;
Whereas Aleksandr Lukashenko and his regime denied seats
on the Central Election Commission to the democratic
opposition in Belarus, thereby violating his pledge to pro-
vide the democratic opposition a role in the commission;
Whereas Aleksandr Lukashenko and his regime denied inde-
pendent candidates opposed to his regime the right to
register as candidates in the election;
Whereas Aleksandr Lukashenko and his regime dismissed
recommendations presented by the Organization for Se-
curity and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) for making
the election law in Belarus consistent with OSCE stand-
ards;
Whereas, in Grodno, police loyal to Aleksandr Lukashenko
summoned voters to participate in this illegitimate elec-
tion for parliament;
Whereas the last genuinely free and fair parliamentary elec-
tion in Belarus took place in 1995 and from it emerged
the 13th Supreme Soviet whose democratically and con-
stitutionally derived authorities and powers have been un-
dercut by the authoritarian regime of Aleksandr
Lukashenko; and
Whereas on October 11, 2000, the Lukashenko regime froze
the bank accounts and seized the equipment of the inde-
•HCON 433 IH
pendent publishing company, Magic, where most of the
independent newspapers in Minsk are published: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring),
SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON BELARUS PAR-
LIAMENTARY ELECTIONS.
The Congress—
(1) declares that—
(A) the period preceding the elections held
in Belarus on October 15, 2000, was plagued
by human rights abuses and a climate of fear
for which the regime of Aleksandr Lukashenko
is responsible;
(B) such elections were conducted in the
absence of a democratic electoral law;
(C) the Lukashenko regime purposely de-
nied the democratic opposition access to state-
controlled media; and
(D) such elections were for seats in a par-
liament that has been deprived of its real con-
stitutional power and democratic legitimacy by
the Lukashenko regime;
(2) declares its support for the Belarus demo-
cratic opposition, commends the efforts of the oppo-
sition to boycott the illegitimate parliamentary elec-
•HCON 433 IH
tions, and expresses the hopes of Congress that the
citizens of Belarus will soon benefit from true free-
dom and democracy;
(3) reaffirms its recognition of the 13th Su-
preme Soviet as the only democratically and con-
stitutionally legitimate legislative body of Belarus;
and
(4) notes that, as the legitimate parliament of
Belarus, the 13th Supreme Soviet should continue to
represent Belarus in the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE DISAPPEARANCES OF
INDIVIDUALS AND POLITICAL DETENTIONS
IN BELARUS.
It is the sense of the Congress that the President
should call upon Aleksandr Lukashenko and his regime
to—
(1) provide a full accounting of the disappear-
ances of individuals in Belarus, including the dis-
appearance of Viktor Gonchar, Anatoly Krasovsky,
Yuri Zakharenka, and Dmitry Zavadsky; and
(2) release Vladimir Kudinov, Andrei Klimov,
and all others imprisoned in Belarus for their polit-
ical views.
•HCON 433 IH
SEC. 3. TRANSMITTAL OF RESOLUTION.
The Clerk of the House of Representatives shall
transmit a copy of this resolution to the President.
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