Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2006

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006. -- (House of Representatives - June 20, 2005)

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

I wanted to rise in strong support of the Doggett amendment. Members understand why in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when the United States was preparing to overthrow the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, countries like Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were considered important allies in the war on terrorism. But even then, Members expressed caution about tying U.S. interests too closely to these government which have consistently poor human rights records.

This is especially true in the case of Uzbekistan where the Karimov government, in the past few months, has wielded power with a particularly bloody hand. According to the International Crisis Group, on May 13 and 14, the government brutally suppressed a popular uprising in the eastern city of Andijan, ostensibly to quell a revolt of Islamic extremists. But instead, over 750 unarmed civilians, many of them children, were massacred.

More recently, on June 16, Human Rights Watch reported that a four-person delegation from the International Helsinki Federation visiting the eastern region were detained and forced to leave the region. This is just the latest attack against human rights defenders in Uzbekistan. In the wake of the Andijan massacre, the Uzbek government has been targeting human rights defenders and opposition leaders for arrest, beatings, intimidation and other brutal acts. This House cannot stand by silently and support such brutality. We cannot continue with business as usual and issue another blank check for Uzbekistan.

Mr. Chairman, I include for the RECORD a copy of the Human Rights Watch report titled ``Uzbekistan: Rights Defenders Targeted After Massacre.''

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from Texas is absolutely right, and that is why Members should support the Doggett amendment.

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. As the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt) pointed out, this is about human rights, but it is more about our long-term national security interests, and it seems to me that we need to take a different approach here.

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