Expressing the Sense of Congress that the Russian Federation Should Fully Protect the Freedoms of All Religious Communities Without Distinction

EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION SHOULD FULLY PROTECT THE FREEDOMS OF ALL RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES WITHOUT DISTINCTION -- (House of Representatives - March 14, 2006)

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Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

H. Con. Res. 190 expresses the sense of the Congress that the Russian Federation should fully protect the right of its people to worship and practice their faith as they see fit. This freedom is the right of all religious communities without distinct, whether registered or unregistered, and that is stipulated by the Russian Constitution and by international standards.

Yet I am sorry to report religious freedom for minority religious communities throughout the Russian Federation have been under growing pressure as local officials and government authorities continue to harass and limit the abilities of these groups to practice their faith freely.

As we learned at a recent Helsinki Commission hearing, instances of violence have become alarmingly common. Arson attacks against churches in Russia have occurred in several towns and cities with little or no police response.

In its 2005 International Religious Freedom Report, the State Department Office on International Religious Freedom notes: ``Some Federal agencies and many local authorities continue to restrict the rights of various religious minorities. Moreover, contradictions between Federal and local laws and varying interpretations of the law provide regional officials with opportunities to restrict the activities of religious minorities. Many observers attribute discriminatory practices at the local level to the greater susceptibility of local governments than the Federal Government to discriminatory attitudes in lobbying by local majority religious groups. The government only occasionally intervenes to prevent or reverse discrimination at the local level.''

Mr. Speaker, the internationally recognized expert on religious liberty in Russia, Larry Uzzell, has written: ``Russia has now come to use as standard practice methods of religious repression that were applied only occasionally in the 1990s. Secular bureaucrats now typically refuse to authorize land transfers to Baptist churches and also forbid movie theaters or other public halls to sign rental contracts with them.'' As a result, as an example: ``In Moscow City alone some 10 Baptist congregations have ceased to exist simply because they could not find places within which to worship.''

I would just note parenthetically, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Larry for his extraordinary work in bringing this matter to the attention of the Congress. Larry is a tireless advocate for oppressed believers throughout Russia and Central Asia. He is facing some serious health issues now, and I would like to wish him a very speedy recovery.

Mr. Speaker, in response to this growing and very negative trend in Russia, this resolution urges the Russian Federation to ``ensure full protections of freedoms for all religious communities without distinction, whether registered or unregistered, and to end the harassment of unregistered religious groups by the security apparatus and other government agencies, as well as to ensure that law enforcement officials rigorously investigate acts of violence against unregistered religious communities, and to make certain that authorities are not complicit in such attacks.''

I point out that in March 2004 a district court banned the religious activity of Jehovah's Witnesses in Moscow. For 2 years now the authorities have used the Moscow decision to harass the Jehovah's Witnesses Administration Center in St. Petersburg, with threats to ``liquidate'' the administrative center which could threaten local congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses throughout all of Russia.

Members of the Russia's Muslim community and respected human rights activists have expressed concern regarding what they contend are large-scale fabrications of terrorism against Russian Muslims. One of Russia's Supreme Muftis has stated that random police checks and arrests are becoming commonplace throughout Russia for Russian Muslims.

Let me reiterate that Russia has every right to defend itself against terrorism and to investigate and prosecute terrorists. Of course it does. Here in the United States we face the problem of combating terrorism while safeguarding civil liberties. I would urge the government, however, to strive for the proper balance in defending both its citizens as well as their civil liberties.

Mr. Speaker, the religious liberty picture in Russia is not entirely dark, and it would be disingenuous to make that assertion.

There are Nations that have worse records. They can be found on the list of ``countries of particular concern'' that is issued by the U.S. Department of State in its annual report on religious freedom around the world, so-called CPC countries like Vietnam.

However, Russia is a member of the U.N. Security Council, an OSCE-participating State, and will soon chair the Council of Europe. In addition, this year, it is the chair of the G-8 and the host of the G-8 Summit in St. Petersburg in July. Considering all of these positions, they should be expected to uphold basic, internationally recognized and accepted standards to protect peaceful religious practice.

That is what this resolution is all about.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of our time.

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume, and I rise in strong support of this legislation.

First of all, I want to commend my good friend from New Jersey for introducing yet another important resolution concerning religious freedom in Russia. Chris Smith has been a leader on this issue for many years, and I want to pay public tribute to his commitment. His tireless leadership in support of both religious freedom and all human rights are legendary in this body.

Mr. Speaker, the fall of Soviet communism was a watershed event of the 20th century. What emerged was, by no means, a Jeffersonian democracy. Only a fool would have expected that outcome, but for the first time in over seven decades, the citizens of the former Soviet Union truly expressed their views, practiced their religions, opened private businesses and traveled outside what we used to call the Iron Curtain.

But Mr. Speaker, I am profoundly troubled that the limited and growing democracy which emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the ensuing respect for human rights and religious freedom are quickly vanishing. Under the rule of Vladimir Putin and his small junta of former KGB officers, the achievements of the past decade are being reversed, with very little criticism from the international community.

This is a very sad development for the entire civilized world, for the United States, but most particularly for the people of Russia. And while we are nowhere near omnipotent in our relations with Russia, we must do whatever we can to counteract this very troubling trend.

As this resolution correctly notes, one of the casualties of rising authoritarianism in Russia under Putin has been the increased harassment of religious organizations that are not registered with the Russian Government, as well as stepped-up violence aimed at their membership. While some of these religious organizations refuse to register with the Russian State on principle, others have sought to register, only to be turned down repeatedly by the Russian Government.

Mr. Speaker, the Russian constitution commits the government to protect the right of Russian citizens to exercise their religious beliefs freely. It is most unfortunate that Mr. Putin and his cronies have failed to use the power of the Russian State to put an end to the mistreatment of unregistered churches and to stop acts of violence against average Russian citizens who simply wish to express their religious beliefs freely.

With passage of this resolution submitted by my friend, Mr. Smith, Congress will demand that the Russian Federation reverse the troubling trend away from freedom and democracy under Vladimir Putin and urges our administration and our European friends to ensure that religious freedom remains firmly on the radar screen in our dealings with the Russians.

Mr. Speaker, this summer, a Group of Eight industrialized democracies, so-called, will meet in St. Petersburg for their annual summit. Given the dramatic erosion of religious and political freedom in Russia, it is imperative that the original G-7 nations clearly and unequivocally inform Russia that its membership in the G-8 will be suspended unless Mr. Putin is willing to change the negative direction in which he is taking the Russian nation.

Russia was originally invited to join the G-7 as merely a guest, at a time when Russia, under Yeltsin, was moving in a positive direction. Now that churches are being closed, political opponents are being locked away in Siberia and the media no longer is free, the parliament is no longer independent, the courts are an adjunct of the Kremlin, we can no longer pretend that Russia belongs in the G-8.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the legislation submitted by Mr. Smith. I urge all of my colleagues to do so.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of the time to, first of all, thank my good friend and colleague, Mr. Lantos, for his eloquent statement and for his leadership for decades on the fundamental issue of human rights, particularly as it relates to religious freedom. We have been partners, along with Frank Wolf and a few other Members of this body for years in pressuring Moscow and what was formerly the Warsaw Pact nations to liberalize their policies.

As Mr. Lantos pointed out so well a moment ago, there is a very troubling and dangerous trend as Putin takes Russia in the wrong direction, especially as it relates to NGOs, religious freedom and religious bodies of all kinds and various denominations, and just basic civil liberties are being constricted in that country, Russia needs the oxygen of liberty and freedom in order to realize it's vast potential.

So I want to thank again Mr. Lantos for his wonderful statement and leadership.

I would also like to thank John Finerty from the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, who is our Russian expert. John has been on the commission since 1981. When I got elected 26 years ago, John Finerty was there, a Russian speaker, a Russian expert, who has provided valuable insight to both Democrats and Republicans on the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. His wisdom, his council, his clarity has aided us while we travelled to Russia, when we met with lawmakers in bilateral discussions, with members of the Duma and other officials from Russia, and has always provided us the insight that we needed, and like I said, that sense of perspective and timeliness as well as what our next steps ought to be. John has been to Russia and to the Soviet Union at least 27 times over the years.

I will never forget when he accompanied Frank Wolf and I, when we went to Moscow on a very I think historic trip where we visited Perm Camp 35 where Nathan Sharansky had spent so many years of his life, John was with us on an historic trip/meeting with the Duma. Four days of talks--and did we ever need John's incredible knowledge and insight. He was amazing! So I want to thank John for his leadership for all of these years and helping us with this legislation today.

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