Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2009

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DURBIN. Will the Senator from Florida yield?

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Yes, absolutely, to the distinguished Senator from Illinois.

Mr. DURBIN. I happen to chair the subcommittee responsible for the Consumer Product Safety Commission and I have listened to the Senator's presentation. The Senator told me last night that some of this suspect Chinese drywall may be in my home State so I want to get ahead of the curve and join him in this effort. Let's get this analyzed as quickly as possible, and if it poses any danger we ought to know it. I put the Consumer Product Safety Commission on notice, with Senator Inouye and yourself and many others, that we expect them to take this very seriously on a timely basis.

Mr. NELSON of Florida. With those very generous assurances by these esteemed Senators, I am grateful, Mr. President, and I yield the floor.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, for the past year, I have been working to bring attention to the human rights abuses occurring around the world, including little-known political prisoners who are languishing in prisons in farflung reaches.

Too many jails still overflow with prisoners of conscience whose only crime is to expect basic freedom, human rights, and due process. I undertook this effort with the understanding that it would not be easy. I have dealt with these governments in the past, and many times they are unresponsive. Few repressive regimes want to address human rights records, and in some of the smaller countries where these human right abuses are taking place, it takes quite an effort to get their attention.

Through our annual human rights reporting at the State Department, our diplomacy and steady public pressure on basic human rights, the United States has traditionally been a champion and source of hope around the world for those suffering human rights violations.

I might add, parenthetically, that I wish to thank Senator Patrick Leahy for, again, this morning reauthorizing my Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, a subcommittee which I chaired over the last 2 years.

I worried that in recent years America has not raised its voice enough in these kinds of cases, and we should not forget that for some people whose lives seem so desperate, a little effort on our part can make a dramatic difference.

Take, for example, the appeal made by Burmese Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who has remained under house arrest in Burma for most of the last 19 years. She is in deteriorating health and was apparently moved to a notorious prison this week.

I think this is clearly a situation where we know she needs our attention and help. Most people have read the account in the newspapers about her problems and understand she was victimized by an American who somehow managed to get into her home, and in entering her home and staying overnight, violated the law, or apparently violated the law.

I certainly hope, at the end of the day, that her house arrest will come to an end and this poor woman will be given a chance to have freedom which she richly deserves. I am not going to read this entire statement, as it contains many names of foreign origin that may be difficult for me to pronounce and for our reporter to keep up with.

Today, I am pleased to report the release of one of the first of the political prisoners my efforts have focused on, specifically a case in Turkmenistan.

Earlier this year I raised my concerns with the Government of Turkmenistan about four Turkmen political prisoners. These prisoners have languished in jail for years after being convicted of spurious charges at trials that failed to meet minimum international standards. Some have families with children; some are of advanced years and reportedly in poor health.

I had hoped that the new government in Turkmenistan would take important and forward-thinking steps toward releasing political prisoners from an earlier era.

Earlier this month, one such political prisoner in fact, the longest serving political prisoner in Turkmenistan Mukhametkuli Aymuradov, was unconditionally released after 14 long years of confinement.

I want commend this decision and strongly encourage the Government of Turkmenistan to take similar actions for all other remaining political prisoners, including: Gulgeldy Annaniyazov, a long-time political dissident who was arrested, apparently on charges that he did not possess valid travel documents, and sentenced to 11 years imprisonment; and Annakurban Amanklychev and Sapardurdy Khadzhiev, members of the human-rights organization Turkmenistan Helsinki Foundation, who were sentenced to 6-to-7 years in jail for reportedly ``gathering slanderous information to spread public discontent.''

The freeing of Mr. Aymuradov is an important first step, but more are needed.

I want to conclude by returning to the still unresolved case with which I started this effort, that of journalist Chief Ebrima Manneh from the small west African Nation of The Gambia.

Mr. Manneh was a reporter for the Gambian newspaper, the Daily Observer. He was allegedly detained in July 2006 by plainclothes National Intelligence Agency officials after he tried to republish a BBC report mildly critical of President Yahya Jammeh.

He has been held incommunicado, without charge or trial, for 3 years. Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience and has called for his immediate release.

Three years without the government even acknowledging it took one of its own citizens, without telling his family where he is being held, this is reprehensible. It is outrageous.

The Media Foundation for West Africa, a regional independent nongovernmental organization based in Ghana, filed suit on Mr. Manneh's behalf in the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West Africa States in Nigeria. This court has jurisdiction to determine cases of human rights violations that occur in any member state, including The Gambia.

In June 2008 the Court declared the arrest and detention of Mr. Manneh illegal and ordered his immediate release. A petition has also been filed on his behalf with the United Nations Human Rights Council's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and a decision from this body is expected soon.

Yet despite the judgment of the court, as well as repeated requests by Mr. Manneh's father, fellow journalists, and me, the Gambian Government continues to deny any involvement in his arrest or knowledge of his whereabouts.

Mr. President, America has been wrongly defined by our critics since Ð9/11. We need to define our values as a caring Nation, dedicated to helping improve the lives of others overseas, including those living under repressive governments. Doing so is an important statement of who we are as a Nation.

Five other Senators, including Senators Feingold, Casey, Murray, Lieberman, and Kennedy, joined me in a letter last month to Gambian President Jammeh about the detention of a Mr. Manneh. Our request was simple, and I hope the Gambian leadership will respond to it.

We are in contact with them in an effort to try to come to some reasonable conclusion to this situation. Doing so is so important for the people whose lives are at risk and for our reputation in the world.

I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source