Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 114 Part 6.djvu/126

 114 STAT. 3182 CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS-JUNE 23, 2000 Whereas there have been credible press reports that the Government of the Russian Federation has been providing assistance to the Lukashenka regime since the signing of the agreement to form a Union State, such as official Russian Federation Government credits, uncollected customs duties, assistance for export sales of Belarusian arms and joint manufacturing of arms, and reduced prices for energy supplies; Whereas there has been a credible estimate cited in press reports that Russian Federation economic subsidies to Belarus reached $1,500,000,000 to $2,000,000,000 in 1996 and 1997 alone, enabling the Lukashenka regime to maintain a large police force and state control of the economy; Whereas the Union Treaty, signed on December 8, 1999, by Belarus and the Russian Federation, undermines Belarus sovereignty and the prospect of democracy; Whereas the Consultative Council of Belarusian opposition parties appealed to the Government of the Russian Federation, the State Duma, and the Federation Council calling for a cessation of support for the Lukashenka regime; Whereas the former Chairmen of the Belarusian Supreme Soviet, Stanislav Shushkevich and Semyon Sharetsky, have stated that economic support from the Russian Federation has been crucial to the survival of the Lukashenka regime; Whereas a Union Treaty between the Russian Federation and Belarus was ratified by the Russian Parliament and the illegitimate parliament of Belarus; Whereas the Union Treaty between the Russian Federation and the Lukashenka regime violates Russian Federation Government respect for the sovereignty of Belarus per the memorandum on security guarantees signed by Russian Federation President Boris Yeltsin at the December 1994 Summit of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Heads of State in Budapest, Hungary; and Whereas the introduction of any nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus, a declared non-nuclear state under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, would be a violation of Belarus's obligations under that Treaty: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That the Congress— (1) condemns continued egregious violations of human rights by President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's regime in the Republic of Belarus; (2) further condemns the Lukashenka regime's conviction and sentencing of Andrei Klimov, Vasiliy Leonov, and Vladimir Koudinov on politically motivated charges and urges their release; (3) is gravely concerned about the disappearances of Viktor Gonchar, Anatoly Krasovsky, and Yuri Zakharenka and calls on the Lukashenka regime to ensure a full and timely investigation of these cases; (4) calls for immediate dialogue between the Lukashenka regime and the opposition and the restoration of a democratically elected government in Belarus;

�