Press Release - 06.20.2000

 

U.S. House Passes Resolution 
on Russian Press Freedom

NCSJ has welcomed last night’s passage in the U.S. House of Representatives of House Concurrent Resolution 352, "Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding manipulation of the mass media and intimidation of the independent press in the Russian Federation, expressing support for freedom of speech and the independent media in the Russian Federation, and calling on the President of the United States to express his strong concern for freedom of speech and the independent media in the Russian Federation."

"This bipartisan resolution, introduced by Representative Benjamin Gilman, focuses on freedom of the press and is unambiguously timed to the arrest and ongoing legal assault on Vladimir Goussinsky," noted NCSJ Executive Director Mark B. Levin. Goussinsky, arrested June 13 on embezzlement charges and held for four days in the notorious 18^th-century Butyrskaya Prison, heads the Media-MOST media organization which includes Russia’s major independent television, news and radio outlets in addition to serving as President of the Russian Jewish Congress. Numerous Jewish community organizations, together with human rights and media advocates as well as the U.S. and other Western governments have become fully engaged on behalf of Mr. Goussinsky.

"NCSJ and the American Jewish community express our full appreciation to the United States Congress, and especially to Representative Gilman and the Resolution’s cosponsors – Representatives Tom Lantos (D-CA), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Doug Bereuter (R-NE), Paul Gillmor (R-OH), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Matt Salmon (R-AZ) Peter Deutsch (D-FL), Alcee Hastings (D-FL), and Nita Lowey (D-NY)."

According to NCSJ Chairman Denis C. Braham and NCSJ President Howard E. Sachs, "This and other Congressional efforts have been backed up by Jewish communities across the United States, which have mobilized this past week in support of Mr. Goussinsky and the Russian Jewish community."

In addition to H. Con. Res. 352, the following initiatives have also been undertaken in the United States Congress:

– Speeches June 14 on the floor of the House of Representatives by Congressmen Tom Lantos (D-CA) and Joseph Pitts (R-PA), and June 15 by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) on the floor of the United States Senate, all calling for Vladimir Goussinsky’s immediate release and championing freedom of the press;

– A June 14 press conference by some of the leading human rights voices in the U.S. House of Representatives, including Representatives Tom Lantos (D-CA), Benjamin Gilman (R-NY), Chris Smith (R-NJ), and Steny Hoyer (D-MD);

– A June 15 letter to President Bill Clinton, signed by 52 Members of the House of Representatives, recognizing the Administration’s efforts to date and urging the President’s personal intervention, sponsored by Representatives Henry Waxman (D-CA), Tom Lantos (D-CA), and Sam Gejdenson (D-CT);

– Direct contacts to the Administration by individual Members of Congress;

– Introduction June 15 of Senate Concurent Resolution 123, a companion to H. Con. Res. 352, by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).

Members of Congress have expressed outrage at Mr. Goussinsky’s arrest and concern for Mr. Goussinsky and for Russia’s future. Speaking at the press conference, Representative Smith – who chairs the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) – characterized the arrest as an "alarming and not totally surprising development." Rep. Lantos, who chairs the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, warned that if President Putin "hides behind the phony notion that this was an independent prosecutor…and he can’t interfere," then "his credibility will be permanently shot." Putin "needs to understand that leaders in free societies are subject to criticism" and that "police states do not tolerate criticism."

"Considering the history of anti-Semitism in Russia, we are very concerned that the Russian Government’s targeting of Mr. Goussinsky could signal the recurrence of political intimidation against the Russian Jewish community," Representative Waxman noted after sending the letter to President Clinton.

Updates on additional Congressional and other initiatives are available on the NCSJ Web site (www.ncsj.org).

NCSJ leadership are available for comment to the press.