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borislvin109TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION
H. R. 2863
AN ACT
Making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006, and for other purposes.
<...>
SEC. 8156. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available in this Act may be obligated or expended during fiscal year 2006 for paying salaries and expenses or other costs associated with reimbursing or otherwise financially compensating the Government of Uzbekistan for services rendered to the United States at Karshi-Khanabad airbase in Uzbekistan.
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_bills&docid=f:h2863pp.txt.pdf
А вот как эта поправка появилась:
AMENDMENT NO. 1978
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 1978, which is at the desk.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, the pending amendment is set aside.
The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Arizona [Mr. McCain], for himself, Mr. Biden, Mr. Graham, Mr. Leahy, and Mr. DeWine, proposes an amendment numbered 1978.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To prohibit the use of funds to pay salaries and expenses and other costs associated with reimbursing the Government of Uzbekistan for services rendered to the United States at Karshi-Khanabad airbase in Uzbekistan)
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. __. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available in this Act may be obligated or expended during fiscal year 2006 for paying salaries and expenses or other costs associated with reimbursing or otherwise financially compensating the Government of Uzbekistan for services rendered to the United States at Karshi-Khanabad airbase in Uzbekistan.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, this amendment is a pretty simple one. It would prohibit for 1 year the transfer of millions of dollars in cash to the Government of Uzbekistan; I believe $22 or $23 million.
I am pleased to be joined by Senators BIDEN, GRAHAM, LEAHY, and DEWINE, who have cosponsored the amendment. The Pentagon notified the Congress this summer that it intends to pay $23 million in ``coalition support funds'' to Uzbekistan, designed to cover past costs associated with the use of the K2 base there. If you have seen this base in the news lately, it is because it is the location from which the Government of Uzbekistan recently evicted all U.S. personnel. Uzbekistan was at one point a partner in the war on terror. It is no longer. And turning over ``coalition support funds,'' at this point, debases the meaning of the term ``coalition.''
The amendment I am proposing would prohibit this payment for 1 year at which point the Congress can decide whether to renew the prohibition or make the payment.
America keeps its promises to our coalition partners, but we also expect our partners to keep their promises to us. We are not in the business of paying dictatorial, repressive, brutal governments.
Let me review a few of the more egregious examples of Uzbekistan's relationship with us and their abuse of human rights. In May, the Government launched a brutal crackdown in the city of Andijan after protestors stormed a prison and local government headquarters. Eye witnesses estimated the dead at somewhere between 500 and 1,000 and said that the vast majority were unarmed men, women, and children protesting the Government's corruption, lack of opportunity, and continued oppression. In addition to those killed, many others were wounded, and at least 500 fled across the border into Kyrgyzstan.
The Government has rejected all calls for an independent international inquiry into the massacre. The entire European Union has demanded an investigation into the massacre. Tashkent has put the official death toll at just 187 and blamed a foreign conspiracy for the protest. It even placed blame on the United States for the events saying that rebels received money from the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent.
The Uzbek Government launched a campaign of anti-American propaganda after its massacre, staging rallies to denounce the United States and accusing the United States of fomenting Islamic extremism in the guise of promoting democracy.
President Karimov--and I use the term ``president'' loosely--President Karimov suggested that the United States was behind both the events in Andijan and the ``colored revolutions'' in other countries.
I remind my colleagues that Uzbekistan agreed to host U.S. forces on its soil to support continuing coalition combat efforts in Afghanistan. Our troops in Afghanistan are still fighting the Taliban. Insurgents have killed hundreds of people, including dozens of Americans, in the last few months. Yet with this going on and with our mission clearly unfinished, in July Uzbekistan ordered the United States to leave the country.
Just last week, the Washington Post ran an article entitled ``Uzbeks Stop Working With U.S. Against Terrorism,'' which describes how Tashkent has decided to abridge its 2002 agreement with President Bush and terminate its coun_ter_ter_ror_ism cooperation with America. One sentence in this article bears particular notice: ``The Bush administration,'' the article reads, ``has concluded that Karimov fears democracy more than terrorism, officials said.''
This is the same country that Pentagon officials were describing quite recently as a ``very valuable partner and ally in the global war on terror.'' But Uzbekistan is not a valuable partner and ally; it is part of the problem. This week, the European Union announced that it will impose sanctions
[Page: S10919]
against the Uzbek Government for its refusal to accept an international inquiry into the Andijan massacre. This is the kind of response we should be considering to these outrageous actions, not the best way to transfer $23 million in funds from the U.S. Treasury.
The Pentagon wants to pay Tashkent on the principle that America pays its bills for services rendered. I support that principle, but so, too, do I support America standing up for itself in the world and spending taxpayers' money wisely, avoiding the misimpression that we overlook massacres, and avoiding cash transfers to the treasury of a dictator just months after he permanently evicts American soldiers from his country.
I intend to have printed in the RECORD the assessment of every human rights organization in the world of this brutal, oppressive dictatorship. This is a person who just orchestrated a massacre of somewhere, estimates are, around 1,000 of its citizens. This is a government that is illegitimate in that Karimov keeps himself in power through edict. This is a corrupt government in that there is continued repression and oppression of human rights.
Mr. President, I suggest that if the Government of Uzbekistan allowed a full-scale investigation by the European Union and the results are known, then maybe at that time it would be appropriate to give them this money.
Also, let's keep in mind what this brutal and oppressive dictator will do with $23 million of American money. His prisons are full. There is no free press. There is no freedom of movement. It is an oppressive, repressive regime of the old Stalinist style.
I am not saying the United States should not pay its bills. What I am saying is that we should demand at least an investigation of what happened in Andijan some months ago when hundreds, if not a thousand, of its citizens innocently gathered to protest the policies of their government: they were fired on and killed in the most wanton fashion.
The Washington Post article reads:
The government of President Islam Karimov, one of the most authoritarian to emerge from the collapse of the Soviet Union, has made a broader strategic decision to move away from the 2002 agreement made with President Bush after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and is cooling relations with Europe as well. .....
The move follows tough criticism from Washington--
I might say not the Pentagon--
and the European Union over Uzbekistan's crackdown on protests in May in the Andijan province, where human rights and opposition groups say hundreds died. Uzbekistan has charged that terrorists initiated the violence.
As tensions deepen, Karimov is shifting his strategic alliance toward Russia and China. ..... In July, Tashkent banned U.S. troops and warplanes from what is known as the [K2 airbase] which was used for coun_ter_ter_ror_ism, military and humanitarian missions.
The European Union is not renowned to take the lead on some issues. I am proud that the European Union imposed sanctions on Uzbekistan today seeking to punish, according to the New York Times, October 3, 2005:
..... seeking to punish the Central Asian nation for its refusal to allow an international investigation into the bloody crackdown of an uprising in May in the northeastern city of Andijon.
The sanctions against Uzbekistan impose an embargo on exports of arms and equipment that might be used for internal repression and suspend meetings between the European Union and Uzbekistan that were aimed at accelerating the former Soviet state's rapprochement with the West. They will also forbid the travel of Uzbek officials directly involved [in] the crackdown to the 25 European Union states.
Survivors and independent organizations claim--
This is survivors, their actual statements--
and independent organizations claim that hundreds of people were killed, almost all of them unarmed. Uzbekistan, an autocratic state that had been an ally with the Bush administration's counter-terrorism efforts, has argued that the crackdown was a necessary counter-terrorism operation, and said only 187 people, principally Islamic terrorists, were killed. It has stubbornly resisted calls for an open investigation of its crackdown of the uprising.
As criticism over the violence mounted in the spring and summer, Uzbekistan sharply shifted its foreign policy, aligning itself more closely with Russia and China and trimming its relations with the West. In July, it ordered the United States to leave an airbase it has been using since 2001, an eviction now scheduled for early next year.
Last month, Uzbekistan hosted a small joint military exercise with Russian troops, signaling its new allegiances.
Meeting in Luxembourg, the foreign ministers of European Union states approved the sanctions an initial period of one year, allowing for a review in 2006 of Uzbekistan's willingness to ``adhere to the principles of respect for human rights, rule of law, and fundamental freedoms.''
A fundamental pillar of this administration's policy and previous administrations is the adherence to principles of respect for human rights, rule of law, and fundamental
freedoms, all of which are routinely violated by this thug Karimov and his government.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the New York Times article, the Washington Post article I just cited, an article from Defense News, an article from Reuters, and an article entitled ``Andijan Show Trial Proceedings'' be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
[From the New York Times, Oct. 3, 2005.]
European Union Imposes Sanctions on Uzbekistan
(By C.J. Chivers)
<идет текст статьи - Б.>
[From the Washington Post, Sept. 30, 2005]
Uzbeks Stop Working With U.S. Against Terrorism (By Robin Wright)
<идет текст статьи - Б.>
[From Defense News, Sept. 28, 2005]
U.S. To Leave Uzbek Air Base: Official)
(By Agence France-Presse)
<идет текст статьи - Б.>
[From Reuters Foundation, Sept. 30, 2005]
Central Asia: Weekly News Wrap
(Source: IRIN)
<идет текст статьи - Б.>
Andijon Show Trial Proceedings: Testimony of Hostages, Accusations against the U.S. and Press
UZBEKISTAN: DEFENDANTS IN ANDIJON TRIAL REITERATE GUILT, BLAME OTHERS
<идет текст статьи - Б.>
FORMER HOSTAGES TESTIFY IN UZBEK UPRISING TRIAL
<идет текст статьи - Б.>
UZBEK ``VICTIMS'' URGE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT FOR TERROR SUSPECTS
<идет текст статьи - Б.>
DEFENDANTS PIN THE BLAME ON THE AMERICANS AND JOURNALISTS
<идет текст статьи - Б.>
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, let me tell you what the Uzbek Government did. They arrested some people. Here is what happened. This is Reuters:
Uzbekistan: Defendants in Andijon Trial Reiterate Guilt, Blame Others. The defendants allegedly behind the May uprising in the eastern Uzbek town of Andijon are confessing to the charges and saying foreign countries initiated the revolt.
One of the defendants, Tavakkalbek Hojiyev, said yesterday that the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent financially supported the uprising.
Mr. President, here is the old Stalinist trial where they beat the defendant into submission, have him confess, and then blame the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent, and we are going to give them 23 million bucks?
As I said:
..... that the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent financially supported the uprising. He did not provide any evidence but said he was informed about the fact by another man ..... whom the Uzbek government has accused of helping instigate the violence.
``He told me that the U.S. Embassy has allocated the money [for the uprising,]'' Hojiyev said. ``And if our action in Andijon would not succeed we had to leave for Kyrgystan. He said that this was Рthe plan. .....
Parpiev was among the protesters who seized the regional administration building in Andijon on 13 May. He escaped when Uzbek forces fired on protesters. .....
It goes on and on. It is the age-old Stalinist tactic: Take somebody, torture them, and force them to confess. And they are blaming the United States of America.
This is the Karimov Government that we are going to give $23 million and that is now alleging that the United States of America not only was responsible for this uprising in Andijon, but the ``colored revolutions'' all over the world--Lebanon, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine.
Former hostages and other witnesses testified Wednesday in the trial of 15 alleged participants in a May uprising that was brutally suppressed by Uzbek government troops. .....Former hostage Rakhimjon Kurbonov, a van driver, said he was shot in the back and leg when rebels used him as a human shield. He also said he had been beaten up by relatives of some of the 23 religious businessmen. .....
On and on and on.
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of State denounced the accusations that the U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan had allegedly orchestrated and financed the May revolt in Andijon. Defendants standing trial for participation in the revolt announced the conspiracy against the Uzbek authorities had been arranged by the Americans, journalists, and human rights activists.
This is an echo of the days of the Cold War, Mr. President. This is when the Stalinists were in charge.
Finally:
Upwards of 1,000 civilians may have been killed in Andijon on 13 May, according to some human rights groups, when security forces opened fire on protesters demonstrating against the government of President Islam Karimov, who has ruled Central Asia's most populous state since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Despite international pressure, Tashkent has rejected all requests for an independent international inquiry, placing the official death toll at 187.
The 15 men--
Guess what--
have pleaded guilty .....
Is that a surprise that the defendants have all pleaded guilty, condemning themselves to life sentences or death?
The 15 men have pleaded guilty to trying to overthrow the Uzbek Government and create an Islamic state in a violent uprising that prosecutors maintain was stoked by Western media. More than 100 people face charges that include murder, fomenting mass arrest and an attempted coup.
Mr. President, I will curtail my remarks and just say to my friend from Alaska--I know he has a very busy agenda--if I were able to authorize on an appropriations bill--which I am not--I would say at the completion of a thorough investigation of the massacre of Andijon. I cannot do that because this is an appropriations bill, so the amendment basically says no money shall be spent in 2006.
My whole purpose in this is to have the investigation by an international organization, find out who is guilty, and recognize we are dealing with a very brutal, repressive, old-time Stalinist regime.
I thank the chairman for his courtesy.
Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second?
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, will the Senator yield?
Mr. McCAIN. At a time to be determined by the distinguished chairman.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. There appears to be a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
Mr. STEVENS. I thank the Senator from Arizona. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there be 4 minutes equally divided on this amendment before the vote when it does occur.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. STEVENS. I say to the Senator, I will be pleased to work with the Senator from Arizona to amend this so even though it might be legislation, it urge, at least, an investigation that the Senator has mentioned. Perhaps we can work it out before the time for the vote.
Mr. McCAIN. I yield the floor.
Mr. STEVENS. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senator's amendment No. 1978 not be subject to a second-degree amendment, but would be subject to an amendment by the Senator from Arizona should he wish to amend the amendment.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. McCAIN. I thank the Senator.
Mr. STEVENS. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?r109:./temp/~r109J9MmhO
H. R. 2863
AN ACT
Making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006, and for other purposes.
<...>
SEC. 8156. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available in this Act may be obligated or expended during fiscal year 2006 for paying salaries and expenses or other costs associated with reimbursing or otherwise financially compensating the Government of Uzbekistan for services rendered to the United States at Karshi-Khanabad airbase in Uzbekistan.
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_bills&docid=f:h2863pp.txt.pdf
А вот как эта поправка появилась:
AMENDMENT NO. 1978
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 1978, which is at the desk.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, the pending amendment is set aside.
The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Arizona [Mr. McCain], for himself, Mr. Biden, Mr. Graham, Mr. Leahy, and Mr. DeWine, proposes an amendment numbered 1978.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To prohibit the use of funds to pay salaries and expenses and other costs associated with reimbursing the Government of Uzbekistan for services rendered to the United States at Karshi-Khanabad airbase in Uzbekistan)
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. __. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available in this Act may be obligated or expended during fiscal year 2006 for paying salaries and expenses or other costs associated with reimbursing or otherwise financially compensating the Government of Uzbekistan for services rendered to the United States at Karshi-Khanabad airbase in Uzbekistan.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, this amendment is a pretty simple one. It would prohibit for 1 year the transfer of millions of dollars in cash to the Government of Uzbekistan; I believe $22 or $23 million.
I am pleased to be joined by Senators BIDEN, GRAHAM, LEAHY, and DEWINE, who have cosponsored the amendment. The Pentagon notified the Congress this summer that it intends to pay $23 million in ``coalition support funds'' to Uzbekistan, designed to cover past costs associated with the use of the K2 base there. If you have seen this base in the news lately, it is because it is the location from which the Government of Uzbekistan recently evicted all U.S. personnel. Uzbekistan was at one point a partner in the war on terror. It is no longer. And turning over ``coalition support funds,'' at this point, debases the meaning of the term ``coalition.''
The amendment I am proposing would prohibit this payment for 1 year at which point the Congress can decide whether to renew the prohibition or make the payment.
America keeps its promises to our coalition partners, but we also expect our partners to keep their promises to us. We are not in the business of paying dictatorial, repressive, brutal governments.
Let me review a few of the more egregious examples of Uzbekistan's relationship with us and their abuse of human rights. In May, the Government launched a brutal crackdown in the city of Andijan after protestors stormed a prison and local government headquarters. Eye witnesses estimated the dead at somewhere between 500 and 1,000 and said that the vast majority were unarmed men, women, and children protesting the Government's corruption, lack of opportunity, and continued oppression. In addition to those killed, many others were wounded, and at least 500 fled across the border into Kyrgyzstan.
The Government has rejected all calls for an independent international inquiry into the massacre. The entire European Union has demanded an investigation into the massacre. Tashkent has put the official death toll at just 187 and blamed a foreign conspiracy for the protest. It even placed blame on the United States for the events saying that rebels received money from the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent.
The Uzbek Government launched a campaign of anti-American propaganda after its massacre, staging rallies to denounce the United States and accusing the United States of fomenting Islamic extremism in the guise of promoting democracy.
President Karimov--and I use the term ``president'' loosely--President Karimov suggested that the United States was behind both the events in Andijan and the ``colored revolutions'' in other countries.
I remind my colleagues that Uzbekistan agreed to host U.S. forces on its soil to support continuing coalition combat efforts in Afghanistan. Our troops in Afghanistan are still fighting the Taliban. Insurgents have killed hundreds of people, including dozens of Americans, in the last few months. Yet with this going on and with our mission clearly unfinished, in July Uzbekistan ordered the United States to leave the country.
Just last week, the Washington Post ran an article entitled ``Uzbeks Stop Working With U.S. Against Terrorism,'' which describes how Tashkent has decided to abridge its 2002 agreement with President Bush and terminate its coun_ter_ter_ror_ism cooperation with America. One sentence in this article bears particular notice: ``The Bush administration,'' the article reads, ``has concluded that Karimov fears democracy more than terrorism, officials said.''
This is the same country that Pentagon officials were describing quite recently as a ``very valuable partner and ally in the global war on terror.'' But Uzbekistan is not a valuable partner and ally; it is part of the problem. This week, the European Union announced that it will impose sanctions
[Page: S10919]
against the Uzbek Government for its refusal to accept an international inquiry into the Andijan massacre. This is the kind of response we should be considering to these outrageous actions, not the best way to transfer $23 million in funds from the U.S. Treasury.
The Pentagon wants to pay Tashkent on the principle that America pays its bills for services rendered. I support that principle, but so, too, do I support America standing up for itself in the world and spending taxpayers' money wisely, avoiding the misimpression that we overlook massacres, and avoiding cash transfers to the treasury of a dictator just months after he permanently evicts American soldiers from his country.
I intend to have printed in the RECORD the assessment of every human rights organization in the world of this brutal, oppressive dictatorship. This is a person who just orchestrated a massacre of somewhere, estimates are, around 1,000 of its citizens. This is a government that is illegitimate in that Karimov keeps himself in power through edict. This is a corrupt government in that there is continued repression and oppression of human rights.
Mr. President, I suggest that if the Government of Uzbekistan allowed a full-scale investigation by the European Union and the results are known, then maybe at that time it would be appropriate to give them this money.
Also, let's keep in mind what this brutal and oppressive dictator will do with $23 million of American money. His prisons are full. There is no free press. There is no freedom of movement. It is an oppressive, repressive regime of the old Stalinist style.
I am not saying the United States should not pay its bills. What I am saying is that we should demand at least an investigation of what happened in Andijan some months ago when hundreds, if not a thousand, of its citizens innocently gathered to protest the policies of their government: they were fired on and killed in the most wanton fashion.
The Washington Post article reads:
The government of President Islam Karimov, one of the most authoritarian to emerge from the collapse of the Soviet Union, has made a broader strategic decision to move away from the 2002 agreement made with President Bush after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and is cooling relations with Europe as well. .....
The move follows tough criticism from Washington--
I might say not the Pentagon--
and the European Union over Uzbekistan's crackdown on protests in May in the Andijan province, where human rights and opposition groups say hundreds died. Uzbekistan has charged that terrorists initiated the violence.
As tensions deepen, Karimov is shifting his strategic alliance toward Russia and China. ..... In July, Tashkent banned U.S. troops and warplanes from what is known as the [K2 airbase] which was used for coun_ter_ter_ror_ism, military and humanitarian missions.
The European Union is not renowned to take the lead on some issues. I am proud that the European Union imposed sanctions on Uzbekistan today seeking to punish, according to the New York Times, October 3, 2005:
..... seeking to punish the Central Asian nation for its refusal to allow an international investigation into the bloody crackdown of an uprising in May in the northeastern city of Andijon.
The sanctions against Uzbekistan impose an embargo on exports of arms and equipment that might be used for internal repression and suspend meetings between the European Union and Uzbekistan that were aimed at accelerating the former Soviet state's rapprochement with the West. They will also forbid the travel of Uzbek officials directly involved [in] the crackdown to the 25 European Union states.
Survivors and independent organizations claim--
This is survivors, their actual statements--
and independent organizations claim that hundreds of people were killed, almost all of them unarmed. Uzbekistan, an autocratic state that had been an ally with the Bush administration's counter-terrorism efforts, has argued that the crackdown was a necessary counter-terrorism operation, and said only 187 people, principally Islamic terrorists, were killed. It has stubbornly resisted calls for an open investigation of its crackdown of the uprising.
As criticism over the violence mounted in the spring and summer, Uzbekistan sharply shifted its foreign policy, aligning itself more closely with Russia and China and trimming its relations with the West. In July, it ordered the United States to leave an airbase it has been using since 2001, an eviction now scheduled for early next year.
Last month, Uzbekistan hosted a small joint military exercise with Russian troops, signaling its new allegiances.
Meeting in Luxembourg, the foreign ministers of European Union states approved the sanctions an initial period of one year, allowing for a review in 2006 of Uzbekistan's willingness to ``adhere to the principles of respect for human rights, rule of law, and fundamental freedoms.''
A fundamental pillar of this administration's policy and previous administrations is the adherence to principles of respect for human rights, rule of law, and fundamental
freedoms, all of which are routinely violated by this thug Karimov and his government.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the New York Times article, the Washington Post article I just cited, an article from Defense News, an article from Reuters, and an article entitled ``Andijan Show Trial Proceedings'' be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
[From the New York Times, Oct. 3, 2005.]
European Union Imposes Sanctions on Uzbekistan
(By C.J. Chivers)
<идет текст статьи - Б.>
[From the Washington Post, Sept. 30, 2005]
Uzbeks Stop Working With U.S. Against Terrorism (By Robin Wright)
<идет текст статьи - Б.>
[From Defense News, Sept. 28, 2005]
U.S. To Leave Uzbek Air Base: Official)
(By Agence France-Presse)
<идет текст статьи - Б.>
[From Reuters Foundation, Sept. 30, 2005]
Central Asia: Weekly News Wrap
(Source: IRIN)
<идет текст статьи - Б.>
Andijon Show Trial Proceedings: Testimony of Hostages, Accusations against the U.S. and Press
UZBEKISTAN: DEFENDANTS IN ANDIJON TRIAL REITERATE GUILT, BLAME OTHERS
<идет текст статьи - Б.>
FORMER HOSTAGES TESTIFY IN UZBEK UPRISING TRIAL
<идет текст статьи - Б.>
UZBEK ``VICTIMS'' URGE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT FOR TERROR SUSPECTS
<идет текст статьи - Б.>
DEFENDANTS PIN THE BLAME ON THE AMERICANS AND JOURNALISTS
<идет текст статьи - Б.>
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, let me tell you what the Uzbek Government did. They arrested some people. Here is what happened. This is Reuters:
Uzbekistan: Defendants in Andijon Trial Reiterate Guilt, Blame Others. The defendants allegedly behind the May uprising in the eastern Uzbek town of Andijon are confessing to the charges and saying foreign countries initiated the revolt.
One of the defendants, Tavakkalbek Hojiyev, said yesterday that the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent financially supported the uprising.
Mr. President, here is the old Stalinist trial where they beat the defendant into submission, have him confess, and then blame the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent, and we are going to give them 23 million bucks?
As I said:
..... that the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent financially supported the uprising. He did not provide any evidence but said he was informed about the fact by another man ..... whom the Uzbek government has accused of helping instigate the violence.
``He told me that the U.S. Embassy has allocated the money [for the uprising,]'' Hojiyev said. ``And if our action in Andijon would not succeed we had to leave for Kyrgystan. He said that this was Рthe plan. .....
Parpiev was among the protesters who seized the regional administration building in Andijon on 13 May. He escaped when Uzbek forces fired on protesters. .....
It goes on and on. It is the age-old Stalinist tactic: Take somebody, torture them, and force them to confess. And they are blaming the United States of America.
This is the Karimov Government that we are going to give $23 million and that is now alleging that the United States of America not only was responsible for this uprising in Andijon, but the ``colored revolutions'' all over the world--Lebanon, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine.
Former hostages and other witnesses testified Wednesday in the trial of 15 alleged participants in a May uprising that was brutally suppressed by Uzbek government troops. .....Former hostage Rakhimjon Kurbonov, a van driver, said he was shot in the back and leg when rebels used him as a human shield. He also said he had been beaten up by relatives of some of the 23 religious businessmen. .....
On and on and on.
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of State denounced the accusations that the U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan had allegedly orchestrated and financed the May revolt in Andijon. Defendants standing trial for participation in the revolt announced the conspiracy against the Uzbek authorities had been arranged by the Americans, journalists, and human rights activists.
This is an echo of the days of the Cold War, Mr. President. This is when the Stalinists were in charge.
Finally:
Upwards of 1,000 civilians may have been killed in Andijon on 13 May, according to some human rights groups, when security forces opened fire on protesters demonstrating against the government of President Islam Karimov, who has ruled Central Asia's most populous state since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Despite international pressure, Tashkent has rejected all requests for an independent international inquiry, placing the official death toll at 187.
The 15 men--
Guess what--
have pleaded guilty .....
Is that a surprise that the defendants have all pleaded guilty, condemning themselves to life sentences or death?
The 15 men have pleaded guilty to trying to overthrow the Uzbek Government and create an Islamic state in a violent uprising that prosecutors maintain was stoked by Western media. More than 100 people face charges that include murder, fomenting mass arrest and an attempted coup.
Mr. President, I will curtail my remarks and just say to my friend from Alaska--I know he has a very busy agenda--if I were able to authorize on an appropriations bill--which I am not--I would say at the completion of a thorough investigation of the massacre of Andijon. I cannot do that because this is an appropriations bill, so the amendment basically says no money shall be spent in 2006.
My whole purpose in this is to have the investigation by an international organization, find out who is guilty, and recognize we are dealing with a very brutal, repressive, old-time Stalinist regime.
I thank the chairman for his courtesy.
Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second?
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, will the Senator yield?
Mr. McCAIN. At a time to be determined by the distinguished chairman.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. There appears to be a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
Mr. STEVENS. I thank the Senator from Arizona. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there be 4 minutes equally divided on this amendment before the vote when it does occur.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. STEVENS. I say to the Senator, I will be pleased to work with the Senator from Arizona to amend this so even though it might be legislation, it urge, at least, an investigation that the Senator has mentioned. Perhaps we can work it out before the time for the vote.
Mr. McCAIN. I yield the floor.
Mr. STEVENS. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senator's amendment No. 1978 not be subject to a second-degree amendment, but would be subject to an amendment by the Senator from Arizona should he wish to amend the amendment.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. McCAIN. I thank the Senator.
Mr. STEVENS. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?r109:./temp/~r109J9MmhO
