On July 26, 2011, the US Congress House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs chaired by Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN) held an open hearing on the State of Democracy and Freedom in Eastern Europe. Four experts were invited to the panel to provide their testimonies on the current situation in the region. They all suggested that, given the latest negative political trends in Eastern Europe, the U.S. should pay closer attention to Russia, as the neighboring states are influenced by its policies and authority.
The floor was open to the testimonies of Mr. Thomas O. Melia, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Mr. David Kramer, Executive director of Freedom House, Mr. Stephen Nix, Director for Eurasia Division at the International Republican Institute, and Dr. Nadia Diuk, Vice President of the Programs at the National Endowment for Democracy.
The Chairman and the Committee members expressed their concerns about the state of democracy in some parts of Eastern Europe, in particular, in Russia and Belarus, where the leaders “have not adopted democratic ideals”. Dan Burton marked some countries – Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia – as the leading countries in adopting strong democratic institutions, electoral systems representative of their people and economies, and mentioned other states such as Georgia, Albania, Serbia and Moldova as the states struggling for democracy while facing some challenges.
As a representative of the U.S. Government, Mr. Melia began his speech by pointing out that democracy in Central and Eastern Europe is prerequisite for the U.S. goals in the region, such as peace, stability and security. He briefly assessed the situation in Hungary, and the Balkan states -- the countries that are considered “more integrated within Europe” despite some problems and violations of democratic principles that they currently experience.
The focus of Mr.Melia’s speech was placed on Russia and Belarus that are, according to him, “tougher cases”. Russia presents “the most complex challenge to democratic reform” imposing continued restrictions on fundamental freedoms, such as refusal to register the opposition party PARNAS, multiple attacks on freedoms of the press and assembly and lack of the rule of law. Mr. Melia concluded that Department of State recognizes a thirst for fundamental freedoms among the Russian population.
The second testimony was given by Stephen Nix, who focused his presentation on four countries: Georgia and Moldova, where “notable strides in developing democratic societies are occurring”; and Ukraine and Belarus, where “democratic practices are either absent or under siege”.
In his turn, the third expert, David Kramer of Freedom House, pointed out that, according to the findings of Nations in Transit 2011 report, “nine of twelve states in the region are either consolidated or semi-consolidated authoritarian regimes”. The reason for that is the Soviet legacy. Also, all nine countries in the authoritarian category have grown more repressive over the past years. Some major problems that these countries share are ban of real political competition, denial of media freedom, rampant corruption and lawlessness. Mr. Kramer focused his testimony on three countries: Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. The first one holds a critical position along the EU borders and lately has been developing in the wrong direction. The second one pushes the limits of repression as Europe’s last dictatorship. And the third one shows essential tilts towards a non-democratic regime as the situation with human rights deteriorates.
Mr. Kramer noted that Mr. Putin’s return as a president in 2012 would be “a depressing blow” for those who hoped that Russia could overcome the authoritarian rule. At the moment President Medvedev’s role in politics is dismal, as the political power is concentrated within a small elite circle and Mr. Putin has the final say in the decision-making process. Mr. Kramer gave examples of some blatant violations of basic human rights and lack of the rule of law. He urged the U.S. Congress not to allow Russian officials and government to get away with murders and crimes against human rights defenders, lawyers and political activists. The best start would be passing the Magnitsky legislationthat imposes visa and economic sanctions on Russian government officials responsible for human rights abuses.
The forth expert, Dr. Diuk, gave her assessment of the situation in the region. Her view was similar to the other experts’: despite some achievements in the recent years, the general trend has been a slow backsliding, i.e. in the Southern Caucasus, and even dramatic reversals. Dr. Diuk also paid special attention to Russia and Ukraine. Her recommendation to the Congress was to pay more attention to the opinions coming from Eastern European countries as they have much to offer in a sense of understanding effective strategies and the difficulties of democratic transition.
All experts agreed that Russia is one of the most important countries in the region due to its great influence on the neighboring states. When Russia complies with democratic values, the neighboring states will be more willing to follow the path of democratization. Due to some disturbing developments in the country and violations of basic human rights, there is an urge for the U.S. to observe the internal affairs in Russia more closely and to take necessary measures when needed.
