To express the sense of Congress on the October 15, 2003 election in Azerbaijan and require a report on an investigation in Azerbaijan.

1. Adds Sec. 692. (a) Congress makes the following findings: on page 147, between lines 6 and 7

   Adds a sectionPrinted page

   Inserted: Sec. 692. (a) Congress makes the following findings:

   Inserted: (1) International organizations and non-governmental observers, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the National Democratic Institute, and Human Rights Watch documented widespread government manipulation of the electoral process in advance of the Presidential election held in Azerbaijan on October 15, 2003.

   Inserted: (2) Such organizations and the Department of State reported widespread vote falsification during the election, including ballot stuffing, fraudulent additions to voter lists, and irregularities with vote tallies and found that election commission members from opposition parties were bullied into signing falsified vote tallies.

   Inserted: (3) The Department of State issued a statement on October 21, 2003 concluding that the irregularities that occurred during the elections "cast doubt on the credibility of the election's results".

   Inserted: (4) Human Rights Watch reported that government forces in Azerbaijan used excessive force against demonstrators protesting election fraud and that such force resulted in at least one death and injuries to more than 300 individuals.

   Inserted: (5) Following the elections, the Government of Azerbaijan arrested more than 330 individuals, many of whom are leaders and rank-and-file members of opposition parties in Azerbaijan, including individuals who served as observers and polling-station officials who refused to sign vote tallies from polling stations that the individuals believed were fraudulent.

   Inserted: (6) The national interest of the United States in promoting stability in the Caucasus and Central Asia and in winning the war on terrorism is best protected by maintaining relationships with democracies committed to the rule of law.

   Inserted: (7) The credible reports of fraud and intimidation cast serious doubt on the legitimacy of the October 15, 2003 Presidential election in Azerbaijan and on the victory of Ilham Aliev in such election.

   Inserted: (b) It is the sense of Congress that--

   Inserted: (1) the President and the Secretary of State should urge the Government of Azerbaijan to create an independent commission, with participation from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe, to investigate the fraud and intimidation surrounding the October 15, 2003 election in Azerbaijan, and to hold a new election if such a commission finds that a new election is warranted;

   Inserted: (2) the violence that followed the election should be condemned and should be investigated in a full and impartial investigation;

   Inserted: (3) the perpetrators of criminal acts related to the election, including Azerbaijani police, should be held accountable; and

   Show 5 more inserted paragraphsShow less

   Inserted: (4) the Government of Azerbaijan should immediately release from detention all members of opposition political parties who were arrested for peacefully expressing political opinions.

   Inserted: (c) Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on International Relations and the Committee of Appropriations of the House of Representatives on the investigation of the murder of United States democracy worker John Alvis. Such report shall include--

   Inserted: (1) a description of the steps taken by the Government of Azerbaijan to further such investigation and bring to justice those responsible for the murder of John Alvis;

   Inserted: (2) a description of the actions of the Government of Azerbaijan to cooperate with United States agencies involved in such investigation; and

   Inserted: (3) any recommendations of the Secretary for furthering progress of such investigation.

   Original wording

   On page 147, between lines 6 and 7, insert the following new section:

Read automatically from the Congressional Record. Check the original before relying on it.

As printed