[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 105 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 105
To condemn the December 19, 2010, elections in Belarus, and to call for
the immediate release of all political prisoners and for new elections
that meet international standards.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 17, 2011
Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. McCain, Mr. Cardin, Mrs.
Shaheen, Mr. Graham, Mr. Kyl, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr.
Kirk, and Mr. Lautenberg) submitted the following resolution; which was
considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
To condemn the December 19, 2010, elections in Belarus, and to call for
the immediate release of all political prisoners and for new elections
that meet international standards.
Whereas the people of Belarus have lived under the brutal dictatorship of
Alexander Lukashenko for almost 2 decades;
Whereas, under Mr. Lukashenko's rule, Belarus--which is known as ``the last
dictatorship of Europe''--has defied the post-Soviet democratic
transformation that swept eastern and central Europe by maintaining an
abhorrent human and political rights record and denying its citizens
fundamental freedoms;
Whereas, according to the United States Department of State 2009 Human Rights
Country Report on Belarus, elections in Belarus are consistently unfair
and undemocratic; politically motivated arrests and detentions are
ongoing; Belarus' judiciary is not independent; beatings, poor
treatment, and disease are widespread in prisons in Belarus, where
detainees lack access to food, proper clothing, and medical treatment;
and the Government of Belarus has severely and systematically restricted
basic freedoms of press, speech, assembly, association, and religion;
Whereas Mr. Lukashenko had an opportunity to move Belarus closer to the
community of democracies by holding free and fair presidential elections
on December 19, 2010, and allowing for multiple opposition candidates to
run for president;
Whereas the Lukashenko regime squandered this opportunity for the people of
Belarus by orchestrating a fraudulent election that failed to meet
minimal international standards;
Whereas, following the elections, the Lukashenko regime arrested 5 of the 6
opposition presidential candidates, severely beating one candidate,
Uladzimir Niakliayeu, and arbitrarily beating many of the thousands of
Belarusians who were peacefully protesting the stolen election in the
largest public demonstration the country had seen in over 5 years;
Whereas, during the course of election day and its aftermath, Lukashenko's
security forces, the State Security Agency (KGB), detained or arrested
over 600 additional people, including journalists, civil society
representatives, political activists, and ordinary Belarusians who were
peacefully seeking to exercise their fundamental human rights to free
assembly and expression;
Whereas the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Election
Observation Mission, which monitored the election in Belarus, issued a
statement of preliminary findings and conclusions on December 20, 2010,
that criticized the election's campaign environment as ``characterized
by the lack of a level-playing field'' and reported that international
observers assessed the vote count as ``non-transparent'' and ``bad or
very bad in almost half of all observed polling stations'';
Whereas, according to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
observers, prominent international websites, including Gmail and
Hotmail, and Belarusian websites including Charter97.org, euroradio.by,
gazetaby.com, and zapraudu.info were rendered inaccessible on election
day;
Whereas, on February 22, 2011, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe stated in its final report on the December 19, 2010, election
that the final vote count was ``flawed and lacked transparency'';
Whereas Department of State spokesperson Philip J. Crowley said on December 20,
2010, ``We cannot consider the election results as legitimate.'';
Whereas, on December 20, 2010, the Obama Administration called for the release
of all detained presidential candidates and protestors arrested around
the election and strongly condemned the violence used by the Lukashenko
regime to ``undermine the democratic process'';
Whereas on December 23, 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and European
Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Catherine Ashton strongly condemned the Lukashenko regime's
disproportionate use of violence and called for ``the immediate release
of the presidential candidates and the over 600 demonstrators who have
been taken into custody in the wake of the presidential elections in
Belarus'';
Whereas the heads of the foreign affairs committees of the German and Polish
parliaments issued a joint statement on December 31, 2010, stating that
the presidential election in Belarus showed ``a complete lack of respect
for European values and standards'';
Whereas, on January 20, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution that
condemns the December 19, 2010, elections in Belarus and their violent
aftermath; demands the immediate and unconditional release of political
prisoners; and calls for ``new elections to be held'' in Belarus under
``free and democratic conditions'' and ``according to OSCE standards'';
Whereas, on December 31, 2010, the Government of Belarus refused to extend the
mandate of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
office in Minsk, thereby shuttering the democratic institution building
efforts of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in
Belarus;
Whereas, on January 4, 2011, Department of State spokesperson Philip J. Crowley
and Darren Ennis, Spokesperson for European Union High Representative
Catherine Ashton, issued a joint statement expressing regret over the
closure of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
Office in Belarus and calling on authorities in Belarus ``to fulfill
their commitments to the OSCE by reforming the election process and
providing greater respect for human rights'';
Whereas the Belarusian KGB continues to detain at least 32 political opposition
leaders and activists associated with the December 19, 2010, elections
who face dubious charges that carry prison sentences up to 15 years;
Whereas, on February 28, 2011, Ales Mikhalevich, a presidential candidate who
was arrested following the December 19, 2010, elections and released on
January 19, 2011, issued a statement detailing the abuse and torture
that he endured during his 2-month detention by the Belarusian KGB, in
violation of existing Belarusian laws as well as international
agreements, including the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, done at New York December
10, 1984, to which Belarus has been a signatory since December 1985;
Whereas families of presidential candidates and political opposition leaders and
their lawyers face continued harassment and intimidation by Lukashenko's
KGB, including repeated interrogations, raids, pressure, and threats of
dismissal from places of employment and schools;
Whereas the detained presidential candidates and political opposition leaders
are being denied regular access to family, lawyers, medical treatment,
and open legal proceedings;
Whereas authorities in Belarus continue to carry out searches and seizures
across the country, including the offices and homes of journalists,
political activists, civil society representatives, former presidential
candidates and their advisers, and ordinary Belarusians with tenuous
connections to members of the political opposition;
Whereas, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, an
internationally reputable source on global arms trade, the Lukashenko
regime delivered a shipment of military equipment to the Qaddafi regime
in Libya in February 2011, just before Qaddafi prepared to initiate the
widely condemned bloody crackdown undertaken against the people of
Libya;
Whereas, on January 31, 2011, the United States and the European Union imposed
targeted travel and financial sanctions on an expanded list of officials
of the Government of Belarus, including Alexander Lukashenko and those
helping prop up his regime;
Whereas, on January 31, 2011, the United States Government also restricted
economic transactions with Lakokraska OAO and Polotsk Steklovolokno OAO,
2 subsidiaries of Belarus's largest state-owned petroleum and chemical
conglomerate, Belneftekhim;
Whereas, on February 2, 2011, the United States Government pledged to supplement
its democracy assistance to Belarus by $4,000,000 in fiscal year 2011;
Whereas, on March 2, 2011, Lukashenko's regime sentenced 3 of the political
detainees, Alyaksandr Atroshchankau, Zmitster Novik, and Alyaksandr
Malchanau, to between 3 and 4 years in a top-security prison;
Whereas on March 4, 2011, Department of State Spokesman P.J. Crowley said, ``The
United States remains gravely concerned over the continuing post-
election crackdown by the Government of Belarus on civil society,
independent media, and the political opposition. Through its ongoing
detentions, trials, and harsh prison sentences, the government is
creating new political prisoners. We urge the unconditional release of
those detained in the crackdown without trials, and the creation of
space for the free expression of political views, the development of
civil society, and the ability of citizens to expand their contact with
open societies.''; and
Whereas Congress passed the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-347)
and the Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-
480) as expressions of support consistent with these aims: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) condemns the December 19, 2010, election in Belarus as
illegitimate, fraudulent, and not representative of the will or
the aspirations of the voters in Belarus, and joins the
European Parliament in calling for new elections to be held in
Belarus that meet international standards;
(2) condemns the beating, arrest, fining, and imprisonment
of presidential candidates, opposition leaders, and activists
by Alexander Lukashenko's KGB in the wake of the December 19,
2010, election;
(3) condemns the Lukashenko regime's systematic efforts to
prevent freedom of expression and association in Belarus,
including its efforts to censor the Internet and stifle freedom
of the press;
(4) stands in solidarity with the people of Belarus, those
political prisoners being unjustly detained, and those who
continue to fight for peaceful democratic change and their
fundamental human rights in Belarus;
(5) applauds the pledges of the United States Government
and the European Union to impose targeted sanctions, including
visa bans and asset freezes, on Belarusian officials and their
associates responsible for the recent crackdown and human
rights abuses against the people of Belarus;
(6) applauds the decisions of the United States Government,
the European Union, and other democratic allies to expand
assistance to civil society in Belarus;
(7) calls on the Lukashenko regime--
(A) to immediately and unconditionally release all
political prisoners in Belarus who were arrested in
association with the December 19, 2010, election,
including 3 presidential candidates, Andrei Sannikov,
Nikolai Statkevich, and Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu, who are
still in prison or under house arrest;
(B) to immediately cease the harassment of the
families, friends, and lawyers of political prisoners
in Belarus;
(C) to authorize the extension of the mandate of
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
Office in Belarus;
(D) to hold new presidential and parliamentary
elections in Belarus that are free, fair, inclusive,
and meet international standards; and
(E) to meet its international obligations and cease
any illegal efforts related to the provision of arms to
rogue regimes;
(8) urges the President and the Secretary of State--
(A) to continue to closely coordinate United States
and European Union policies towards Belarus;
(B) to resume direct technical and material support
to the opposition and civil society in Belarus,
including political parties, civic groups, and
independent media outlets;
(C) to ensure that the United States list includes
any other officials of the Government of Belarus
responsible for the crackdown following the December
19, 2010, election in Belarus, associated human rights
abuses, and the continued detention, prosecution, and
mistreatment of all political prisoners, and to impose
targeted sanctions on those individuals and their
family members where warranted; and
(D) to identify any other entities that enrich Mr.
Lukashenko and his regime at the expense of the people
of Belarus and prohibit business with and freeze the
assets of such entities;
(9) urges the European Union--
(A) to join the United States in prohibiting
business with, and freezing the assets of, the
Belarusian state-owned oil and petrochemicals company
Belneftekhim and its subsidiaries Lakokraska OAO and
Polotsk Steklovolokno OAO, as well as other entities
that enrich Mr. Lukashenko and his regime at the
expense of the people of Belarus;
(B) to cut all European projects linked to the
authorities in Belarus responsible for the crackdown
and associated human rights abuses and to exclude
officials of the Government of Belarus from meetings
under the European Union's Eastern Partnership policy--
including the planned European Union summit with post-
Soviet countries scheduled to take place in Budapest in
May 2011--but to ensure that this suspension not apply
to nongovernmental and civil society organizations in
Belarus;
(C) to ensure that the European Union list includes
any other officials of the Government of Belarus
responsible for the crackdown following the December
19, 2010, election in Belarus, associated human rights
abuses, and the continued detention, prosecution, and
mistreatment of political prisoners, and to impose
targeted sanctions on those officials and their family
members where warranted; and
(D) to increase support to the opposition and civil
society in Belarus, including political parties, civic
groups, and independent media outlets;
(10) calls on other members of the international community,
including Russia, to take similar targeted actions against the
leaders of the Government of Belarus;
(11) calls on the Government of Lithuania, as chair of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for 2011,
to make the reestablishment of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe Office in Belarus one of its chief
priorities for its tenure; and
(12) calls on the International Ice Hockey Federation to
suspend its 2014 International World Ice Hockey championship to
be hosted in Minsk, Belarus until all political prisoners in
Belarus are released.
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