[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 194 (Friday, December 16, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8728-S8729]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    ANNIVERSARY OF BELARUS ELECTION

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the 
courageous men and women who are struggling for freedom in Belarus.
  Almost 1 year ago, on December 19, 2010, elections took place in 
Belarus. At that time, some in the United States and Europe hoped that 
this vote would be a turning point for Belarus and that its 
authoritarian ruler, Aleksandr Lukashenko, would finally begin to 
pursue the political and economic reforms demanded by his people.
  In fact, the December 19 election was a turning point for Belarus--
but not in the way that some had hoped. It soon became obvious that the 
election had been egregiously rigged by the regime. In response, 
thousands of Belarusians from every background peacefully took to the 
streets in protest. It was the most significant public demonstration 
the country had seen in over a half decade, and the Lukashenko regime 
responded with violence.
  On that day, Belarusian security forces detained or arrested over 600 
peaceful protestors. Hundreds more were surrounded by armored tanks and 
beaten by thugs dispatched by the regime. The Lukashenko regime 
arrested seven opposition candidates who participated in the vote, 
severely beating one candidate. In the year that has followed the 
election, hundreds of people--including several Presidential 
candidates--have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms in sham trials 
that have again revealed Belarus' judicial system to be nothing more 
than a political tool abused by the regime. It is a system that has 
institutionalized torture and denies its prisoners access to family, 
lawyers, medical treatment, and open legal proceedings.
  I should note that the peaceful protests that erupted in Belarus 1 
year ago took place just 2 days after a 26-year-old man in the Tunisian 
town of Sidi Bouzid set himself on fire, which in turn sparked a series 
of peaceful protests that overthrew the long-ruling dictator in that 
country--starting the Arab Spring. But as the winds of change sweep 
across north Africa and the Middle East, ousting some of the world's 
most entrenched regimes, it is important for us to remember that there 
remains one last dictatorship in Europe; that is, the Lukashenko regime 
in Belarus.
  Despite the extraordinary changes taking place around the world, the 
Lukashenko regime has sustained, and even intensified, its crackdown 
against its own people. This is a regime that recently outlawed nearly 
all forms of public speech and peaceful assembly, including silent 
protest. It is a regime that, instead of responding to the legitimate 
demands of its people, has sought to cultivate close ties with other 
dictatorships, like the regime in Tehran. It is a regime that, 
according to reports, delivered military equipment to the Qadhafi 
regime in Libya in February 2011 just as it prepared to slaughter its 
own people.

[[Page S8729]]

  Over the past year, I have been encouraged by the close cooperation 
between the United States and the European Union to hold accountable 
those in Belarus who are responsible for the brutal crackdown there. 
Continued transatlantic coordination on Belarus is vital. The Euro-
Atlantic community of democracies must speak with one voice to ratchet 
up pressure on Lukashenko. And while the United States and the EU have 
taken strong and important steps, including imposing travel bans on 
nearly 200 Belarusian officials, freezing the assets that these 
officials hold in the West, and both renewing and imposing new 
sanctions on Belarusian state-owned enterprises, more can be done.
  In particular, I hope that in the weeks ahead, the United States and 
the EU will implement sanctions against other state-owned entities that 
enrich the Lukashenko regime at the expense of the Belarusian people.
  Furthermore, it is critical that at a moment when the Lukashenko 
regime is looking for a financial lifeline to keep himself in power, 
the United States and our allies work together to ensure that 
responsible international institutions and actors--including the IMF--
do not lend money to that regime. It is clear--as we have seen over the 
past 2 years--that such funds will only be used by Lukashenko to prop 
up his illegitimate and repressive rule. And I continue to urge our own 
government to state publicly that the United States will not support 
any further IMF assistance to Belarus until we see credible political 
and economic reforms by Belarusian authorities, beginning with the 
immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in 
Belarus.
  At the same time we are shocked and appalled by the cruelty and 
thuggishness of the Lukashenko regime, we should also take note of the 
remarkable courage and perseverance of the Belarusian people, who press 
on in their struggle for greater freedom and opportunity.
  Over the past year, I have been honored to meet with Belarusian 
opposition leaders and activists. These conversations have been 
extremely powerful, as I have heard directly from the men and women who 
are facing repression on the front lines and looking for help from us 
in their noble struggle.
  Today, I join my colleagues in saying to the brave people in Belarus 
who are striving to secure their fundamental freedoms: We have not and 
will not forget about you and your important cause. We remember your 
names. We will stand in solidarity with you and in support of you until 
you achieve your goal, which is a free and democratic Belarus. And we 
believe more than ever that the day will come when Belarus will be 
free.
  The extraordinary revolutions that are taking place across the Middle 
East and north Africa should remind us all that the United States does 
best in the world when we stand with our values and the people who 
share them. And there is much we can do to help the Belarusian people.
  To begin with, we must work with our European allies to ensure that 
the financial and technical assistance we have pledged to the 
Belarusian opposition is disbursed and implemented as quickly as 
possible, particularly for groups operating inside of Belarus. And we 
in Washington must continue to engage with the Belarusian opposition 
and its emerging leaders, and lend them our support.
  Let me conclude by saying that I do not know when Belarus will be 
free, but I have no doubt that someday it will be free. I am confident 
that the future of Belarus belongs not to Lukashenko and his thugs but 
to the Belarusian people.
  Indeed, the future of Belarus belongs to the dissidents who are in 
jail or who are being harassed--to Ales Byalitski, the founder of 
Belarus' largest human rights organization who recently celebrated his 
49th birthday in prison. It belongs to Alyaksandr Klaskouski, a 33-
year-old former traffic police officer in Minsk who pleaded with 
security forces on December 19 not to use force against peaceful 
protestors and who himself stood between riot police and unarmed 
protestors. He, too, is now serving time in a maximum security prison 
for his efforts. The future of Belarus belongs also to Natalia Kaliada, 
the director of the Belarus Free Theatre, who was arrested on December 
19 but continues to press on in her work--to fight dictatorship with 
art. Natalia does this, as she put it in January when she testified 
before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, because ``we want our 
spectators to think. When people start thinking, this is the most 
terrifying thing for a dictator.''
  The future of Belarus belongs to every Belarusian who seeks a 
brighter future for their country--a future of democracy and 
opportunity. And we stand with them in their cause on this anniversary 
of the December 19, 2010, election--and on every anniversary to come, 
until Belarus is free.

                          ____________________