[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 4556-4557]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              FRAUDULENT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN BELARUS

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, today I want to express my concerns 
about the recent presidential election in Belarus.
  I have previously noted the tremendous hardships Belarus has endured 
throughout its history. For centuries, Belarus has been fought over, 
occupied and carved up. But Belarus' declaration of independence from 
the Soviet Union in 1991 held great promise for a better future. As it 
broke from communist rule, it had the opportunity to build a free 
nation and become part of a peaceful, more secure Europe. The country 
began to embrace economic and political reforms and democratic 
principles. It established a constitution and held its first 
Presidential election in 1994.
  Unfortunately, the prospect of democratic change in Belarus was 
quickly frozen as its first President, Alexander Lukashenka, adopted 
increasingly authoritarian policies, including amending the 
constitution in a flawed referendum to extend his term and broaden his 
powers. Lukashenka's regime has been marked by a terrible human rights 
record that is progressively getting worse, with little respect for 
freedom of expression, assembly or an independent media. A pattern of 
disturbing disappearances of opposition leaders fails to be seriously 
investigated by authorities. The living conditions in Belarus are 
declining and Lukashenka's refusal to institute economic reforms has 
only aggravated the situation.
  The 2005 State Department Human Rights report states that ``the 
government's human rights record remained very poor and worsened in 
some areas with the government continuing to commit numerous serious 
abuses.'' The report goes on to acknowledge that Lukashenka 
``systematically undermined the country's democratic institutions and 
concentrated power in the executive branch through flawed referenda, 
manipulated elections, and undemocratic laws and regulations.'' Mr. 
President, the litany of human rights abuses documented in this report 
show that Lukashenka has only used the last 12 years to increase the 
reign of tyranny and oppression in Belarus.
  The elections of March 19, 2006 continued Lukashenka's repressive 
tactics and total disregard for democratic principles. The Organization 
for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE,

[[Page 4557]]

which observed the elections, stated in its report that ``the arbitrary 
abuse of state power, obviously designed to protect the incumbent 
President, went far beyond acceptable practice. The incumbent President 
permitted State authority to be used in a manner which did not allow 
citizens to freely and fairly express their will at the ballot box.'' 
The report cited a ``climate of intimidation and insecurity'' and a 
``highly problematic'' vote count during and after the election.
  The recent so-called ``color revolutions'' in Georgia, the Ukraine, 
and Kyrgyzstan, showed what can happen when a country's people become 
fed up with the oppression of tyrants and call for democratic, 
representative government. Let us hope that the fledgling democracy 
movement in Belarus has a similar chance to flower. A number of 
courageous Belarusians braved intimidation and took serious risks to 
denounce the election results in peaceful public demonstrations; 
unfortunately, these risks were made imminently clear when Belarusian 
security forces marched into the public square where they were rallying 
and forcibly detained a number of them in the early morning hours of 
March 24. I add my voice to the chorus of those calling for the 
Belarusian authorities to respect the rights of their citizens, hold 
valid elections, and immediately release those who were detained simply 
for peacefully expressing their views.

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