[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13995]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        HUMAN RIGHTS IN BELARUS

  (Mr. SHIMKUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Madam Speaker, it's been more than 9 months since the 
December 19 brutal and bloody crackdown on the opposition in Belarus. 
Human rights of ordinary Belarusan citizens continue to be denied. Nine 
political prisoners still exist. Nikolay Statkevich, Andrey Sannikaw, 
Dmitri Uss, Dmitri Bandarenka, Dmitri Dashkevich, Eduard Lobov, Pavel 
Severinetz, Ales Belyatsky and Mikalai Autukovich remain in prison, and 
President Lukashenka is using them to bargain for economic assistance 
with the international community.
  Anatoly Lyabedska, leader of the United Civic Party, described the 
conditions in the KGB pre-trial detention facility as being cruel and 
inhumane, and the authorities' actions against opposition activities as 
being brutal.
  For the first time in 17 years, people in Belarus are looking for a 
real alternative and asking for democratic change. It is now time to 
invest in democracy in Belarus. The existing window for the opposition 
might be temporary. People in Belarus need our support, and we have to 
be with them until the end of this existing brutal regime.

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