[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
[June 19, 2006]
[Pages 1170-1171]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Message to the Congress on Blocking Property of Certain Persons
Undermining Democratic Processes or Institutions in Belarus
June 19, 2006
To the Congress of the United States:
Consistent with subsection 204(b) of the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1703(b)(IEEPA), and section 301 of the
National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1631 (NEA), I hereby report that I
have issued an Executive Order (the ``order'') blocking the property of
persons in connection with the situation in Belarus. In that order, I
declared a national emergency with respect to the policies and actions
of certain individuals in Belarus, to address the unusual and
extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the
United States posed by the actions and circumstances involving Belarus,
as described below. This action follows the issuance of Proclamation
8015 of May 12, 2006, ``Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and
Nonimmigrants of Persons Responsible for Policies or Actions That
Threaten the Transition to Democracy in Belarus,'' in which I determined
that it is in the interest of the United States to suspend the entry
into the United States of members of the government of Alyaksandr
Lukashenka and others who formulate,
implement, participate in, or benefit from policies or actions,
including electoral fraud, human rights abuses, and corruption, that
undermine or injure democratic institutions or impede the transition to
democracy in Belarus.
The United States, the European Union, and other allies and partners
around the world have repeatedly expressed support for the democratic
aspirations of the Belarusian people and condemned the Belarusian
government's human rights abuses, assaults on democracy, and corruption.
The Belarusian authorities have resorted to intense repression in an
attempt to preserve their power, including the disappearances of four
regime critics in 1999 and 2000, which the authorities have failed to
investigate seriously despite credible information linking top
government officials to these acts.
The undemocratic 2006 presidential election was only the latest
example of the Belarusian government's disregard for the rights of its
own citizens. Hundreds of civic and opposition activists were arrested--
and many beaten--both before and after the vote for exercising their
rights. The authorities forcibly dispersed peaceful post-election
demonstrations. There is simply no place in a Europe whole and free for
a regime of this kind.
The order also takes an important step in the fight against public
corruption, which threatens important United States interests globally,
including ensuring security and stability, the rule of law and core
democratic values, advancing prosperity, and creating a level playing
field for lawful business activities. As noted in Proclamation 8015, the
persistent acts of corruption by Belarusian government officials in the
performance of public functions has played a significant role in
frustrating the Belarusian people's aspirations for democracy. This
order authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to block the assets of
senior-level officials of the Government of Belarus, their family
members, or those closely linked to such officials engaged in such
corruption.
Thus, pursuant to IEEPA and the NEA, I have determined that these
actions and circumstances constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat
to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, and I
have issued the order to deal with this threat.
The order blocks the property and interests in property in the
United States, or in the possession or control of United States persons,
of the persons listed in the
[[Page 1171]]
Annex to the order, as well as of any person determined by the Secretary
of the Treasury, after consultation with the Secretary of State:
to be responsible for, or to have participated in, actions
or policies that undermine democratic processes or
institutions in Belarus;
to be responsible for, or to have participated in, human
rights abuses related to political repression in Belarus;
to be a senior-level official, a family member of such
official, or a person closely linked to such an official who
is responsible for or has engaged in public corruption
related to Belarus.
The order also authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, after
consultation with the Secretary of State, to designate for such blocking
any person determined to have materially assisted, sponsored, or
provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or
services in support of, the activities listed above or any person listed
in or designated pursuant to the order. I further authorized the
Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with the Secretary of
State, to designate for such blocking any person determined to be owned
or controlled by, or acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of,
directly or indirectly, any person listed in or designated pursuant to
the order. The Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with the
Secretary of State, is also authorized to remove any persons from the
Annex to the order as circumstances warrant.
I delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation
with the Secretary of State, the authority to take such actions,
including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all
powers granted to the President by IEEPA, as may be necessary to carry
out the purposes of the order. All executive agencies are directed to
take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the
provisions of the order.
The order, a copy of which is enclosed, was effective at 12:01 a.m.
eastern daylight time on June 19, 2006.
George W. Bush
The White House,
June 19, 2006.
Note: The Executive order is listed in Appendix D at the end of this
volume.