III 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 401 

Urging the Republic of Belarus to conduct planned presidential elections 

March 19, 2006, in a free, fair, and transparent manner and with 

respect for human rights. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 13, 2006 

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. 

BROWNBACK, Mr. MCCONNELL, and Mr. SUNUNU) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Urging the Republic of Belarus to conduct planned presidential elections March 19, 2006, in a free, fair, and 

transparent manner and with respect for human rights. 

Whereas the Government of Belarus has accepted numerous 

specific commitments governing the conduct of elections 

as a participating State of the Organization for Security 

and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), including provisions 

of the 1990 Copenhagen Document; 

Whereas the Belarus parliamentary elections of 2000 failed 

to meet international standards; 

Whereas the Belarus presidential elections of 2001 failed to 

meet international standards; 


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Whereas the local elections in Belarus in 2003 failed to meet 

international standards; 

Whereas the Belarus parliamentary elections of 2004 failed 

to meet international standards; 

Whereas the 2004 vote on the constitutional referendum in 

Belarus failed to meet international standards; 

Whereas Belarus is scheduled to conduct presidential elections on March 19, 2006; 

Whereas President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has 

placed tight controls on the press, jailed opposition party 

members, violently disrupted protests, conducted surveillance of opposition candidates, and been implicated in the 

disappearance of at least 3 opposition members and a 

journalist; 

Whereas, on March 2, 2006, opposition candidate Alexander 

Kazulin and 20 of his supporters were beaten and detained; 

Whereas the campaign of Alexander Milinkevich, the main 

opposition candidate, has been subject to repeated government harassment and bureaucratic obstacles to open 

campaigning; and 

Whereas the intimidation and arrest of opposition parties and 

candidates, including the reported March 8, 2006, arrest 

of Vincuk Viachorka and 5 other members of Alexander 

Milinkevich’s campaign team, represents a deliberate assault on the democratic process and sends a clear signal 

that government officials in Belarus are not committed to 

holding free and fair elections: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 


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1 (1) supports the people of Belarus as they face 

2 the dictatorship of President Lukashenko; 

3 (2) notes that the integration of Belarus into 

4 the Western community of nations will suffer delay 

5 so long as President Lukashenko prevents the devel6 opment of a democratic political system; 

7 (3) urges the Government of Belarus to ensure 

8 a free, fair, and fully transparent 2006 presidential 

9 election, in accordance with Organization for Secu10 rity and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) standards, 

11 including unobstructed access to all aspects of the 

12 election process by the OSCE Office of Democratic 

13 Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), opposi14 tion parties, and nongovernmental organizations; 

15 (4) encourages the international community, in16 cluding the Council of Europe and the OSCE, to 

17 continue supporting democracy in Belarus, and 

18 thanks the governments and people of neighboring 

19 countries such as Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia for 

20 continuing to promote democracy and human rights 

21 in Belarus; and 

22 (5) expresses its belief that tyranny in Belarus 

23 will not forever endure and that the people of 


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1 Belarus will one day enjoy the benefits of democracy 

2 and human rights at home. 

Æ 


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