II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 735 

To reauthorize the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 6 (legislative day, APRIL 5), 2011 

Mr. KERRY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Belarus Democracy 

5 Reauthorization Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Section 2 of the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004 

8 (Public Law 109–480; 22 U.S.C. 5811 note) is amended 

9 to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

11 ‘‘Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 ‘‘(1) The United States Government supports a 

2 prosperous and democratic Belarus that upholds the 

3 rule of law and respects the fundamental rights of 

4 its citizens, including rights to freedom of assembly, 

5 association, and expression. 

6 ‘‘(2) The United States Government remains 

7 committed to the sovereignty and independence of 

8 the Republic of Belarus and supports its integration 

9 into the Euro-Atlantic community of nations. 

10 ‘‘(3) The Government of Belarus has engaged 

11 in a pattern of clear and systematic abuse of state 

12 authority, including through a series of fraudulent 

13 elections that have undermined the democratic proc14 ess and deprived the people of Belarus of a voice in 

15 the conduct of public affairs. 

16 ‘‘(4) The Government of Belarus has subjected 

17 thousands of political activists, civil society rep18 resentatives, and independent journalists to harass19 ment and intimidation, creating a climate of fear 

20 that has weakened the bond of trust between the 

21 people of Belarus and their government. 

22 ‘‘(5) On December 19, 2010, the Government 

23 of Belarus conducted flawed and undemocratic presi24 dential elections that were marred by significant 

25 misconduct, including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the detention of numerous opposition 

2 and civil society representatives; 

3 ‘‘(B) the use of disproportionate force 

4 against pro-democracy political activists, jour5 nalists, and opposition candidates; and 

6 ‘‘(C) the disruption of independent broad7 cast and Internet media, including Gmail, 

8 Hotmail, Charter97.org, euroradio.by, 

9 gazetaby.com, and zapraudu.info. 

10 ‘‘(6) After the December 19, 2010, presidential 

11 election, the Government of Belarus detained or ar12 rested more than 600 political activists, journalists, 

13 civil society representatives, and seven of the nine 

14 presidential candidates, depriving them of their lib15 erty, access to legal counsel, and communication 

16 with their families. 

17 ‘‘(7) After the December 19, 2010, presidential 

18 election, security services of the Government of 

19 Belarus conducted raids at the offices and homes of 

20 journalists, political activists, and civil society rep21 resentatives, including searches and seizures of 

22 equipment at opposition and non-governmental orga23 nizations, effectively curtailing their ability to oper24 ate. 


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1 ‘‘(8) After the December 19, 2010, presidential 

2 election, Belarus officials initiated criminal pro3 ceedings against an estimated 40 defendants, dis4 barred several opposition defense lawyers, and closed 

5 the Organization for Security and Cooperation 

6 (OSCE) Office in Minsk, violating its commitment 

7 as a participating state of the Organization for Se8 curity and Cooperation. 

9 ‘‘(9) On March 17, 2011, the Senate passed 

10 unanimously Senate Resolution 105, condemning the 

11 December 19, 2010, presidential election as ‘illegit12 imate, fraudulent, and not representative of the will 

13 or the aspirations of the voters in Belarus’.’’. 

14 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

15 Section 3 of the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004 

16 (Public Law 109–480; 22 U.S.C. 5811 note) is amended 

17 to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

19 ‘‘It is the policy of the United States— 

20 ‘‘(1) to continue its support of those in the Re21 public of Belarus seeking— 

22 ‘‘(A) to promote representative govern23 ment, human rights, and the rule of law and to 

24 preserve and strengthen the sovereignty and 

25 independence of Belarus; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) to promote the integration of Belarus 

2 into the Euro-Atlantic community of nations; 

3 ‘‘(2) to commend the democratic opposition in 

4 Belarus for their commitment to fundamental 

5 human freedoms, their courage in the face of 

6 authoritarianism and repression, and their struggle 

7 to forge a vibrant civil society, which is the founda8 tion for the institutions of democratic governance; 

9 ‘‘(3) to condemn the conduct of the December 

10 19, 2010, presidential election in Belarus and violent 

11 crackdown on opposition candidates, political activ12 ists, journalists, and civil society representatives; 

13 ‘‘(4) to call on the Government of Belarus to 

14 release immediately all those who have been unjustly 

15 detained for exercising their basic rights; 

16 ‘‘(5) to continue to refuse to accept as legiti17 mate the results of the December 19, 2010, presi18 dential election, and to support calls for new presi19 dential and parliamentary elections that are free, 

20 fair, and consistent with the obligations of the Re21 public of Belarus as a participating state of the Or22 ganization for Security and Cooperation; 

23 ‘‘(6) to support the continued application of 

24 targeted European Union and United States sanc25 tions, including both visa bans and asset freezes, 


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1 against officials and responsible associates in 

2 Belarus until such time as the Government of 

3 Belarus treats its people with the dignity and re4 spect they deserve; 

5 ‘‘(7) to call upon other members of the inter6 national community, including the Government of 

7 the Russian Federation, to use their influence in 

8 Belarus to promote the purposes of this Act; 

9 ‘‘(8) to expand both material and technical as10 sistance to the people of Belarus and to Belarusian 

11 civil society, including— 

12 ‘‘(A) support for strengthening regional 

13 independent media in Belarus; 

14 ‘‘(B) support for strengthening online 

15 independent media, to include creating mobile16 friendly content and multimedia content; and 

17 ‘‘(C) support for expanding the capacity of 

18 non-government organizations and civil society 

19 in Belarus, with a focus on reaching women and 

20 youth; 

21 ‘‘(9) to continue to coordinate our actions with 

22 the European Union and other countries and inter23 national organizations to promote the democratic de24 velopment of the Republic of Belarus and its inteVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:51 Apr 07, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S735.IS S735

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1 gration into the Euro-Atlantic community of nations; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(10) to remain open to reevaluating United 

4 States policy toward Belarus as warranted and pro5 vided that all political prisoners detained arbitrarily 

6 as a result of the presidential elections of December 

7 19, 2010, are released.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE DEMOCRACY AND CIVIL 

9 SOCIETY IN BELARUS. 

10 Section 4 of the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004 

11 (Public Law 109–480; 22 U.S.C. 5811 note) is amend12 ed— 

13 (1) in subsection (b)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘primarily for indigenous’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘for independent, indigenous’’; 

16 and 

17 (B) by inserting ‘‘and that are capable of 

18 absorbing international assistance’’ before the 

19 period at the end; 

20 (2) in subsection (c)— 

21 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

22 follows: 

23 ‘‘(1) facilitating the development of inde24 pendent, indigenous print, radio, television, and 


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1 Internet broadcasting working within Belarus and 

2 from locations outside Belarus;’’; and 

3 (3) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘such sums 

4 as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 

5 2007 and 2008’’ and inserting ‘‘such sums as may 

6 be necessary for each of fiscal years 2012 through 

7 2014’’. 

8 SEC. 5. RADIO AND TELEVISION BROADCASTING TO 

9 BELARUS. 

10 Section 5 of the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004 

11 (Public Law 109–480; 22 U.S.C. 5811 note) is amended 

12 to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 5. RADIO, TELEVISION, AND INTERNET BROAD14 CASTING TO BELARUS. 

15 ‘‘It is the sense of Congress that the President should 

16 continue to support Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and 

17 Voice of America broadcasting to the people of Belarus 

18 to ensure access to objective and timely information about 

19 domestic and global public affairs.’’. 

20 SEC. 6. SANCTIONS AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF 

21 BELARUS. 

22 Section 6(b) of the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004 

23 (Public Law 109–480; 22 U.S.C. 5811 note) is amend24 ed— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or expres2 sion, including those individuals jailed based on po3 litical beliefs or expression in connection with the 

4 presidential election of December 19, 2010’’ before 

5 the period at the end; 

6 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, including 

7 politically motivated legal charges made in connec8 tion with the presidential election of December 19, 

9 2010’’ before the period at the end; and 

10 (3) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘and 

11 abridgements of fundamental freedoms, including 

12 abridgements of fundamental freedoms committed in 

13 connection with the presidential election of Decem14 ber 19, 2010’’ before the period at the end. 

15 SEC. 7. REPORT. 

16 Section 8(a) of the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004 

17 (Public Law 109–480; 22 U.S.C. 5811 note) is amended 

18 in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

20 Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act of 2011’’; 

21 and 

22 (2) by inserting ‘‘and the Commission on Secu23 rity and Cooperation in Europe’’ after ‘‘appropriate 

24 congressional committees’’. 


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1 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

2 Section 9 of the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004 

3 (Public Law 109–480; 22 U.S.C. 5811 note) is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Committee 

6 on International Relations’’ and inserting ‘‘Com7 mittee on Foreign Affairs’’; and 

8 (2) in paragraph (3)(C), by striking 

9 ‘‘Lukashenka regime’’ and inserting ‘‘Government of 

10 Belarus’’. 

Æ 


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