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[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 105 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 105

To condemn the December 19, 2010, elections in Belarus, and to call for 
the immediate release of all political prisoners and for new elections 
                   that meet international standards.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 17, 2011

 Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. McCain, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. 
Shaheen, Mr. Graham, Mr. Kyl, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. 
Kirk, and Mr. Lautenberg) submitted the following resolution; which was 
                        considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
To condemn the December 19, 2010, elections in Belarus, and to call for 
the immediate release of all political prisoners and for new elections 
                   that meet international standards.

Whereas the people of Belarus have lived under the brutal dictatorship of 
        Alexander Lukashenko for almost 2 decades;
Whereas, under Mr. Lukashenko's rule, Belarus--which is known as ``the last 
        dictatorship of Europe''--has defied the post-Soviet democratic 
        transformation that swept eastern and central Europe by maintaining an 
        abhorrent human and political rights record and denying its citizens 
        fundamental freedoms;
Whereas, according to the United States Department of State 2009 Human Rights 
        Country Report on Belarus, elections in Belarus are consistently unfair 
        and undemocratic; politically motivated arrests and detentions are 
        ongoing; Belarus' judiciary is not independent; beatings, poor 
        treatment, and disease are widespread in prisons in Belarus, where 
        detainees lack access to food, proper clothing, and medical treatment; 
        and the Government of Belarus has severely and systematically restricted 
        basic freedoms of press, speech, assembly, association, and religion;
Whereas Mr. Lukashenko had an opportunity to move Belarus closer to the 
        community of democracies by holding free and fair presidential elections 
        on December 19, 2010, and allowing for multiple opposition candidates to 
        run for president;
Whereas the Lukashenko regime squandered this opportunity for the people of 
        Belarus by orchestrating a fraudulent election that failed to meet 
        minimal international standards;
Whereas, following the elections, the Lukashenko regime arrested 5 of the 6 
        opposition presidential candidates, severely beating one candidate, 
        Uladzimir Niakliayeu, and arbitrarily beating many of the thousands of 
        Belarusians who were peacefully protesting the stolen election in the 
        largest public demonstration the country had seen in over 5 years;
Whereas, during the course of election day and its aftermath, Lukashenko's 
        security forces, the State Security Agency (KGB), detained or arrested 
        over 600 additional people, including journalists, civil society 
        representatives, political activists, and ordinary Belarusians who were 
        peacefully seeking to exercise their fundamental human rights to free 
        assembly and expression;
Whereas the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Election 
        Observation Mission, which monitored the election in Belarus, issued a 
        statement of preliminary findings and conclusions on December 20, 2010, 
        that criticized the election's campaign environment as ``characterized 
        by the lack of a level-playing field'' and reported that international 
        observers assessed the vote count as ``non-transparent'' and ``bad or 
        very bad in almost half of all observed polling stations'';
Whereas, according to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 
        observers, prominent international websites, including Gmail and 
        Hotmail, and Belarusian websites including Charter97.org, euroradio.by, 
        gazetaby.com, and zapraudu.info were rendered inaccessible on election 
        day;
Whereas, on February 22, 2011, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in 
        Europe stated in its final report on the December 19, 2010, election 
        that the final vote count was ``flawed and lacked transparency'';
Whereas Department of State spokesperson Philip J. Crowley said on December 20, 
        2010, ``We cannot consider the election results as legitimate.'';
Whereas, on December 20, 2010, the Obama Administration called for the release 
        of all detained presidential candidates and protestors arrested around 
        the election and strongly condemned the violence used by the Lukashenko 
        regime to ``undermine the democratic process'';
Whereas on December 23, 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and European 
        Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy 
        Catherine Ashton strongly condemned the Lukashenko regime's 
        disproportionate use of violence and called for ``the immediate release 
        of the presidential candidates and the over 600 demonstrators who have 
        been taken into custody in the wake of the presidential elections in 
        Belarus'';
Whereas the heads of the foreign affairs committees of the German and Polish 
        parliaments issued a joint statement on December 31, 2010, stating that 
        the presidential election in Belarus showed ``a complete lack of respect 
        for European values and standards'';
Whereas, on January 20, 2011, the European Parliament adopted a resolution that 
        condemns the December 19, 2010, elections in Belarus and their violent 
        aftermath; demands the immediate and unconditional release of political 
        prisoners; and calls for ``new elections to be held'' in Belarus under 
        ``free and democratic conditions'' and ``according to OSCE standards'';
Whereas, on December 31, 2010, the Government of Belarus refused to extend the 
        mandate of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 
        office in Minsk, thereby shuttering the democratic institution building 
        efforts of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 
        Belarus;
Whereas, on January 4, 2011, Department of State spokesperson Philip J. Crowley 
        and Darren Ennis, Spokesperson for European Union High Representative 
        Catherine Ashton, issued a joint statement expressing regret over the 
        closure of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 
        Office in Belarus and calling on authorities in Belarus ``to fulfill 
        their commitments to the OSCE by reforming the election process and 
        providing greater respect for human rights'';
Whereas the Belarusian KGB continues to detain at least 32 political opposition 
        leaders and activists associated with the December 19, 2010, elections 
        who face dubious charges that carry prison sentences up to 15 years;
Whereas, on February 28, 2011, Ales Mikhalevich, a presidential candidate who 
        was arrested following the December 19, 2010, elections and released on 
        January 19, 2011, issued a statement detailing the abuse and torture 
        that he endured during his 2-month detention by the Belarusian KGB, in 
        violation of existing Belarusian laws as well as international 
        agreements, including the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, 
        Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, done at New York December 
        10, 1984, to which Belarus has been a signatory since December 1985;
Whereas families of presidential candidates and political opposition leaders and 
        their lawyers face continued harassment and intimidation by Lukashenko's 
        KGB, including repeated interrogations, raids, pressure, and threats of 
        dismissal from places of employment and schools;
Whereas the detained presidential candidates and political opposition leaders 
        are being denied regular access to family, lawyers, medical treatment, 
        and open legal proceedings;
Whereas authorities in Belarus continue to carry out searches and seizures 
        across the country, including the offices and homes of journalists, 
        political activists, civil society representatives, former presidential 
        candidates and their advisers, and ordinary Belarusians with tenuous 
        connections to members of the political opposition;
Whereas, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, an 
        internationally reputable source on global arms trade, the Lukashenko 
        regime delivered a shipment of military equipment to the Qaddafi regime 
        in Libya in February 2011, just before Qaddafi prepared to initiate the 
        widely condemned bloody crackdown undertaken against the people of 
        Libya;
Whereas, on January 31, 2011, the United States and the European Union imposed 
        targeted travel and financial sanctions on an expanded list of officials 
        of the Government of Belarus, including Alexander Lukashenko and those 
        helping prop up his regime;
Whereas, on January 31, 2011, the United States Government also restricted 
        economic transactions with Lakokraska OAO and Polotsk Steklovolokno OAO, 
        2 subsidiaries of Belarus's largest state-owned petroleum and chemical 
        conglomerate, Belneftekhim;
Whereas, on February 2, 2011, the United States Government pledged to supplement 
        its democracy assistance to Belarus by $4,000,000 in fiscal year 2011;
Whereas, on March 2, 2011, Lukashenko's regime sentenced 3 of the political 
        detainees, Alyaksandr Atroshchankau, Zmitster Novik, and Alyaksandr 
        Malchanau, to between 3 and 4 years in a top-security prison;
Whereas on March 4, 2011, Department of State Spokesman P.J. Crowley said, ``The 
        United States remains gravely concerned over the continuing post-
        election crackdown by the Government of Belarus on civil society, 
        independent media, and the political opposition. Through its ongoing 
        detentions, trials, and harsh prison sentences, the government is 
        creating new political prisoners. We urge the unconditional release of 
        those detained in the crackdown without trials, and the creation of 
        space for the free expression of political views, the development of 
        civil society, and the ability of citizens to expand their contact with 
        open societies.''; and
Whereas Congress passed the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-347) 
        and the Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-
        480) as expressions of support consistent with these aims: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) condemns the December 19, 2010, election in Belarus as 
        illegitimate, fraudulent, and not representative of the will or 
        the aspirations of the voters in Belarus, and joins the 
        European Parliament in calling for new elections to be held in 
        Belarus that meet international standards;
            (2) condemns the beating, arrest, fining, and imprisonment 
        of presidential candidates, opposition leaders, and activists 
        by Alexander Lukashenko's KGB in the wake of the December 19, 
        2010, election;
            (3) condemns the Lukashenko regime's systematic efforts to 
        prevent freedom of expression and association in Belarus, 
        including its efforts to censor the Internet and stifle freedom 
        of the press;
            (4) stands in solidarity with the people of Belarus, those 
        political prisoners being unjustly detained, and those who 
        continue to fight for peaceful democratic change and their 
        fundamental human rights in Belarus;
            (5) applauds the pledges of the United States Government 
        and the European Union to impose targeted sanctions, including 
        visa bans and asset freezes, on Belarusian officials and their 
        associates responsible for the recent crackdown and human 
        rights abuses against the people of Belarus;
            (6) applauds the decisions of the United States Government, 
        the European Union, and other democratic allies to expand 
        assistance to civil society in Belarus;
            (7) calls on the Lukashenko regime--
                    (A) to immediately and unconditionally release all 
                political prisoners in Belarus who were arrested in 
                association with the December 19, 2010, election, 
                including 3 presidential candidates, Andrei Sannikov, 
                Nikolai Statkevich, and Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu, who are 
                still in prison or under house arrest;
                    (B) to immediately cease the harassment of the 
                families, friends, and lawyers of political prisoners 
                in Belarus;
                    (C) to authorize the extension of the mandate of 
                the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 
                Office in Belarus;
                    (D) to hold new presidential and parliamentary 
                elections in Belarus that are free, fair, inclusive, 
                and meet international standards; and
                    (E) to meet its international obligations and cease 
                any illegal efforts related to the provision of arms to 
                rogue regimes;
            (8) urges the President and the Secretary of State--
                    (A) to continue to closely coordinate United States 
                and European Union policies towards Belarus;
                    (B) to resume direct technical and material support 
                to the opposition and civil society in Belarus, 
                including political parties, civic groups, and 
                independent media outlets;
                    (C) to ensure that the United States list includes 
                any other officials of the Government of Belarus 
                responsible for the crackdown following the December 
                19, 2010, election in Belarus, associated human rights 
                abuses, and the continued detention, prosecution, and 
                mistreatment of all political prisoners, and to impose 
                targeted sanctions on those individuals and their 
                family members where warranted; and
                    (D) to identify any other entities that enrich Mr. 
                Lukashenko and his regime at the expense of the people 
                of Belarus and prohibit business with and freeze the 
                assets of such entities;
            (9) urges the European Union--
                    (A) to join the United States in prohibiting 
                business with, and freezing the assets of, the 
                Belarusian state-owned oil and petrochemicals company 
                Belneftekhim and its subsidiaries Lakokraska OAO and 
                Polotsk Steklovolokno OAO, as well as other entities 
                that enrich Mr. Lukashenko and his regime at the 
                expense of the people of Belarus;
                    (B) to cut all European projects linked to the 
                authorities in Belarus responsible for the crackdown 
                and associated human rights abuses and to exclude 
                officials of the Government of Belarus from meetings 
                under the European Union's Eastern Partnership policy--
                including the planned European Union summit with post-
                Soviet countries scheduled to take place in Budapest in 
                May 2011--but to ensure that this suspension not apply 
                to nongovernmental and civil society organizations in 
                Belarus;
                    (C) to ensure that the European Union list includes 
                any other officials of the Government of Belarus 
                responsible for the crackdown following the December 
                19, 2010, election in Belarus, associated human rights 
                abuses, and the continued detention, prosecution, and 
                mistreatment of political prisoners, and to impose 
                targeted sanctions on those officials and their family 
                members where warranted; and
                    (D) to increase support to the opposition and civil 
                society in Belarus, including political parties, civic 
                groups, and independent media outlets;
            (10) calls on other members of the international community, 
        including Russia, to take similar targeted actions against the 
        leaders of the Government of Belarus;
            (11) calls on the Government of Lithuania, as chair of the 
        Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for 2011, 
        to make the reestablishment of the Organization for Security 
        and Cooperation in Europe Office in Belarus one of its chief 
        priorities for its tenure; and
            (12) calls on the International Ice Hockey Federation to 
        suspend its 2014 International World Ice Hockey championship to 
        be hosted in Minsk, Belarus until all political prisoners in 
        Belarus are released.
                                 <all>
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